Kailasanathar Temple near Salem

Introduction to the Kailasanathar Temple

The Kailasanathar Temple is a historic Shiva temple located in Tharamangalam, Salem district, Tamilnadu. It attracts visitors from across the country. With its beautiful sculptures, this temple’s architecture replicates that of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple.

Legend of the Kailasanathar Temple

According to legend, when King Gatti Mudali was ruling this region with Amaragunthi as the capital, a cow refused to yield milk. However, it poured its milk at a particular spot. So, the outraged king beat the man in charge of the cow.

That night, Shiva appeared in the king's dream. He revealed to the king that the Shiva Lingam was buried in the mud along with a treasure at the spot where the cow poured its milk. The king dug the mud, found the Shiva lingam, and constructed the Kailasanathar Temple using the buried treasure. This legend is mentioned in the inscriptions of the Kailasanathar Temple.

The Architecture of the Kailasanathar Temple

Gatti Mudaliar Mummudi began the temple's construction in the 13th century, and Siyazhi Gatti Mudaliar continued it. Vanangamudi Gatti Mudaliar completed the construction in the 17th century.

The Kailasanathar Temple was constructed using pink granite stone. It has a huge stone wall measuring 306 feet x 164 feet, built in the 13th century. The temple faces west with a 5-tier Rajagopuram, which is 90 feet high. It is designed as a chariot on wheels drawn by horses and elephants.

The huge entrance doors are entirely made of Vengai wood with non-rusting iron knobs.

Wooden carvings of Dasavataram, the incarnations of Vishnu, decorate the door panels. A pillared corridor surrounds the spacious inner courtyard, and a Nandi stands before the sanctum.

Visitors descend through Raja Gopuram and reach Dhwajasthambam, Bali Peetam, and Rishabam at the entrance of the sanctum. The temple's presiding deity is Kailasanathar, an incarnation of Shiva, who graces as Swayambhu. Sivakama Sundari is his consort. Both Kailasanathar and Sivakama Sundari are enshrined in the sanctum.

Dwarapalakas are at the sanctum entrance. The Koshta idols around the sanctum wall are Durga, Brahma, Lingothbavar, Dakshinamurthy, and Narthana Vinayagar.

In the outer Prakaram, Sahasra Lingam, Muruga, Brahma Theertha Vinayagar, and Sri Avinasiappar, with his consort Karunambigai, have separate shrines. The shrine of Mummudi Vinayagar is on the left of the entrance Mandapam.

In the inner Prakaram, Pathala Lingam, Sivakami Amman, Navagrahas, Murugan Palliarai, Natarajar Sabha, Aghora Veerabhadra, Kala Bhairava, Siva Suryan, Jambukeswarar, Saneeswarar, Chandikeswarar, Kanni Vinayagar, Aadhi lingam, Uma Devi, Naalvar, Vinayaga, Somaskanda Murthy, and Sri Valli Devasena Arumugar are enshrined separately.

The Kailasanathar Temple has a unique carving of Manmadhan looking at Shiva and Parvati. There is also a statue of Nataraja with 18 arms. Yalis are carved on some pillars, and stone balls can be freely rolled in their mouths.

The Uniqueness of the Kailasanathar Temple

The sun's rays fall on Kailasanathar from the 9th to the 11th of February and March. The sun's rays first fall on Nandi's horns, which get reflected on the deity. The sunlight appears like a semi-circular moon.

Festivals in the Kailasanathar Temple

Shivaratri, Vinayaka Chaturthi, Thiruvadhirai, Thiru Kartikai, Pradosham, Full Moon days, Diwali, and Makara Sankranti are grandly celebrated in the Kailasanathar Temple.

A 15-day float festival called Thai Poosam falls during Thai month (January-February) and draws a huge crowd of devotees to the temple.