Virudhagiriswarar Temple
Virudhachalam, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India
Also known as: Vridhagiriswarar Temple · Pazhamalainathar Temple
- Deities
- Pazhamalai Nadhar / Virudhagiriswarar (Shiva), Viruthambigai Amman (Parvati)
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Coordinates
- 11.3, 79.2
- Darshan hours
- Six daily rituals from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; consult the temple's own trust/devasthanam for the current schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- The Brahmotsavam during Masi Magam (February/March) is the temple's principal annual festival; October to March is otherwise cooler for visiting.
- How to reach
- Virudhachalam, in Cuddalore district, is a railway junction on the Chennai-Tiruchirappalli and Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai lines, and is well connected by road to Chidambaram, Cuddalore, and Vriddhachalam's surrounding towns.
- Festivals
- Brahmotsavam (Masi Magam) (February/March)
- Associated saints
- Sundarar (Nayanar)
Location
Open in Google MapsThe Virudhagiriswarar Temple in Virudhachalam, Cuddalore district, is a Paadal Petra Sthalam associated with the Nayanar saint Sundarar, who is recorded as having sung of the presiding deity here. Shiva is worshipped as Pazhamalai Nadhar, also known as Virudhagiriswarar, alongside his consort Viruthambigai Amman. Tradition credits the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi, a noted temple patron of the 10th century, with commissioning the shrine, placing the temple within the broader Chola architectural period spanning roughly the 9th to 12th centuries.
Among the temple’s notable features is a hundred-pillared mandapam carved to resemble a chariot, and a Vanni tree on the grounds said to be around 1,700 years old. The complex, spread across five gopurams in Dravidian style, remains an active site of worship under the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board, and underwent a kumbabhishekam (temple consecration) as recently as February 2022. Its principal annual festival is the Brahmotsavam held during Masi Magam, in the Tamil month of Masi (February/March).
Sources
- scripture: Tevaram — 7th-9th century Tamil Shaiva canon; the presiding deity is glorified in hymns by the Nayanar saints, with Sundarar specifically noted as having sung at this temple, giving it Paadal Petra Sthalam status.
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's Virudhagiriswarar temple article: confirms the presiding deity, worshipped as Pazhamalai Nadhar (also Virudhagiriswarar/Viruthakireeswarar), alongside consort Viruthambigai Amman; commissioning attributed to the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi, with the structure architecturally classed to the wider 850-1150 CE Chola period; a five-gopuram Dravidian complex including a hundred-pillared hall carved in the shape of a chariot; a Vanni tree on the grounds reckoned around 1,700 years old; and administration today by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board, with the temple noted as having undergone a fresh consecration (kumbabhishekam) in February 2022.