Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Tiru Aappudayar	Ambal / Thayar:	KuravamkamazhkuzhalaaL
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:	Tiruaappanoor
Vriksham:	Kondrai	Teertham:	Vaigai
Agamam:		Age (years):	1000-2000
Timing:	to & to	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Paadal Petra Sthalam (Pandya Naadu)	–
Sung by:	Sambandar	Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Sellur	District:	Madurai
Maps from (click):	Current location	Madurai (2 km)	Virudhunagar (52 km)
	Sivaganga (53 km)	Dindigul (61 km)

Location

Sellur is located about 5 km from the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai.

Sthala puranam and temple information

King Cholandhagan of Madurai was a very staunch devotee of Siva and had the practice of not having his meals without doing pooja to Siva. During his regime due to his devotion to Siva and his piety the area was fertile with timely rains and plentiful of crops. People were very happy under him. One day the king set out in the forest to hunt deer but throughout the day he could not get one. At the end of the day the king was so tired and hungry that he almost fainted. The ministers who were accompanying him advised him to have food which he refused as he had not done his pooja. The team could not locate any Siva lingams there. One of the ministers planted a piece of wood in the shape of a wedge (aappu in Tamil) and told the king that it was a Lingam and asked to do his pooja and have the food also. In the morning, the king realized that he had prayed only to wooden wedge and felt guilty. He cried and prayed to the that “if his prayers and devotion were true the Lord himself should come on to the wedge”. Siva heeded to his request and came down on the aappu, hence the moolavar here is called Aappudaiyar.

During the period of Suguna Pandiyan, Madurai came under severe famine and people were finding it difficult to get food. The priest grew some grains under great difficulty and was feeding the with daily naivedyam. This angered the people who started pelting stones on the priest. The priest cried and sought the help of the Lord. Siva appeared along with Parvati on the Rishabha and led him to this place. Hence he is also known as Anna Lingeswarar (Annam = rice, grain or food). The priest used the sand of River Vaigai to prepare the naivedyam which turned in to rice by the grace of the Lord.

Punsenam was a staunch Siva devotee who undertook severe penance to become another Kubera. By the blessing of the Lord, he became like Kubera but also was reckless and arrogant. He wished to get married to goddess Parvati and was ogling at her. Due to this he lost his eyesight and died. The merciful Siva gave him back his life and eyesight and made him the Lord of north with Sanga Nidhi and Padma Nidhi.

Other information for your visit

There are a lot of accommodation options in Madurai to suit all budgets. Madurai is also serviced by rail connectivity to several places in Tamil Nadu, and is connected by an international airport, to various metros and cities in India as well as Dubai, Colombo and Singapore.

There are a total of 5 Paadal Petra Sthalams in and around Madurai, and all of them can be covered in one day, if driving. Of course, there are several more temples as well. See our map for more.

Near this temple, around Sholavandan, are also some temples of note.

Tirunelveli (Nellaiappar Temple) and Kutralam (Kutralanathar Temple) are each 155-165 km from Madurai, and Tirunelveli-Kutralam is about 55-60 km. Also definitely worth going to, is Tenkasi (6 km from Kutralam), where the famous Kasi Viswanathar temple is located.

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