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Kannaar Kovil
This temple is located at Kurumaanikkudi near Mayiladuturai. The deity worshipped here is Shiva.

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Kannaar KovilThe Kannaar KovilI is regarded as the 17th in the series of Tevara Stalams located to the North of the river Kaveri. Kannaar Koyil is also called Kurumaanakkudi and Kannaayiranaar Koyil. Legend: Gods prayed to Shiva to rid Indra of the curse of Gowtama Rishi, who had cursed his body to be covered with number of eyes, on having deceived his wife Ahalya. Vamanar (Vishnu) obtained the blessings of Shiva before going to Mahabali`s court and hence the name Kurumaanikkudi.

Temple: The temple is built in such a way that the Vimana and the deity can be seen simultaneously from a vantage point. There is no Rajagopuram and there are images of Shiva seated on the Vrishabha mount, flanked by Ganesha and Skanda on either side. The main shrine has a lingam with cavities symbolizing the sahasra netra (aayiram kann) that represent the name of the deity. The niches have images of Narthana Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Lingodbhava, Bhrahma and Durga. There is a shrine here for Ganesha in bas-relief and for Skanda on either side of a mandapam enshrining the deity. There are smaller shrines for Gajalakshmi, Subramanya, Bhairava, Saneeswara and Chandra. Outside the main shrine of the consort of Shiva - Sugandha kundalaambaal there are images of the 12 zodiac signs. Processional images of Chandrasekhara, Nataraja, Somaskanda and other deities are enshrined here. The Indra theertham tank is located across from the temple. Inscriptions from the period of Raja Raja Chola I mention this temple.

Festivals: Festivities are observed in the month of Kaartikai where processions are part of the temple festivities on Sundays.


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