Vedaranyeswarar Temple, Vedaranyam (Thirumaraikadu) - Paadal Petra Sthalam

Vedaranyeswarar temple is dedicated to lord Shiva, located in a small town of Vedaranyam, nearly 45 km away from Nagapattinam. Earlier, the town was referred as ‘Thirumaraikadu’, which means the origin place of Vedas. Vedas are works of arts and scriptures of Hindu religion. As far as the history is concerned, it is said that Vedas used to worship lord Shiva in this place and hence the name got the name Vedaranyam. Another story says that lord Rama, the seventh incarnated form of lord Vishnu came here to free himself from the sins that he had committed in his fight against the Sri Lankan demon king Ravana. The legend has it that Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharvana Vedas took the form of a human and worshipped lord on this sacred land with their divine powers realized the influx of Kali Yuga and its evil effects. They closed the temple main doors permanently and left the place. Later, Appar, one of the holy saints of Saivism, arrived at this place and realized that the temple doors were closed by Vedas forever.

They saw the people of this village were passing through a tiny door available to get inside the temple premise. With the pleadings to the Lord, Appar managed to open the doors and enable all to worship. This temple contains many inscriptions which unfolds several historical facts. During the Chola reign, the place emerged as a significant centre of Saivism. After the decline of the Chola empire, the region came under the powers of Pandyas, Hoysalas, Nayaks etc. The town is also the birthplace of a 13th century saint ‘Paranjothi Munivar’, who authored the book ‘Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam’. This vast temple abounds in sculptural wealth. Pillared halls with beautiful images, Yaalis with stone irremovable rolling pillars in their mouths, images of the 12 zodiac signs and the 27 asterisms are some of the interesting features here. The structure of this temple resembles that of the Thiruvarur Thyagaraja temple. The temple is under the administration of Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. the temple is one of the 276 holy shrines of Saivite saints.