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.
Pasupatheeswarar Temple, TiruThenkudithittai
| Location of the temple | TiruThenkudithittai |
| Lord Shiva known as | Pasupatheeswarar, Pasupathinathar, Vasishteswarar |
| Female deity known as | Ulaganayagi, Mangaleswari, Suganda Kundalambikai |
| Pathigam | Sambandar |
| How to reach | 10 Kms from Thanjavur en route to Melattur. Shivasthalam is located near Pasupathikovil station on the Thanjavur - Kumbakonam section of Southern Railway |
According to the legend, during the great deluge (pralayam), when the entire Universe was suroounded by water, this place of Thittai stood aloft and Lord Shiva appeared at this Sthalam as a Swayambu Lingam - One of the 64 in the world. Thittai is one of the holy places, extolled by Sambandar, who hails the sanctity of the place as more superior even the glory of Lord Shiva Himself.
The Swaymabu Lingam in the sanctum sanctorum receives an eternal ablution of dripping water from the Vimana, which has a unique ceiling embedded with a chandrakantha stone in the center. Acording to legend, Brahma, Vishnu, Subramanya, Bhairavar, Sun God Sooriyan, Saneeswaran, Yama (the god of death), Parasuramar, Devendiran, Adiseshan, Sage Vasishtar, Sage Jamadagni are said to have worshipped the Swaymbu Lingam here.
The temple is situated facing the crystal clear waters of Pasu Theertham. After climbing the few steps in front of the main gopuram, one enters the first prakaram. The separate shrine for Guru (Jupiter) is situated in the first prakaram and He appears in a standing posture as Rajaguru, blessing the devotees with the Abhaya Hasta. Apart from a shrine for the presiding deity Pasupatheeswarar, the temple also has shrines for Sivamurti, Devi, Vinayakar and Subramanyar and worshipped with equal importance.