This Shiva temple is the sixth in the sapta sthana temples. This is one of the 276 Padal Pethra Sthalam. Poo (pu means flower in Tamil), thuruthi (means place between the rivers in Tamil). This place is between the rivers Kaveri and Kudumurutti. Hence this place got the name Thiruppoonthuruthi.
Lord Shiva obtained flowers for Nandi’s wedding from this place. The place is on the southern bank of river Kaveri on Tanjavur Kallani route.
Mulavar: Pushpavaneshwarar, Adi Puranar, Poyleliyar
Devi: Saundarya nayaki, Azhakalamarthanayaki
Kshetra vruksha: Bilva
Sacred Teertha: Surya, Kashyap, Ganga and Agni
Puranik Name: Thiruppoonthuruthi
Present name: Melai-poonthuruthi
District: Tanjavur, Tamilnadu
The shiva linga is a swayambhu linga. The temple is very old temple, more than 1500 years old, spread over 2.5 acres. There is a huge nandi said to have been made for the shaiva saint Sambandhar.
The Rajagopuram is about 100 feet in height. The main shrine of Lord Shiva faces the east, whereas devi’s shrine faces the south. In this temple Lord Dakshinamurti is with a veena, hence he is known as Veena Dakshinamurti.
Idols and other shrines:
The koshta murtis are Vinayaka, Ardhanarishwarar, Bhiskhatanar, Veena Dakshinamurti, Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Goddess Durga.
In the corridor we have the idols of sapta matas. The history of Nalvars i.e four shaiva saints is painted on the walls. In the somaskanda mandap, we have nataraja sabha and the navagrahas facing surya. We have the shrine of Durga and Kashi Vishwanatha in the corridor.
In the outer parikrama, we have a shiva lingas and idol of kadavanamali, the place where he manifested. In this place Lord Shiva gave darshan to Appar. Durga idol is depicted as doing penance on one leg as if to get rid of the sin of killing mahishasur.
Those who worshiped at this place: Lord Indra, Sage Kashyap, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Surya and saint Appar.
Lord Shiva created 13 teerthas in a well to appreciate penance of sage kashyap. He granted his darshan to the sage on new moon day in the tamil month of Adi. Girivalam on new moon day is undertaken to get rid of pitrudosha. It is believed that sambandhar carried the palanquin of Appar on his shoulders.
Kshetra purana:
Nandi is said to have moved slightly to allow Lord Shiva to sight Appar and Sambandhar arriving together. River Kaveri was born from the kamandalu of Sage Agasthya when a crow (Lord Ganesha) toppled kamandalu. It flowed through various places including Kandiyur, Thirupazhanam, Thiruvaiyaru, Thiruneithanam and finally she became stagnant to become the sea. On the way she submerged Karuppur, Konerajapuram, Nadukaveri, Thiruvalampozhi and Thirupoothur. Lord Indra after worshiping Ayyarappar (Lord Shiva) made her towards the east by the grace of Lord Shiva. This made land fertile and she flowed through Kandiyur and Poothur. At a higher level on the bank of the river there was a banyan tree. As the land was fertile and soft the place got the name Poonthurutti.
Indra was cursed by Sage Gautam for his immoral act, to have thousand ugly signs on his body. In order to get rid of them he did penance at various shiva sthalams. When he worshiped Lord Shiva at this place with flowers he got completely relieved of the curse.
Two angels (Vinayas) who were cursed to beome eagles got their original form by worshiping Lord Shiva at this place.
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
- Margazi (Dec-Jan) - Ardra darshan
- Thai (Jan-Feb) Makar Sankranti
- Masi (Feb-Mar) Shivaratri.
Besides this the daily rituals, weekly pujas and fortnightly pradosh pujas are conducted
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