Omampuliyur Thuyartheertanathar Temple

Getting there

• By road

  Buses run to the temple from Chidambaram and from Kattumannarkoil. The village is 30 km from Chidambaram.

Why devotees come here

Omampuliyur Thuyartheertanathar Temple is a Shiva temple at Omapuliyur in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams, the shrines praised in the Tevaram hymns of the Tamil Saivite saints. The main deity is a self-manifested lingam, and the sanctum also holds Dakshinamurthy.

The temple is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams, the Shiva shrines glorified in the Tevaram poems of the Tamil Saivite saints Tirugnanasambandar and Tirunavukkarasar. It is counted as the 31st such shrine on the northern bank of the Kaveri in the Chola country. It is also one of the Nava Puliyur temples, which legend says were worshipped by the sages Patanjali and Vyaghrapada.

The village name has two parts. The name Puliyur comes from the tiger-footed sage Vyagrapada, who worshipped here. Omam refers to the Vedic fire rituals for which the place became known. Traditional belief says that Shiva, as Dakshinamurthy, taught the meaning of the Pranava to his consort here.

The main deity is a self-manifested lingam on a square pedestal. Carvings in the sanctum show Vishnu being given the discus to destroy the demon Jalandhara, and on the other side are five lingams of the five Puliyurs. The temple has one Chola-period inscription and five Pallava-period inscriptions. A Kulothunga III inscription gives the place a longer Chola-era name, and it calls the deity Vadathali Udaiyar. The temple is also one of the few where Dakshinamurthy is present inside the sanctum.

Tips for your visit

• Five villages share the name Puliyur, so say Omampuliyur when you ask for directions or a bus.
• Look inside the sanctum for the carvings of Vishnu with the discus and the five lingams of the five Puliyurs.

Questions people ask