Ratnapureeswarar, Ariyakudi, Sivaganga

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Ratnapureeswarar	Ambal / Thayar:	Sundara Parameswari
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:
Vriksham:		Teertham:
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	to & to	Parikaram:
Temple group:		–
Sung by:		Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Ariyakudi	District:	Sivaganga
Maps from (click):	Current location	Karaikudi (5 km)	Pudukkottai (45 km)
	Madurai (94 km)	Ramanathapuram (94 km)

Location

Sthala puranam and temple information

This east-facing temple for Siva as Ratnapureeswarar is located a few hundred meters from the more famous Ariyakudi Tiruvengadamudaiyan Perumal temple.

There is no sthala puranam that is know about this temple.

The temple has no raja gopuram. Instead, there is an entrance hall (which appears to clearly be a more recent addition), with a stucco image of Siva as Rishabharoodar, with Parvati. Opposite this, on the east, is the temple’s tank.

Inside this hall are the temple’s kitchen, offices, and storage area. Beyond this is the entrance to the maha mandapam, which is guarded by Vinayakar and Murugan. Above this is the temple’s gopuram, but it is not visible from the outside entrance, due to the construction of the hall. The gopuram can be seen from the inside, from where the sthala vriksham is.

There is a Nandi and bali peetham in the maha mandapam, where straight ahead is the garbhagriham for Ratnapureeswarar, and the south-facing Amman shrine is on the right.

As we come around the temple in pradakshinam, first is the sthala vriksham, with a fairly large Vinayakar at the base of the tree.

In the koshtam are Nardhana Vinayakar, Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavar, Brahma and Durga. In particular, the vigraham of Dakshinamurti is beautifully sculpted. In the prakaram are the parivara devata shrines for Vinayakar, Murugan with his consorts Valli and Deivanai, Gajalakshmi, Chandikeswarar and Bhairavar. In the western part of the prakaram is a shrine for the Tevaram four (Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavasagar). There is also a separate Navagraham shrine in the maha mandapam, as are shrines for Suryan and Chandran.

Daily puja is conducted, despite the limited visits – most visitors and locals head to the Perumal temple instead.