Tamilnadu is located on the southern part of India. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the east, and by Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states on the other three sides.
Iyaarappar Temple, Tiruvaiyaaru
| Location of the temple | Tiruvaiyaaru |
| Lord Shiva known as | Iyaarappar, Panchanatheeswarar |
| Female deity known as | Dharmasamvardhini, Thiiripurasundari |
| Pathigam | Thirunavukarasar |
| How to reach | This temple is located 10 Kms to the north of Thanjavur. Town bus Bus facilities from Thanjavur are available. |
This Shivasthalam is one of the 6 most sacred places on the banks of river Cauvery which is considered as equivalent to the temple at Varanasi. The other 5 shivasthalams are Tiruvenkaadu, Tiruchaaikkadu (Chaayaavanam), Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvidaimarudur and Tiruvanchiam. Tiruvaiyaru is one of the big and famous temple for God Shiva and is known as Dakshina Kailasam. Covering an area of nearly 15 acres with 5 prakarams and a 7 tier Gopuram (Tower), the sculptural work in this temple is of special importance. More than 70 stone inscriptions from the Chola period have been found inside the temple. The samadhi of Saint Tyagarajar, one of the foremost composers of Carnatic music is in Tiruvaiyaru.
Thirunavukarasar went on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash to have a darshan of God Shiva. In view of the hardships faced on his way, Tirunavukarasar found it very difficult to continute his journey to Mount Kailash. With his divine intervention, god Shiva made Tirunavukarasar to submerge himself in a pond and asked him to take his bath in the pond. When Tirunavukarasar emerged from the pond, he was transported miraculously to Tiruvaiyaru and god Shiv a blessed Tirunavukarasar with a vision of Mount Kailash at Tirvaiyaru.