Great Temples of Tamil Nadu 10

A temple relief depicting Appar bearing Sambandar's palanquin at Thirukadaiyur Temple, Tamil Nadu. This is one of the Ashta Veeratta sthalams -- the eight places where Lord Shiva materialized in his furious aspect -- and here Lord Shiva saved Markandeya from Yama, the god of death. This temple belongs to Dharmapuram Aadinam (Mutt). This temple deities are sung of by the Tamil trinity, i.e, Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnana Sambandar. The presiding deity is Amruthakadeswarar. His consort is Abhirami. Abhirami Andhathi was written here by Abhirami Bhattar. The temple is in line with the grand temple architecture of the Cholas and occupies a vast area of 11 acres with five Prakarams, imposing temple towers and large and spacious Mandapams. In the figural gopuram, the story of close association of Appar (bearing palanquin) and Thirugnana Sambandar (sitting in the palanquin) is well depicted. Thirukadaiyur is about 15 km from Karaikal