• Jan 25 2016
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Kutralanathar Temple

At a distance of 200 m from Courtallam Bus Station, 7 km from Tenkasi and 62 km from Tirunelveli, The Kutralanathar Temple also known as Thirukkutralanathar is one of the most popular temples of Tamilnadu and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalas of Lord Shiva. The temple is of 2000 years old and there is lot of old Tamil inscriptions of Chola and Pandyan periods. It is situated near Courtallam Falls.The main deity of Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a self-manifested Linga. This temple situated in a serene atmosphere and it occupies 3.5 acres of land at the foot hills of Trikoodamalai. This is a conch shaped temple and is referred to as Sangakkovil. In the shrine, the presiding deity Lord Shiva is called as Kuttralanathar and his consort Goddess Parvathi is called as Kuzhalvoi Mozhiammai. There is a separate shrine for Adi Parasakthi which is very popular which is a Shakthi Peetha. Nandi idol is facing the main shrine.According to the legend, this temple was originally a Vishnu shrine. Lord Siva sent Saint Agastya to the south to avoid an imbalance due to overcrowding in the Mount Kailas on his celestial wedding. At Courtallam Saint Agastya found a Vaishnava temple and by his mystic power Agastya converted it in to a Siva Temple. Vishnu changed into a Sivalingam the conch in his hand expanded as the temple and the chakra rose as the peak. The finger prints of Sage Agastya on the Linga are still visible.