History of the Lalgudi Sapthashiswarar Temple

லால்குடி சப்தரிஷீஸ்வரர் கோயில் வரலாறு

Abstract

Among the sacred Shaiva sites in Tamil Nadu, there are temples celebrated in the Tevaram hymns, temples where only the place name (thalapeyar) is mentioned in the hymns (Vaipputhalangal), temples with associated Thalapurana legends, temples celebrated individually by later poets, and temples that emerged in subsequent periods.

The temples where the Tevaram hymns mention only the place name are referred to as Vaipputhalangal. One such temple, situated along the fertile Cauvery delta in the Thiruthavathurai region (Lalgudi) of the Tiruchirappalli district, is the Saptharishiswarar Temple.

This temple is mentioned in the Tevaram by Thirunavukkarasar as “Pandhezhuvar Thavathurai”¹, in the Periya Puranam as “Thavathurai”², and by Arunagirinathar as “Thiruthavathurai”³. These references serve as the earliest historical records for the temple, establishing its period around the 6th century CE.