152. THERKUPOIGAINALLUR

SORNAPUREESWARAR TEMPLE

Distance: 4kms from Velankanni and 9kms from Nagapattinam.

Shiva: Sornapureeswarar

Amman: Periyanayaki

History:

There was a small Selliyamman temple under a thatched roof. The traders and fishermen who went past this place had the habit of worshpping the Selliyamman temple before they proceeded for their business. Since the traders and fishermen earned good amount of money they felt that they should build a temple for Selliyamman who was the reason for their upcoming in life. So, the started the process of digging the place for building a temple for Selliyamman. At that time they found idols of Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Deivanai. They were suggested to dig even some of the surrounding places as they hoped that many other idols could be found. They could find only some deities. They did not know to which temple these deities belonged. Finally when they decided to install thee Seliyamman in a new temple they axed the tree near the Amman Shrine. There they found an Amman of Shiva temple and many other idols. They installed the new idols within the temple and when they  tried to cover the place where these idols were found evenly they found a Shiva Linga there. They found the name of Shiva as Swarnapureeswarar and Amman as Periyanayaki. The Selliyamman is the guardian deity (Kaaval Deivam) of the Village as it was in the forest area. Snakes were found around the temple. Devotees have seen snakes lying in front of the temple and disappeared when the priest opens the doors. So the devotees believed that the Snakes guard the temple and it is a Rahu Kedhu Paihara Sthalam. The Murugar which was found from the ground has been installed in the temple. He is with 6 faces as Arumuga here. People perform special poojas to the Arumugar considering ti as special.

The Shiva Linga which was found from a near by Village has been installed in this temple and named as Agneeswarar.