sarvaanganaayagi samaetha sargunanaathaeswarar, karuveli

this sthalapuranam is dictated by a devotee who is an ardent devotee of kanyakumari amman. he narrates it this way…

kanyakumari said, this temple was constructed around 3500 years ago by a brahmin who had the intution bestowed upon him by the saints kashyapar and athri. it was built in a special type called the shadathara pradishtai. the main lingam was in not in the contemporary thantrik type but the different type aforementioned. each one of the shadatharam ( 6 pillars ) had one of the characters of the shiva panchaksharam. the center one had ‘om’. gold and silver and gems were strewn above ground between the 6 base pillars. the temple walls were round as opposed to normal rectangular shape. 

such a construction would preserve the power of the idols even if the temple was buried underground. the temple was garlanded by a river and there were thickets around. after the concentric circles comprising of the temple and the thickets/river , there were agraharams. the temple was guarded by snakes invisible. 

when the temple was neglected over time and became dilapidated the snakes became visible and guarded the temple. one such was found during the temple renovation.

when rajendra chora renovated the temple after long time , the temple acquired its present rectangular shape. 

the river became a straight line flowing towards east. hence thickets in the south and east disappeared. snake mounds appeared there and many snakes started to live there.

the lineage of vidhyanathan who constructed the temple initially used a mantra to ward off snakes and also saw a snake covering the shiva like an umbrella when uttered. when one of them sincerely uttered the mantra chanting about the goddess , it is said a light entered the goddess confirming the sanctity of the place.

other details

karu-vili means no more birth. one must be blessed to come to this temple it is said. 

one type of dance that shiva performs is called kottittai. he performed that in karuvili after burning the 3 forts in thiruvadigai. hence the place came to be called karuvili kottittai . now colloquially called karuveli. 

the goddess is beautiful as the name says. after daksh yagna , devi came here to do penance to attract the lord to her. she would grasp all beauties to look beautiful as the name suggests..

this village has seen some of the best devotees nostalgic about their village and temple. it is said one such had a meru idol in his house and worshipped that and it eventually made its way to kanchipuram matam . one can understand the high spiritual standards maintained then. 

villagers say a snake guarded the entrance to shiva for a long time. over time, it became aged and shrunk in size but the face became bigger over time. when devotees entered , it will leave peacefully. when large number of people started to come to this temple , village elders say it disappeared completely.

the sprawling open space outside the current walls of the temple suggest that it should have been a massive temple once as inscriptions suggest. 

indran , rudhra ganams worshipped the lord.