Mayuranathaswami Temple
Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Deities
- Mayuranathaswamy (Shiva), Abhayambika (Parvati)
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Coordinates
- 11.0956, 79.6561
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season and festival calendar; consult the temple's own trust/devasthanam for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- The Mayura Natyanjali dance festival and the Margazhi Thiruvathirai observance (December/January) are notable occasions; October to March is otherwise cooler for visiting.
- How to reach
- Mayiladuthurai, headquarters of Mayiladuthurai district, has its own railway station and is well connected by road to Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, and Nagapattinam.
- Festivals
- Margazhi Thiruvathirai (December/January), Theppotsavam (float festival) (varies)
- Associated saints
- Appar (Nayanar), Thirugnana Sambandar
Location
Open in Google MapsThe Mayuranathaswami Temple gives its town, Mayiladuthurai (“town of the peacock”), its name, and is a Paadal Petra Sthalam glorified in the Tevaram by both Appar and Thirugnanasambandar. Shiva is worshipped here as Mayuranathaswamy, alongside his consort Abhayambika. Tradition dates an original shrine to the 7th century CE, with the temple substantially renovated and expanded from the 10th-century Chola period onward into its present form, fronted by a nine-storey gopuram rising roughly 194 feet.
The temple maintains a Brahma Theertham sacred tank on its eastern side and an Avayambal Amman shrine housing bronze processional idols dated to 1229 CE. It is administered today by the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam, one of the principal Shaiva mathas of the Kaveri delta, and its festival calendar includes the Mayura Natyanjali dance festival, the Margazhi Thiruvathirai observance, and a Theppotsavam (float festival) on its temple tank.
Sources
- scripture: Tevaram — 7th-century Tamil Shaiva canon of hymns by the Nayanar saint-poets Appar and Thirugnanasambandar, in which this temple is venerated, giving it Paadal Petra Sthalam status among the 275 such temples.
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's Mayuranathaswami Temple article: confirms the presiding deity, worshipped as Mayuranathaswamy, alongside consort Abhayambika; a temple believed to date from the 7th century CE with renovations from the 10th-century Chola period onward; a nine-storey main gopuram measuring about 194 feet; a Brahma Theertham sacred tank; bronze idols in the Avayambal Amman shrine dated to 1229 CE; and management by the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam monastic institution.