Vinayagar Temple - ePrarthana.com

Before commencing any good work, it is the usual custom to pray to Vinayaga; but when the Milk Ocean was churned to secure nectar, the Devas overlooked Vinayaga and did not pray to him. The result was, they got only poison instead of nectar. Realizing their mistake they created an image of Vinayagar with the see foam and worshipped it and hence the deity came to be known as Sveta (White) Vinayagar.

Set amidst green groves watered by Ponni and Arisil the natural scenery is bewitching. High above the groves the gopura rises with five tiers facing east. There are three circuits within the temple. The tank is near the front gopura. Near the next entrance are the flagstaff, Nandi, and Sveta Vinayagar Mandapa. In the next passage is a Niraipani Mandapa. The kitchen is in the south, and the Utsava mandapa is in the north. In the innermost circuit are Lingas, Navasaktis, Valanchuli Vinayagar, Somaskandar etc. In the niches of the sanctum are Dakshinamurthi, Natarajar and Bhiksadanar. Navagrahams are absent but there is Sani. To the north of the sanctum is an old and beautiful Nataraja. Eranda Maharishi is housed in the north side of the inner Mahamandapa. Peria Nayaki is the goddess and she faces east. In the inside of the Devi shrine to the south is Ashtabuja Kali. This temple must once have been a Bairava temple. Next to the Rajagopura to the south is a Bairava temple. Kapardisvarar is the name of the God here. Kaveri is the holy tirtha here along with Arisil, Jada tirtham within the temple is another sacred tirtha. The latticework in the Vinayaga shrine is the most famous.