Swamy Nellaiappar Temple, Kanthimathi Ambal Temple - Tirunelveli

Swamy Nellaiappar Temple and Kanthimathi Ambal Temple complex is one of the largest Shiva temples in South India located just 2 kms from the city centre. History says, both the towers of the temple were built by Pandyas and the sanctums of the temple were constructed by ‘Nindra Seer Nedumaran’, a Pandyan king of the 7th century. The original construction was made a separate one for the lord and his consort. It was in 1647 that one Vadamalaiappa Pillaiyan, a great devotee of Shiva, linked the two temples by building the ‘Chain mandapam’. There is a flower garden made in 1756 to the west of chain mandapam. It has a hall at the centre of it with 100 pillars. The Nandi mandapam is said to have been built by Sivanthiappa Nayak in 1654 AD. Most of the stone inscriptions in the temple speak about the praises of Veerapandian, Rajendran I and Kulothunga Chola I.

From the inscriptions of Kulasekara Pandian, we learn that he defeated the Chera, Chola and Hoysala kings and built the outer walls of the temple with the war booty. Shiva is said to have worshiped by sage Agastya in a bamboo grove. There is also a shrine to Vishnu near the sanctum who came here to fulfill the divine marriage of Shiva and Kanthimathi. It was at this temple complex, the famous carnatic music composer Sri Muthuswamy Dikshithar composed the song ‘Sri Kanthimathim’ in the Hemavathi ragam. In 14 acres of land, this temple never ceases to surprise visitors for the wealth of detail it has to offer. The musical pillars in the mani mandapam, the somavara mandapam, the 1000 pillared hall, the Thamira sabha, the vasantha mandapam etc are some of the noteworthy places in this temple.