Vaitheeswaran Kovil is situated near
Mayiladuthurai about 50 km from
Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District. This ancient temple is dedicated to
Lord Shiva.
The deities of the temple are Vaitheeswaran, Thaiyal Nayaki (Parvati), and Muthukumaraswamy (Subramanya Swamy). Folklore has it that Mars, Kartikeya, Jatayu and the
Rig Veda worshipped Shiva here. The temple covering an area of ten acres has four Rajagopurams. There are two Dhwajastambhas on the western entrance – one in gold and the other in silver. The Sthala Vriksham is the sacred Neem Tree. The main Teertham is the Siddhamirtha teertham located on the southern part. The temple also has eighteen other teerthams. The temple holds many inscriptions revealing the old Pallava architecture and also the stone inscriptions of Chola and Maratha Kings. The auspicious days of the temple are all Tuesdays and on the Karthika star of every month.
