Veerateeswarar Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Tiruchirappalli International Airport is the closest airport, about 136 km from Mayiladuthurai town.

• By train

  Mayiladuthurai Junction is on the main line connecting Chennai with Tiruchirappalli.

• By road

  Korukkai is a village 3 km from Needur on the Mayiladuthurai to Manalmedu road. NH-32, the East Coast Road from Chennai to Thoothukudi, gives the region road connectivity.

Why devotees come here

Veerateeswarar Temple stands in Korukkai village, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped here as Veerateswarar, and the temple is one of the Ashta Veeratanam shrines that commemorate his acts of valour.

Veerateeswarar Temple is one of the Ashta Veeratanam temples, eight shrines that commemorate Shiva's eight acts of valour and fury. Legend says Shiva destroyed eight demons, and the eight temples mark his victories. The temple is also counted among the eight where Shiva is believed to have punished Kama, the cupid.

The place was once called Kurungai, after a sage with short hands, and later became Korukkai. It is believed that Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma and Muruga all worshipped Shiva at this place.

The temple is one of the Shiva shrines praised in the early medieval Tevaram poems and counted among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams. The present masonry structure was built in the Chola period in the 9th century, with later expansions by the Thanjavur Nayaks. The temple faces west and has a five-tiered rajagopuram, the main gateway tower. The sanctum houses the lingam of Veeratneeswarar, and the temple tank, Soola Theertham, lies outside the main entrance. The Dharmapuram Adheenam, which administers the temple, consecrated it in 1959.

Festivals

• Masimagam, February to MarchKamadhahana festival

  One of the temple's major festivals, followed by a 10-day Brahmotsavam.

• Margazhi month, December to JanuaryThiruvadhirai

  A temple procession is held during this festival.

Tips for your visit

• Korukkai lies in Mayiladuthurai district, the same district as Mayiladuthurai Junction.
• The Thiruvadhirai procession falls in Margazhi, and the Kamadhahana festival in Masimagam.

Questions people ask