Dharbaranyeswarar Temple - Thirunallar Saneeswaran Temple

Thirunallar is a small village situated in Karaikal town. It is a Shiva temple (Dharbaranyeswarar) but the main glory of the temple is Lord Saneeswaran (Saturn). Under the influence of Saturn, king Nala loses his kingdom, separated from his wife leading his life to the edge. King Nala was advised to offer prayers to Lord Saneeswara at Thirunallar temple and take a bath in the temple pond. Lord Sani is appeased and King Nala regains everything he lost. Since that time, millions of devotees from every nook and corner of the country visit this temple to get relief from hardships inflicted by Saturn. The word Thirunallar derived in two words “Nala” means King Nalan and “Aru” means “to heal”, meaning the places where king Nala was rescued by lord Sani. In the ancient Tamil hymn of ‘Pachchai Padigam’, the glory of this temple is cited.

The town, ages ago, was under the influence of Jainism but the Jains were not happy with the arrival of the Saivite saints later on. The ruler of this place was not at all happy with Jainism and the arrival of the young Saivite saint Sambandar helped him gain a cure from the problems that he was facing. The saint had some powers that helped the king recover from agony. Moreover, the saint also showed his powers to the common people and they started getting benefits from him. This temple was built to commemorate this change. The main tower has 7 tiers, the second has 5 tiers and the third has three tiers all with beautiful sculptures. At the end of the east street of the temple, the statue of Saint Thirugnanasambandar is housed in a beautiful mandapam. There are three holy corridors around the temple. Devotees follow the practise of taking bath at Nala Theertham (Temple tank) and then to the lord.