Kalyanasundareswarar Temple

travel for 13 km from Kumbakonam, to reach the sacred Sri Kalyanasundareswarar Temple aka Panchavarneswarar Temple. This holy temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple witnessed its construction during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, which was later expanded by Vijayanagar rulers. Lord Shiva is worshipped in this temple in the form of Panchavarneswarar, also known as Kalyanasundareswarar. The Shiva Lingam here is a swayambhu lingam. The temple sees a miraculous phenomenon, where the color of the deity changes 5 times a day as copper, light red, molten gold, Emerald and Multicolor. The temple is also one of the 275 Padal Petra sthalams of Lord Shiva. The temple holds a five-tiered Rajagopuram and also has a bronze image of Nataraja, Ganapathi, Kali, sage Agasthya and the three Saiva saints Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar. A large temple tank called Sapthasagaram is located outside the main entrance. Festivals- The temple commences grand gathering during Maha Shivratri in February-March and Margazhi Tiruvadhirai in December-January.