Close to Kumbakonam is Tiruvalanchuzhi, famous for the Kapardeeswarar Paadal Petra Sthalam temple for Lord Siva, which in turn is best known for Vellai Pillaiyar – the Vinayakar said to be made of foam from sea-waves.

Not far from that temple, located in the middle of a coconut grove, is this unassuming “temple” for Lord Siva as Varuneswarar. It is said that this was a vast temple in the Chola times, which has been reduced to the single shrine, open-to-sky temple that it is today.

The single shrine – which is covered by a tin roof – houses the moolavar lingam, facing whom is a Nandi and a Bhairavar on the side. On the south-east is an old Vinayakar vigraham. There is a room on one side, which serves either as a pump room for the fields or the storeroom for other vigrahams of this temple – I am not sure which. Outside this room lies an older Nandi of the temple. To the south of the shrine is an Anjaneyar vigraham.

If the size of the lingam is any indication, the scale of the original temple will be clear – it would have been quite large. Presumably the other vigrahams here are later additions or brought here from elsewhere.

Surprisingly, despite the current state of this place, the shrine remains in active worship, and even appears to be reasonably well taken care of.

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