sori muthu iyyanar temple is in the upper slopes of kaarayar over papanasam in thirunelveli district.
the temple is in mundanthurai tiger forest area and is about 70 kms from thirunelveli. agasthiyar falls is at the foot at 12 kms. the famous papanasam shiva temple is 14 kms from here.
lord ayyappan is one and same as sorimuthu ayyanar as per the legend here.
it is said , muthupattan a brahmin fell in love with two girls born in a scheduled community named bommakka and thimmakka. he died in a battle to protect the cows. later, a shrine was built for him. he also learnt the cobbler art as advised by his father in law. hence, devotees tie chappals in the shrine. when the devotee visits the shrine next year, he will find that the chappals are worn out though not used by any body. its a miracle in the temple which is in a jungle devoid of human activity for the most part. yet the chappals are found used and old.
lots of people throng the shrine which forms the root of thambrabarni river who have ayyanar as their ‘kula deivam’.
relation to iyyappan legend
it is also the first temple in ayyappan legend.. the other four being aariyankaavu , achan koil , kulathupura and sabarimalai. iyyappan came here to learn martial arts , it is said.
aadi amavasai is very famous in this temple. thousands of people throng this shrine which overlooks tamrabarni river.
iluppai tree is the sthala vruksham and it absorbs the bells tied by devotees as parikaram. it is a unique thing about this temple.
bhairavar , thalavai madan , agasthyar and vinayagar sannidhis are there as well along with other kaaval dheivams.
papanasam sivan temple is at the base and agasthiyar falls is downhill.
the place is accessible by private vehicles and a government bus stops at a nearby place called kaarayaar. bus service is not very frequent though. lots of share autos ply from papanasam for a nominal price.
pin code – 627 551.
temple is open during the day time.
