Narubunatha Swamy Temple

Travel to 30 km from Tirunelveli, to reach the ancient and one of the oldest temple of the district,- The Narubunatha Swamy Temple. The temple stands miraculously on the place where the two important rivers of the state- Gadana River & Thamirabarani meets. Narubunatha Swamy Temple is also popular as Thirupudaimaruthur Temple and worships Lord Shiva. The construction of the temple is thought to be by Maravarman, the king of Madurai in 650 BCE. Which was afterwards renovated by Pandiyas, Vijayanagara Kings and Kalakkad Kings. The Shiva Lingam is worshipped in the form of Pudaar Jeeneshwarar or Narumbunathar. The noticeable thing on the Shiva lingam is it leans slightly towards the left and also has marks of scratches made by deer and sickle cut. The story that rune behind this is that, once king Maravarman was on hunting and chasing a deer. The deer hid in a hole of the tree, which was then cut by the kingsmen to take the deer out. But the sword hit the Shiva Lingam and caused the permanent marks on it. The temple is huge with five-tier gopuram. The presiding deities of the temple are Narumbunathar and Goddess Gomati. The temple also houses Ambal statue made up of Rudraksha. Festivals- The temple commences 10 days annual gathering during Thaipoosam in January-February, Ani Uthiram in June-July, Adi-Pooram in July-August, Navarathri in September-October, Mahashivaratri in February-March, Skanda Shasti in October-November and Panguni Uthiram in March-April.