Kailasanathar, Nagakudi, Thanjavur

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Kailasanathar	Ambal / Thayar:	Kalyana Sundari
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:
Vriksham:		Teertham:
Agamam:		Age (years):
Timing:	– to – & – to –	Parikaram:
Temple group:		–
Sung by:		Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Nagakudi	District:	Thanjavur
Maps from (click):	Current location	Kumbakonam (9 km)	Thanjavur (38 km)
	Ariyalur (41 km)	Mayiladuthurai (44 km)

Location

Sthala puranam and temple information

The Kailasanathar temple at Nagakkudi is located about 3km north of Swamimalai. The temple was renovated perhaps a year or so before our visit in July 2022.

There is no known sthala puranam for this temple. However, going by the look of the Nandi for Lord Siva, it appears to be a rather old temple. Also, the presence of a second Nandi – for Amman – signifies a possible Pandya influence here (this feature is consistent with several Pandya temples, yet quite an unusual sight in the Thanjavur / Kumbakonam region, which is virtually entirely Chola, otherwise).

The temple is east facing, though the main entrance is through a gate from the southern side. Straight in front of us is the Nandi facing Lord Siva. A rather simple mandapam covers both the Siva and Amman shrines. The garbhagriham is guarded by a Vinayakar vigraham. The moolavar lingam here is of moderate size – neither too large nor small.

In the garbhagriham koshtam are Nardhana Vinayakar, Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavar, Brahma and Durga. In the prakaram are Vinayakar, Murugan with his consorts Valli and Deivanai, Mahalakshmi, and Chandikeswarar. To the northeast is the navagraham shrine, and on the eastern wall facing west, are smaller shrines for Bhairavar, Suryan and Chandran. There are also a few old and damaged vigrahams lying around within the temple premises.

Other than the moolavar lingam, Amman and the two Nandis, the rest of the vigrahams here appear to have been sculpted and installed at the time of the last kumbhabhishekam.

Other information for your visit

This being a village temple, we understood that there were no regular pujas conducted here. However, a Gurukkal visits the temple every morning for lighting lamps etc. Otherwise, for much of the day, the local residents are able to guide visitors to the temple.