Thanthondreeswarar, Agarakothangudi, Tiruvarur

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Thanthondreeswaraar	Ambal / Thayar:	Anandavalli
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:
Vriksham:		Teertham:
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	to & to	Parikaram:
Temple group:		–
Sung by:		Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Agarakothangudi	District:	Tiruvarur
Maps from (click):	Current location	Mayiladuthurai (18 km)	Tiruvarur (28 km)
	Kumbakonam (38 km)	Nagapattinam (38 km)

Location

Sthala puranam and temple information

We request you to please read this short background about village temples, before you proceed.

Agarakothangudi is located near Peralam, very close to the Kollumangudi-Sirupuliyur junction, in Tiruvarur district, and close to Kaduvangudi. The temple is located a little north of the Nattaru river.

As with many village temples, there is no evidence of a sthala puranam in the temple, nor was there anyone to talk about it.

The temple seems have had some sort of refurbishment in recent years, after the last kumbhabhishekam in 2014. Yet, there is no compound wall or fence to demarcate the temple’s land, making it a ripe candidate for easy encroachment.

The temple itself consists of a small mandapam, which houses the shrines for the moolavar Thanthondreeswarar (facing east), and Anandavalli Amman (facing south). There are now dwarapalakas but instead, Vinayakar and Murugan are present just outside the garbhagriham. In the koshtam is a single murti of Dakshinamurti, facing south.

The Dakshinamurti sculpture, though rather small, is very nicely done, and going by appearances, seems to be quite an old one. Either it belongs to another old temple, or this temple is quite old by itself. I tend to think it is the latter, given the design of the vimanam over the garbhagriham, but I could be wrong.