Mela Kadambur Amirthakadeswarar Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Chidambaram railway station (code CDM) is in Chidambaram town. The village is about 31 km from the town.

• By road

  The temple is in Cuddalore district, which has national highways NH45 and NH45A running through it.

Why devotees come here

Mela Kadambur Amirthakadeswarar Temple is a Shiva temple in the village of Melakadambur, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. It is the 88th Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of 275 Shiva temples praised in the early medieval Tevaram hymns. Its shrine is built to look like a festival chariot.

The presiding deity is Shiva, called Amirthakadeswarar, with his consort Vidyujothi Nayaki. Legend says the Devas drank the nectar they had won from the Asuras without respecting Ganesha. Ganesha took the pot away, and a drop fell here and became a self-formed linga. Indra is believed to visit the temple every day to worship Shiva.

Another legend says Indra tried to move the temple to Devaloka as a chariot. Shiva asked him to install one linga by chanting his name a thousand times instead. Emperor Kulottunga Chola I built the temple. The karakkoil, the chariot-shaped shrine, was built in 1113 AD, in the king's 43rd governing year. The temple is finely sculpted with stories from the Ramayana, Krishna Leela and the Nayanmars.

A rare bronze of Shiva dancing on a bull is kept in the temple. It is called Dasa Bhuja Rishaba Thandavamoorthy and is believed to be a Pala dynasty idol that Rajendra Chola I brought from Bengal. On the south side of the shrine, a stone statue of Dakshinamurthy sits on a bull under a banyan tree. The village was called Thirukkadambur from the 6th to the 19th century, as the hymns of the Nayanmars show.

Festivals

• Chithirai monthTamil New Year

  Varuda pirappu is marked with a Nataraja abhishekam and a guru pooja for Thirunavukarasar.

• 3rd to 5th of PanguniSun's rays on the lingam

  The sun's rays fall on the lingam for about fifteen minutes, at about 6:15 am.

• Aani monthAani Thirumanjanam

  A guru pooja for Manickavasagar is held with the festival.

• Aippasi monthKandha Sashti and Thirukkalyanam

  Both festivals are celebrated in this month.

• Karthigai month108 sangabishegam

  A sacred bath of 108 offerings is held on Mondays.

Tips for your visit

• The Kadambu tree is the temple's sacred tree, and the village takes its name from it.
• On the south side of the shrine, a stone Dakshinamurthy sits on a bull under a banyan tree.

Questions people ask