Innambur Ezhutharinathar Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Tiruchirappalli International Airport is the nearest commercial airport to Kumbakonam.

• By train

  Kumbakonam railway station gives rail connections across South India.

• By road

  The temple is 10 km north-west of Kumbakonam, on the Kumbakonam to Thirupurambiyam road. National Highway NH-36, linking Vikravandi and Manamadurai, passes through Kumbakonam.

Why devotees come here

Innambur Ezhutharinathar Temple is a Shiva temple in Innambur village, on the outskirts of Kumbakonam. It lies about 10 km north-west of the town in Thanjavur district, and it is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams praised in the Tevaram poems. Its sanctum roof is shaped like an elephant.

The temple is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, the Shiva temples glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems. Sri Appar, one of the four Saivite saints, has sung in praise of Ezhutharinathar. A legend says Shiva came in the guise of an accountant and submitted the accounts to the king, and that this gave the deity his name. Another legend says an elephant worshipped the presiding deity. There is also a belief that sage Agastya gained knowledge of grammar after worshipping Ezhutharinathar.

The temple has a rectangular plan with two prakarams, or outer courtyards, covering about one acre. A five-tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower, faces east. The roof over the sanctum is shaped like an elephant, called Gajaprashta Vimana. The lingam is granite and is believed to be swayambhu, or self-manifested. Shrines for Ganesha and Murugan stand on either side of the sanctum entrance.

Festivals

• Aippassi (October to November)Aipassi Annabishekam

  The most prominent festival of the temple.

• Margazhi (December to January)Margazhi Tiruvathirai

  One of the temple's three yearly festivals.

• Chittirai (April to May)Kodabisheakam

  One of the temple's three yearly festivals.

Tips for your visit

• The Srinivasa Perumal temple, a Vaishnavite shrine, stands in the same village of Innambur.
• Sunlight is said to fall on the presiding deity on a few specified days each year, so ask the temple which days.

Questions people ask