Thirukkaattuppalli is located about 37 km to the east of trichy in tamil nadu india along the trichy – thiruvaiyaaru – kallanai road.
this town is also reachable from kumbakonam and thanjavur. lots of town buses are available from thanjavur.
the famous kallanai is very close to thirukkaattuppalli. this is where the river kudamurutti splits from the river cauvery.
must be noted that this temple is west thirukkaattuppalli and an east thirukkaattuppalli which is pretty close to thiruvenkaadu ( mercury temple ) is different.
temple layout
a moderate sized temple, this is located in the center of the town near the bus stand. a five-story entrance greets us from the eastern side and leads to another inner entrance within which the main temple complex sits.
the sanctum is about a couple of feet lower than the ground level where the main deity lord shiva known as agneeswarar presides. it is said that the previous group of people
raised the main hall but did an incomplete work such that the sanctum was left to lay low.
in the innermost circle immediately encircling shiva , yoga-dakshinaamoorthy is situated. rest of the goeshta-moorththams , ie the regular adorning deities are to be found in the second tier prakaram.
there is a hole near the dakshinaamoorthy that is in the second prakaram from where the innermost yoga-dakshinaamoorthy can be seen.
goddess soundharanaayagi’s sannidhi can be found on the outermost prakaram facing south.
vishnu , brahma , sun , bageerathan , uraiyur queen worshipped the lord here.
once all the dhevas worshipped the god here. agni being one among them worshipped god and pleaded that he be relieved of his sins since he burns everything he touches. god happy with the worship told him to create a sacred pond and worship him with that water. agni did the same and became an even pure being such that he is not related to the impurities that he burns.
since agni worshipped the lord primarily here , the temple is known as agneeswaram meaning fire temple and the lord agneeswarar.
it is said that once a king ruling with uraiyur near trichy as the capital had two wives and gave them flowers plucked from a temple garden to adorn the lord every day . the first wife gave them to the temple for the lord and the second wore it herself.
thats why it is said in the legend that the town uraiyur was destroyed in a sand storm and thirukkaattuppalli where the first wife resided was spared.
sung by appar and sambandhar .
festivals
in the tamir month of panguni , a 10 day festival is conducted. on the 10th day , on a tent erected on the banks of river cauvery , the urchavar gives darshan.
during the month of maasi , the lord goes to a small village called naagaatchi about 5 kms north of here which is considered to be the home of the goddess , stays the night in that village and on the next day comes with enough food to spend on the way.
all 9 planets face sun , which is not a common site in many other temples.
it is found to be a jain settlement as the name palli exemplifies. 24th thirthankarar’s statue had been found here.
nearby temples
- trichy malaikkottai vinaayagar temple very famous as the rockfort temple is about 35 kms away.
- srirangam , the foremost of the 108 vaishnavite shrines is about 32 kms to the west.
- thiruvaanaikkoevil few kms before srirangam is a temple sung in thevaram and is the temple representing water thatva. it is one of the pancha boodha sthalangal.
- thiruppalaththurai about 15 kms on the way to srirangam on the banks of the river kollidam ( thevaram )
- appakudaththaan is a vaishnavite divya desam ( one of the 108 holy places ) is about 10 kms from here.
- thirukkaanoor on the southern banks of kollidam is about 3 kms from here towards thiruvaiyaaru ( thevaram )
- anbil , a saivite and vaishnavite holy place is about 10 kms towards lalgudi on the northern banks of kollidam ( thevaram )
- thiruvaalampozhil about 15 kms on the way to thanjavur ( thevaram )
- thiruppoondhuruththi , 2 kms from thiruvaalampozhil ( thevaram )
- kandiyoor about 3 kms from thiruppoondhuruththi is a ashta veerattaanam apart from being a temple sung in thevaram
- thillaisthaanam about 15 kms towards thiruvaiyaaru ( thevaram )
- thiruvaiyaaru is 2 kms from thillaisthaanam ( thevaram ) very famous for the panchanadhaeswarar temple is also famous for the january thiyagaraja aaradhanai festival
- perumpuliyur is about 2 kms from thillaisthaanam
- thanjavur bragadheeswarar temple alias big temple is world famous and is a world heritage site.
- thanjavur punnainalloor maariyamman temple is hailed as a very powerful amman and worshipped by a lot of people daily
countless number of temples both sung in thevaram and in vaishnavite songs are distributed within a 50 kms vicinity.
