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Vairavanpatti: The Vairavanpatti temple
is on the Karaikudi-Madurai road, about 15 kms from Karaikudi. A splendid 19th century
temple tank is testimony to Dravidian architectural skills. Behind the Nagarathar
choultry Vairava Theertham, a sacred spring said to have miraculous powers. The
temple has 23 bronzes, all dating to the first renovation, and 12 vahanams. The
temple also has several striking wall paintings, 37 on the Vairava Puranam and 43
on the Ramayana. There are also painting of scenes from the Mahabharata. The main
deities here are Lord Aatkondanathar and Sivapurandevi.
Soorakudi: The Soorakudi temple is about
10 kms from Karaikudi on the road to Kanadukathaan and the Chettinad railway station.
The soorai shrub also abounds here and is given as an explanation for the name of
the village. The temple has ten vimanams and two gopurams. Its rajagopuram to the
east, comprises five storeys and is richly embellished. Another striking feature
of the temple is the sculptured pillars on the corridor around the shrines of the
main deities. This is one of the temples of the Nagarathar clan that is held in
high regard for its sculptures.
Velankudi: The last clan temple is the
Velankudi temple that is located on the Karaikudi-Thiruchirapalli road, about 10
kms from Karaikudi, in an area abounding in vela trees. With just 46 pullis and
a membership of less than 200 in its four villages, this is smallest temple clan
among the Nagarathars. A curious feature is that their numbers have not changed
for over a hundred years. The result is a temple to which scant attention has been
paid towards renovation. The last kumbhabhishekam for the temple was performed in
1937. The temple was granted to the Nagarathars in 718 A.D.
Iraniyur: About 25 kms from Karaikudi
on the Pillaiyarapatti road, near Keelasivalpatti, is the Iraniyur temple. There
are 50 bronzes here, a splendid Nataraja dating to the 12th -13th century period.
One of the bronzes belong to the 16th century, another in a 5-metal alloy of the
17th century, a dozen from the 19th century and the rest from the 20th century.
Two groups of beautiful paintings grace the Lakshmi mandapam. Opposite the Rajagopuram
is one set of paintings done in the Vijayanagar style during the first renovation
and another in the 1940s during the second renovation. The latter displays the Ravi
Varma influence.
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