Thirupunavasal Temple

Thirupunavasal Temple

It is 70 kms from Pudukkottai and 30 kms from Avudaiyarkoil. The Shiva temple here is called Viruthapuraswarar Koil. It has huge lingam in the sanctum sanctorum. The Shaivite saints Thirunavukarasar and Thirugnana Samandar sang hymns in praise of the Lord here. The Vaikasi festival is the main feast in this temple.

The main presiding deity is Vruddhapureeswarar or Pazhampathinathar and the Ambal is Perianayaki. The Lingam in Tirupunavasal is 9 feet tall (the third tallest lingam in Tamilnadu).The Avudayar is 82.5 feet round. Compare this with  the Lingam in Thanjavur Big Temple which is 12.5 feet tall & the one in Gangaikondacholapuram which is 13.5 feet tall. This temple is one of 275 Thevara sthalams and is also one of the Pandi Padinalu ( 14 Thevara sthalams in Pandinadu)
To perform the Abishekam to Lord Shiva, ladders are formed around the Avudayar to reach the height. The priests stand on the ladder and perform the Abishekam
Legend: Lord Brahma had to lose his position as Creator as he was not able to explain the meaning of the Pranava Mantra. As advised by Mother Parvathi, He came to earth, installed a Shivalingam and worshiped to get back his position. Brahma also created a tank to draw water for the Abishekam of Lord Shiva - it is called Brahma Theertham. Also, as Brahma has four faces, he made four faces in the Lingam too, hence the Lingam came to be known as Chaturmukha Lingam. Chaturmukha means four faces.The age of the temple is estimated to be around 1000-2000 years old.