Wonders of Tirunelveli Nellaiappar Temple

Nellaiappar temple is regarded the primary landmark of Tirunelveli, a famous district/town in South Tamil Nadu. As such, no trip to the town would be complete without a visit to the temple. The temple premise is quite huge and by land area it is bigger than the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The temple is also quite popular with pilgrims and tourists alike, and is also well written about on the web.

So, in this post, I would like to just focus on some of the key highlights and unique features of the temple not extensively covered elsewhere on the information highway.

1. WOODEN ART: As you enter the Nellaiappar temple, the first thing that would strike you is the wonderful wooden entrance, in the form of arches, with intricate carvings. Each wooden sculpture is unique and serves as a perfect sample for the wonderful art work inside the temple.

2. DAKSHINAMOORTY SHRINE: The idol of Dakshinamoorthy is commonly found in most temples in Tamil Nadu. However, the idol is generally placed attached to the wall. At Nelliappar temple, one could witness a separate small shrine for Dakshinamoorthy and one can circle the shrine (do a pradarshanam) individually for Dakshinamoorthy.

3. NELLAI GOVINDAR: Nellaiappar temple id dedicated to Lord Shiva (known here as Nellaiappar) and Lordess Parvati (known here as Kanthimathi). However, very next to the Nellaiappar shrine, in a seperate sanctum, one would find the idol of Lord Vishnu (known here as Nellai Govindar) in a reclining position (in Anandha Sayanam). It is a massive idol and the Lord could be seen in complete rest with his eyes closed. All major pooja practices associated with Lord Vishnu is performed to Nellai Govindar. It is said that the marriage of Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi was presided over by Lord Vishnu and hence, he is provided a special sanctum here.

4. ARUMUGAN: Nellaiappar temple has a seperate hall for Lord Muruga. Muruga is also known as Arumugan as he is said to have six faces. Generally, we would not get to see all the six faces of Lord Muruga in any of the temples that carry the Arumugan idol. However, at Nellaiappar one could move around the Arumugan idol and can view all the six faces and have a complete darshan. In fact the priests would raise aarthi twice to the idol, one for the three faces seen from the front and one for the remaining three faces seen behind.

5. PILLARS OF MARVEL: Similar to all major temples in Tamil Nadu, Nellaiappar temple also has extensive corridors adorned with towering pillars carrying wonderful carvings. In specific, the thousand pillar mandapam (hall) is a place of great architectural excellence. Also, the temple boasts of musical pillars, located near the sanctum of the Lordess, that produce musical sounds of varying pitches when stuck. The pillars are said to date back to 7th century AD.

6. KUBERA LINGAM: Nellaiappar temple boasts of a seperate sanctum dedicated for Kuberan. It is widely believed that prayers to Kuberan would bring one great prosperity and wealth. Kuberan is present here in the form of a lingam. The entire sanctum is gold-plated and is a wonderful spectacle.

7. THAMIRA SABHAI: A hall inside the Nellaiappar Temple is one of the five revered locations, where Lord Shiva is said to have displayed his cosmic dance (see my previous post on Chitra Sabhai, for more on the five Sabhais). Each of these five locations is decorated in an unique way and the halls or sabhais are named accordingly. The hall within the Nellaiappar Temple is beautifully surrounded by wooden walls with amazing carvings and the roof adorned with copper. Thamira means copper and thus the name, Thamira Sabhai.

BASIC DETAILS: The temple is located in Tirunelveli town and hence is easily accessible. Tiruneveli in South Tamil Nadu is well-connected by trains and buses. Good accommodation options are also available here. The temple is open in the mornings from around 7AM to 12PM and is open the evenings from 4PM to 8PM.

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: Tirunelveli is a good place to keep as a base and one could cover several temples and other natural attractions like Kutralam and Papanasam from this town.

So, get set to explore Tirunelveli and Nellaiappar temple!