Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Sundareswarar	Ambal / Thayar:	Meenakshi
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:
Vriksham:		Teertham:
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	to & to	Parikaram:
Temple group:		–
Sung by:		Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Madagupatti	District:	Sivaganga
Maps from (click):	Current location	Karaikudi (35 km)	Madurai (59 km)
	Sivaganga (62 km)	Pudukkottai (64 km)

Location

Sthala puranam and temple information

This temple is located in the heart of Madagupatti town, in Sivaganga district. There is no known sthala puranam for this temple, except that the original temple was from the late Pandya period in the 14^th or maybe even the early 15^th century.

The temple does not have a raja gopuram, but has a welcome arch instead, featuring the Siva-Parvati wedding, and Vishnu is seen giving away His sister’s hand in marriage. There is an inner gopuram at the entrance to the maha mandapam.

Once inside, there is a tall dhwajasthambam, bali peetham and Nandi mandapam. The moolavar in the garbhagriham is Sundareswarar, facing east.

In the koshtams are the usual deities – Nardhana Vinayakar, Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavar, Brahma and Durga. Of these, Dakshinamurti is in a mandapam on a separate pedestal, while the others are in the koshtam (niche).

In the prakaram, on the southern side is the row of murtis of the 63 Nayanmars. Thereafter, there are shrines for Vinayakar, Siva as Jambulingeswarar, Murugan with Valli and Deivanai, Mahalakshmi, Chandikeswarar and Bhairavar. There is a separate, small Navagraham shrine. Meenakshi Amman is in a separate south-facing shrine.

The temple is serene, clean and well-maintained, as is the temple tank to the immediate east of the temple.

Much of the temple has been renovated in the last 100-200 years by members of the Nagarathar community.

Other information for your visit

Please do read this Overview on Nagarathar heritage and temples, in connection with temples in the Chettinadu region.

Contact

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