Neyyadiappar Temple at Thillaisthanam

This is the seventh Shiva temple of the sapta sthanam. It is one of the 276 Padal Pethra shatalam in the northern bank of river Kaveri. This is located very close to Thiruvaiyaru. Shaiva saints Appar and Sambandhar have sung sacred hymns at this place. The shiva linga is a swayambhu shiva linga. Abhishek is done on the shiva linga with pure ghee first and then with hot water. The temple is east facing and has seven tiered rajagopuram. It has two parikramas of which the first one is very large The temple is about 2000 years old. 

Mulavar: Neyyadiappar, Pashupathishwarar, Krutpureeshwarar (utsav murti),

Devi: Balambika, Elangai Amman (Young)

Kshetra Vruksha: Bilva

Sacred Teertha: Kaveri

Puranik Name: Thiruneythanam

Present name: Thillaisthanam

District: Tanjavur

The shrine of devi Balambika is facing south. The idol of devi is very beautiful and she appears ever young. This the only temple in which Thirunavukkuarasar has praised the devi in his sacred hymns. There are number of stone inscriptions in the temple which help us to know about the work done by various kings. One of inscriptions praises the lord as Neithanamudaiyar. Lord Aiyyaarappar comes to shis temple from Thiruvaiyaru in palanquin three times in a year. This is the only place where we can have the darshan of all the seven palanquins at a time during saptasthanam festivals. 

Idols and other shrines:

In the inner corridor, we have the shrines of Lord Vinayaka and Lord Muruga with Valli and Daivanai. In the koshta, we have the koshta murtis - Lord Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhavar, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Nardana Ganapati and Ardhanarishwarar. Ashtabhuja idol is in a separate shrine. Dakshinamurti is in seating position. In the main corridor we have idols of Saraswati, Nagakannika, Mahalakshmi, Navagraha, Kalabhairav, Anugrahabhairav, Chandra and Chandikeshwar. Idols of Shani, Adi Vinayaka, and Saraswati are in a row. In the corridor we have Shiva linga of all sapta sthanams. The sculpture depicting a kind of lion known as Yaezhi which is a symbol of Pallava architecture indicates the work done by Pallava kings. 

We have the balipeeth, dhwajasthambha and Nandi mandap in front of shiva linga. In the shrine of Devi, we have a separate Nandi facing her. 

Those who worshiped here:

Kamadhenu, Sage Gautama and Srilankan king, Kayavahan, Goddess Saraswati. The Srilankan king arranged for number of festivals at this temple by creating an endowment and donating wealth.

Kshetra puran:

According to Kshetra purana, it was observed that cow was shading milk from its udder at a particular place daily. Later on milk turned into ghee. Observing this, the cowherd tried to trace the cow. But it had disappeared. It is believed that this cow was celestial cow kamadhenu. When the villagers dug the spot they found a shiva linga. They informed king who built a temple, performed pranapratishtha (consecration) and arranged for daily puja with ghee (ghee in tamil in nei). Hence the lord is known as Neyyadiappar.

According to Kshetra puran, a devotee used to pluck spinach leaves on the way back from the temple after lighting a lamp in the temple. He sought the mercy of lord as he was aging and unable to go to temple. The lord told him that he cannot show mercy as he had taken spinach leaves as wages for lighting lamp.

Festivals: 

• Chitrai (April-May) - Sapta Sthanams festival and Brahmotsav
• Avani (August-Sept) - Ganesh chaturthi, 
• Purattasi (Sept-Oct) - Navaratri 
• Aippasi (Oct-Nov) - Annabhishek and Skanda shashthi festival 
• Karthigai (Nov-Dec) - Festival of light known as Karthikeya Deepam
• Thai (Jan-Feb) - Makar Sankranti 
• Masi (Feb-Mar) - Shivaratri. 

Besides this the daily rituals, weekly pujas and fortnightly pradosha pujas are conducted. Arudra darshan is celebrated.