Description:
This Dhivya Desam is located on the railroad between Karaikkudi
and Pudukkottai and is a rock cut fort temple dating back to the Pallava period.
Deities:
The Moolavar here is Satyagirinathan, in a standing posture facing East. Thaayaar here is Uyyavanda Naachiyaar. ThirumangaiAzhwar
refers to Perumaal here as 'Thirumeyya Malaiyaala'.
Legend has
it that the demons who surreptitiously tried to steal the image of Perumal were warded off by the poisonous fumes emitted
by Adi Seshan, who stood guard.
The Temple:
This is a beautiful rock cut temple with interesting images in bas relief. The rock cut
image of Satyagirinathan in a reclining posture flanked by Garuda, Chitragupta, Markandeya, Bhrahma, the gods and the
rishis is an imposing one. The fort has entrances in the North, South and SouthEast
directions whose guardian deities are believed to be Bhairava, Hanuman, Shakti and Ganapati, and the grama devata karuppu.
There are shrines to Aandaal, Krishna, Thaayaar Narasimha.
Also here is the rock cut Satyagireeswarar temple, enshrining Satyagireeswarar (Shiva) and Venuvaneswari
(Parvati). This temple dates back to the period of Mahendra Varma Pallavan. There sanctum and the ardhamandapam to Shiva are
rock cut. There is a shrine to Valampuri Vinayakar here. There are also bronze images to Natarajar and Somaskandar and several
other beautiful rock carvings here. Four worship services are offered each day and the annual festival is celebrated in the
month of Chittirai.