Udhvaganathar Temple, Thirumanancheri
Thirumanancheri, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu, India
Also known as: Sri Kalyanasundareswarar Swamy Temple
- Deities
- Udhvaganathar / Kalyanasundareswarar (Shiva), Kokhila (Parvati)
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- 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 temple is widely sought out by families seeking blessings for a successful or early marriage, a devotion practiced through the year; consult the temple for its annual festival calendar.
- How to reach
- Thirumanancheri is a village in Mayiladuthurai district on the banks of the Kaveri, reachable by road from Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam.
- Associated saints
- Thirugnana Sambandar, Appar
Location
Search for "Udhvaganathar Temple, Thirumanancheri" on Google MapsThis temple's exact coordinates aren't confirmed yet, so the link above searches by name and city rather than pointing to a verified spot.
The Udhvaganathar Temple at Thirumanancheri, a Kaveri-side village in Mayiladuthurai district, is a Paadal Petra Sthalam glorified by both Thirugnanasambandar and Appar. Shiva is worshipped here as Udhvaganathar, and also, more popularly, as Kalyanasundareswarar — “the beautiful lord of marriage” — alongside his consort Kokhila. That name reflects the temple’s long-standing popular association as a place to seek blessings for marriage, arranged or otherwise, though the specific legend behind the association was not independently confirmed in the source consulted here.
The temple sits alongside a related shrine in the same town, Edirkolpadi (also known as Melai Thirumanajeri or the Iyravatheswarar Temple), underscoring Thirumanancheri’s standing as a small but doubly-significant node in the Paadal Petra Sthalam network along the Kaveri.
Sources
- scripture: Tevaram — Glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by the Nayanar saints Thirugnanasambandar and Tirunavukkarasar (Appar), giving this temple Paadal Petra Sthalam status.
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's Tirumanancheri Udhvaganathar Temple article: confirms the presiding deity, worshipped as Udhvaganathar and also as Kalyanasundareswarar, alongside consort Kokhila; the temple's location on the banks of the Kaveri in Mayiladuthurai district; and the presence of a related, separately documented temple, Edirkolpadi (also called Melai Thirumanajeri / MelaThirumanancheri Iyravatheswarar Temple), in the same town.
- oral tradition: The temple is popularly regarded as auspicious for arranging and blessing marriages, reflected in its alternate name Kalyanasundareswarar ('the beautiful lord of marriage'), though the specific mythological narrative behind this association was not detailed in the source consulted for this entry.
For review
- No coordinates could be confirmed in the source consulted for this entry; none are given here rather than estimated.
- The precise legend explaining this temple's association with marriage blessings was not detailed in the source checked; this entry notes the association (reflected in the alternate name Kalyanasundareswarar) without asserting a specific unverified narrative.