Kuranganilmuttam Temple

Kuranganilmuttam Shivastalam is the 6th of 32 Tevara Stalams in Tamil Nadu. Located to the south of Kanchipuram, near the town of Mamandur and 2 km. from Dusi village, this Pallava-era rock-cut temple is nearby another unfinished cave temple.

Locally the temple is known as Arulmigu Vaaleeswarar Thirukkovil, Kuranganilmuttam. It is one of the rock-cut temples excavated by King Mahendravarma, sometimes referred to as Kal mandapam at Kuranganilmuttam. There are a number of inscriptions from the Krishna Deva Rayar era found here.

Because Lord Brahma worshipped Shiva at this place, the temple was originally called Thiruilanathai, and Shiva was known as Koyyamalainathar ('natha' referring to Brahma).

The presiding deities here are Shiva Koyyamalainathar (Koyyaa Malareesar), or Vaaleeswarar, and his ambal (consort) Iraiyaar Valaiyammai. Koyyamalainathar is also known as Aramvalartha Eswarar. Valeeswarar is swayambu linga (self-manifesting). His consort is seated on a separate shrine. Lord Brahma is worshipped here as a subsidiary deity.

The temple is associated with a very interesting pastime wherein Vaali the monkey (kurangu) worshipped Shiva at the entrance to the temple, while simultaneously Indra in the form of a squirrel (anil) offered worship from the south, and Emadharmaraja (Yamaraja) in the form of a crow (muttam, kaakam) offered worship from the north. This is reflected in the name, 'Kurang-anil-muttam'. Hanuman is also said to have worshipped Shiva here, and various panels depicting these pastimes are found in the temple.

The temple's sanctum sanctorum is quite small, facing west, with an entrance from the south. Devotees enter through an iron gate, onto a wide campus. There is a courtyard, and on the temple grounds are Sri Poorana Kangana Tharani Theertham, the holy tank, and Ilanthai (Elanndi) as the Kaakai Theertham, or Sthala Vriksa (holy tree).

There are a number of shrines in the courtyard, for Lord Brahma, Mahavishnu, Dakshinamurthi, Bairava, Durga, Sandeswarar, Varasithi Vinayakar, Manthira Ganapathy, Subramaniya with consorts Valli and Theivani, along with Surya, Candra and the Navagraha.

Some renovations have recently been underway at the temple, conducted by local devotees. While not refurbished to the extent a well funded ASI project might be, the renovations accomplished by local citizens can be quite remarkable. The image below shows temple ruins that have recently been reclaimed. Some were so deteriorated that trees were growing from the temples towers.