Aalam in tamir means poison and kudi means place. shiva drank the poison to prevent everyone and hence the name. it is the guru sthalam among the 9 planet temples in and around kumbakonam. navagraha sthalam.
alangudi is 17 kms south of kumbakonam on mannargudi road. laks and laks of people throng this village on guru peyarchi dates and even normal thursdays. here dakshinamurthy graces as guru .
a medium sized temple sung in thevaram which is over 1700 years old. the old name is thiru-irum-poolai from poolai shrub which is the holy tree of this sthalam and it is an object of worship here..
alangudi is surrounded by three holy rivers. they are cauvery, kolidam and vennaru. fifteen theerthams are around this temple, among which the amrita pushkarani encircling the temple is very famous. chakra theertham is in front of the temple. it is said that this theertham, was created by maha vishnu’s chakra (disc).
sthalapuranam
once a chola raja, who ruled over thiruvarur, was fascinated by the idol of sundaramurthy at alangudi and desired to have it installed at thiruvarur for worship. on learning this, temple priest at alangudi become panic stricken. he disguised the idol as a child affected with chicken-pox as directed by shiva, hid it inside a swing and brought it back safely to alangudi. the traces of chicken-pox can still be seen on this image.
parvathi wed shiva and came here. the temple where it happened is a few miles away called thirumanamangalam. all the rishis and bramma and vishnu came here for the wedding. they installed lingams to worship which can be seen inside.
panchavaranyam
this temple also belongs to a local category of temples called panchavaranya sthalam. they are…
Pancha – 5 , Aaranyam,Vanam – Forest
1.thirukkarugavur – mullai vanam
2.alangudi – poolai vanam
3.haridhwaramangalam – vanni vanam
4.avalivanallur – paadhiri vanam
5.thirukkollamboodhoor – vilva vanam
venerated by thevaram saints appar , sundharar and sambandhar , alangudi is one of the most visited temples in the district.
muchukundha chora charavarthy , vishnu and countless others worshipped the lord here.
a detailed tamir sthalapuranam is here as picture thumbnails.
