Manakkarai Koonadarswamy Shiva Temple, Thiruvarur

Address

Manakkarai village, Koothanallur circle,

Thiruvarur District,

Tamil Nadu 610206

Moolavar

Koonadarswami

Introduction

Manakkarai Koonadarswamy Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in the Manakkarai village, Koothanallur circle, Thiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu. Manakarai is a small village; here the Presiding deity is called as Koonadarswami.

Puranic Significance

800 years before, in the period of 1223-3rd Rajarajacholan, there is an inscription on the north side of the Arthamandapam about the donations made to this temple. It is stated that this land was purchased from Thalikulamudayan for 1500 cash as Thirugamathu land.

The name of the town was then Kuruppanangudi and now it is called Manakkarai. This temple is situated on the upper bank of a large pond in the middle of Manakkarai village. At one time it was functioning as the head temple of Shivanandar, Koonandar and Thenandar temples. Shivanandar temple is nearby, no information about thenandar temple. The temple is a large complex spread over two acres of land with a three-tiered Rajagopuram towards the east.

The sanctuary shines in the beautiful Chola black stone structure, the altar is made of black stone, and above it is a brick staircase. There are panchakosthas, in which the Dakshnamurti is placed to the south, and a female deity is placed on the stilt next to Vinayaka. They have Lakshmi Narayan to the west and Durga to the north. In the sanctum sanctorum Lord Kunandar Swami is facing east. It may have been called Koon Lord because it is square and has a small round shape. Cone-shaped mandapams in the style of the Nayak period are long in front of the corridor connected to the Lord’s shrine. There is a Nadaraja shrine towards the south.

The gate of this cone-shaped mughamandapam has bifurcated porches on both sides. In front of the Lord there is a long gap in Nandi separate Mandapam. As a separate temple, Somakula nayaki has also risen towards the south. Ambik also captures us in his peaceful appearance. Vinayagar and Subramaniya light up the temple in the western part of the temple prakaram. There is also a well in the north-east, near which there is a navagraha mandapam but no navagraha s are found in the temple.