Valampura Nathar, Melaperumpallam, Nagapattinam

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Valampura Nathar	Ambal / Thayar:	VaduvakirkkaNNi, Swarna Padmambigai, Sankari and Gnana Soundari
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:	Tiruvalampuram
Vriksham:	Panamaram	Teertham:	Brahma Teertham, Lakshmi Teertham
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	to & to	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Paadal Petra Sthalam (Kaveri Then Karai)	–
Sung by:	Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar	Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Melaperumpallam	District:	Nagapattinam
Maps from (click):	Current location	Mayiladuthurai (25 km)	Nagapattinam (52 km)
	Tiruvarur (56 km)	Kumbakonam (63 km)

Location

Melaperumpallam is located near Tiruvenkadu and Poompuhar, and is about 18km from Sirkazhi and 22 km from Mayiladuthurai.

Sthala puranam and temple information

Once, a king from Kasi wanted to test his queen’s fidelity. During one of his hunts, he asked his minister to inform the queen that he had been killed. Upon hearing this news, the queen fell down dead. For causing her death, the king was afflicted with brahmahathi dosham. As expiation, he was told to feed 1000 people every day at this place – Valampuram – and the day the temple bell rang, the king’s sins would have been fully wiped out. While the feeding continued, the bell never rang. One day, Pattinat har came to the temple and asked for food, but he was refused, since the day’s feeding had not yet begun. He then took the starch left over from cooking the rice, and drank it, when the bell started to ring. This surprised everyone, since the feeding had not yet started. The king understood the meaning of events, begged Pattinathar for pardon, and immediately, attained mukti.

Lord Vishnu undertook penance to propitiate Siva here. As a reward for this, he received the club and discus (gadha and chakram). He then worshipped Parvati and received the conch and lotus (sanku and Padma). Since the conch was oriented to the right (valam, in Tamil), the Lord is called Valampuranathar (valam=right, pura=side). This temple’s puranam on this aspect is closely connected to the puranam of the Sankaaranyeswarar temple at nearby Thalachangadu.

Connected with the puranam of Tiruvalanchuzhi, Sage Herandar entered the pila-dwaram there and came out here. This act of the sage ensured that the River Kaveri which had vanished, was able to come back to earth. For this service, Lord Siva gave salvation to the sage. The jeeva samadhi of the sage is in this temple. Another legend says that since the sage came out from the right hand side of the river Kaveri, the Lord here is called Valampuranathar.

This is considered the birthplace of Dakshayani / Sati, who was born after much penance by Daksha and his wife.

The moola Lingam is made of sand and is considered a prithvi Lingam. Because of this, only punugu (civet oil) is applied directly to it. During abhishekams, the Lingam is covered with a metal covering. There are two holes or dents on top of the Lingam, which gives the place its name – Melaperumpallam (pallam=hole in Tamil).

Dhananjaya, a king of Maghadha, instructed his son that his (the king’s) ashes should be immersed at a place where they turn into flowers. After much wandering, the son came here, and the ashes indeed became flowers. He then immersed the ashes in the temple tank. The king has a separate sannidhi in this temple.

This is a maadakoil, and an old Chola temple, featuring some amazing architecture and carvings. Even the koshta vigrahams are very beautifully and carefully crafted. However, more modern brick constructions have been added to the structure in recent years.