Aaditheswarar, Peravur, Thanjavur

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Aaditheswarar	Ambal / Thayar:	Gnanambikai
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:	Aditeswaram
Vriksham:		Teertham:
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	to & to	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Vaippu Sthalam	–
Sung by:		Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Peravur	District:	Thanjavur
Maps from (click):	Current location	Mayiladuthurai (16 km)	Kumbakonam (23 km)
	Thiruvarur (35 km)	Nagapattinam (54 km)

Location

Sthala puranam and temple information

Located between Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai, this Vaippu Sthalam was originally called Aditechuram (or Adityeswaram).

One of the stories of the Siva-Parvati wedding is about how, due to her actions during a game of Chokkattan, Parvati had to be born as a cow, on earth. One of the variants of this story involves Siva being born as a bull, in order to follow and eventually reunite with Parvati. It is said that this is the place that Siva descended at, and took the form of a bull.

The temple is a Vaippu Sthalam in the Tevaram, and is mentioned by Appar in his pathigam on Tiruveezhimizhalai.

This is a Chola temple, dating back to the time of Aditya Chola (and hence the historical name of Aditechuram). The temple is built according to agamic principles, and therefore houses separate shrines for the parivara devatas. Despite the relatively recent renovations to the frontage, one can see the ardha-mandapam and garbhagriham construction in classic Chola style of architecture.

The temple also has a separate shrine for the Sapta Matrikas, which is a recurring motif in several temples around the Kumbakonam region, from Thanjavur to Mayiladuthurai. There is a separate temple for Kamakshi Amman on the northern bank of the temple’s tank.

Other information for your visit

Nearby is the town of Sathanur, where a cowherd named Moolan died, and a yogi who had been blessed by Nandi, entered the body of Moolan in order to ensure the cows were safe. This yogi was eventually recognised as Tirumoolar, one of the founding fathers of Saiva Siddhantam.