Naganathaswamy Temple, Keezhperumpallam
Keezhperumpallam, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu, India
Also known as: Keelaperumpallam Ketu Sthalam
- Deities
- Naganathaswamy (Shiva), Ketu
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- Nagannathaswamy Temple (Kethu Sthalam), Keelaperumpallam village, about 2 km from Poompuhar and 93 km from Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu.
- Coordinates
- 11.135, 79.83528
- Darshan hours
- Six daily rituals from about 5:30 AM to 10:00 PM, per Wikipedia; confirm exact timings with the temple (see kethutemple.org) before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- October to March for cooler weather; Mahasivarathri, Margazhi Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram and the Vasuki Utsavam are the temple's major festivals, and Tuesdays plus Ketu-related astrological observances are considered especially significant here.
- How to reach
- Keelaperumpallam is about 2 km from Poompuhar and 93 km from Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai district; reachable by road, with Mayiladuthurai and Sirkazhi the nearest railheads.
Location
Open in Google MapsNaganathaswamy Temple (Nagannathaswamy Temple, also called Kethu Sthalam), in the small coastal-belt village of Keelaperumpallam (Keezhperumpallam) in Mayiladuthurai district, is the Navagraha shrine associated with Ketu, completing Tamil Nadu’s nine-temple planetary circuit alongside the shrines for the Sun, Moon, and the other five visible grahas plus Rahu. As at several of the other Navagraha sites, Shiva is worshipped here as the presiding deity, Naganatha Swamy, with his consort worshipped as Sowndara Nayagi (Parvathi), and Ketu honoured in a subsidiary shrine that draws devotees seeking relief from the astrological effects attributed to this shadow planet, traditionally linked in Hindu astrology to detachment, upheaval, and spiritual transformation. Tradition credits the original temple complex to the Cholas, with the present masonry structure rebuilt under the Nayak rulers in the 16th century; it is built in Dravidian style with a flat rajagopuram and a single prakaram (enclosure). The temple follows six daily rituals from about 5:30 AM to 10:00 PM and is administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Festivals
The temple’s major festivals include Mahasivarathri, Margazhi Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram, and the Vasuki Utsavam.
Location & Access
Keelaperumpallam village lies about 2 km from Poompuhar and 93 km from Thanjavur, in Mayiladuthurai district. The village is reachable by road, with Mayiladuthurai and Sirkazhi the nearest railheads. Verify current darshan timings and travel details with the temple or official sources before visiting.
Sources
- oral tradition: As with the other Navagraha temples, the site's sanctity is framed by devotees through the general Puranic role of Ketu among the nine planetary deities blessing worshippers; no temple-specific founding legend could be independently confirmed during this verification pass.
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's Navagraha temples overview article: confirms a Naganathaswamy (also transliterated Nagannathaswamy) Shiva temple at Keezhperumpallam (also spelled Keelaperumpallam) in Mayiladuthurai district as the designated Ketu shrine among Tamil Nadu's nine Navagraha temples.
- historical record: A dedicated Wikipedia article, 'Nagannathaswamy Temple, Keelaperumpallam', located and consulted 2026-09-23 (not found in the original verification pass): gives the consort as Sowndara Nayagi (Parvathi), coordinates approximately 11°08'06"N 79°50'07"E, a founding tradition crediting the original complex to the Cholas with the present masonry structure built by the Nayaks in the 16th century, Dravidian architecture with a flat rajagopuram and a single prakaram, six daily rituals (5:30 AM-10:00 PM), festivals (Mahasivarathri, Margazhi Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram, Vasuki Utsavam), and administration by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. This resolves the earlier gap in independent sourcing noted in this entry's prior pass.