Basic information about the temple
| Moolavar: | Ananteeswarar | Ambal / Thayar: | Akhilandeswari |
| Deity: | Siva | Historical name: | |
| Vriksham: | Teertham: | ||
| Agamam: | Age (years): | Timing: | to & to | Parikaram: |
| Temple group: | – | ||
| Sung by: | Temple set: | ||
| Navagraham: | Nakshatram: | ||
| City / town: | Avoor | District: | Thanjavur |
| Maps from (click): | Current location | Kumbakonam (11 km) | Thanjavur (31 km) |
| Tiruvarur (43 km) | Ariyalur (47 km) |
Location
Sthala puranam and temple information
The village of Avoor near Kumbakonam is best known for the Pasupateeswarar temple for Lord Siva, which is a Paadal petra sthalam. However, there are two other temples in the village – the Ananteeswarar Siva temple, and the Lakshmi Narayana Perumal temple.
The temple is sometimes referred to as the Agasteeswarar temple, possibly because the name of Amman here is Akhilandeswari. Even the temple recognises this, and the name “Agasteeswarar” is written outside the garbhagriham entrance, as an alias. The moolavar is also called Anaatheeswarar.
The etymology of Avoor is quite interesting. Kamadhenu, along with her children Nandini and Patti, was living in mullai vanam (Tirukarukavur) and used to take other cows along with her to graze. She would collect flowers and undertake puja to Lord Siva. Similarly, Patti did the same at Patteeswaram. The place where all the cows assembled was Avoor (aa in Tamil means cow), and where they went for grazing was called go-iruntha-kudi (Govindakudi). All of these places are located fairly close together.
There is no known sthala puranam for this temple, which is a shame given how beautiful the temple otherwise is. There must have definitely been some interesting history and stories about this temple.
The temple does not have a raja gopuram; instead there is a flat entrance way at the front. The temple overall is at a slight elevation of about 2 feet from the surroundings. There is no dhwajasthambam here, and as soon as we enter the main gates is a long corridor with a vavvaal-nethi roof. Inside this corridor is the bali peetham and Nandi.
Beyond this is a mandapam housing another nandi, where the garbhagriham entrance is located, with Vinayakar on the left. This entire mandapam ha arched vaults on both sides, while the vavvaal-nethi roofing continues. One look at this Nandi and Vinayakar vigrahams tells us that this temple should be quite old – likely Chola period from the 10th or 11th century. Straight ahead is the garbhagriham for the moolavar, and on the right is the Amman shrine.
In the koshtam, one can see Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavar and Durgai Amman. In the prakaram are Vinayakar, Murugan with his consorts Valli and Deivanai, and Chandikeswarar. The prakaram leads back into the main mandapam through a small door, and on the left here is Sani, standing alone.
The vavvaal-nethi roofing at this temple seems rather apt, though, given the number of bats in the temple – a consequence of both poor maintenance and very few visitors.
This temple is regarded as a twin temple of the nearby Lakshmi Narayana Perumal temple. Perhaps at some time in the past, these two temples marked the two ends of the Agraharam of this village.
Notably, Avoor is the birthplace of Avoor Kizhar, Perunthalai Sathanar and Avoor Moolangazhiyar – all Sangam era poets.
The temple is in a somewhat dilapidated state, exacerbated by a lack of visitors. If you are in the vicinity, please do visit the temple.
Other information for your visit
We understand that official pujas take place once a day here, usually in the morning. However, the keys to the temple are kept in the house opposite the temple’s entrance, and the residents there are willing to provide the keys / open the temple up for interested visitors.
Contact
Gallery
TN Temples Project 