The Madhuvaneswarar Temple () is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

situated in the town of

Nannilam Nannilam is a panchayat town in Thiruvarur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters town for Nannilam Taluk. The town is a main hub for the nearby villages. Many of the population are farmers. Nannilam is located 30&nb ...

in the

Tiruvarur district Thiruvarur district is one of the 38 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. As of 2011, the district had a population of 1,264,277 with a sex-ratio of 1,017 females for every 1,000 males. Geography The district occupies an area of 2,161 ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The presiding deity is

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. The temple is believed to have been built by the

Early Chola The Early Cholas were a Tamil kingdom of the pre and post Sangam period (600 BCE–300 CE). It was one of the three main kingdoms of South India. Their early capitals were Urayur or Tiruchirapalli and Kaveripattinam. Along with Pandyas and ...

king

Kocengannan Kochchenganan (''Kōccengaṇān'') Kochengat Cholan or Śengaṇān (also spelt Senganan)( ta, சோழன் செங்கணான்) was one of the kings of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam literature. The only surviving details ab ...

. It is one of the shrines of the 275

Paadal Petra Sthalams The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Thevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison ar ...

Architecture

Nanillam is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the grooves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity. The region is believed to have been covered with Madhu forest and hence called Madhuvanam. The temple covers an area of 270 X 130 square feet. The ''

gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the So ...

'' is 30 feet tall and faces east. There are shrines to

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhaira ...

, Surya and the

Navagrahas Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...

Significance

The temple has been praised by Savitie saint

Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...

in the ''

Thevaram Thevaram is a town in Theni district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thevaram is located in Tamil Nadu near on border of Kerala at the Eastern side foot-hill of the Western Ghats. It is connected with State Highway SH100. Farming is main o ...

''.

References

Gallery

Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple2.jpg Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple3.jpg Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple4.jpg Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple5.jpg Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple6.jpg Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple7.jpg Nannilam maduvanesvarar temple8.jpg

External links

* Padal Petra Stalam Shiva temples in Tiruvarur district Maadakkoil {{TamilNadu-hindu-temple-stub