Paampuranathar Temple Thirupampuram - Rahu Kethu Temple

Thirupampuram is considered to be the 59th of 276 Thevara Paadal Petra Sthalams, located South of Cauvery river. The epigraphs seen here are 28 in number, belonging to the period of different Chola rulers. The place was known by the name ‘Kulothunga Chola Chaturvedi Mangalam’ during their time. Once, lord Ganesha was offering prayers to his father lord Shiva. At that time, the serpent in the neck of lord Shiva had a thought that he too is worshiped by Ganesha. Knowing this jealous thinking, lord Shiva got angry and cursed the serpents to lose all their power. In order to retrieve it, the serpent bed of lord Vishnu and other serpents came to earth. They offered prayers to Nageswarar temple in Kumbakonam in the morning, Thirunageswaram at noon, Thirupampuram Pampureswarar in the evening and Nagoor Nageswarar at night thereby got the blessings of the lord to regain their power. It is noticed that the shrine of the temple is visited by the snake at least 3 times a week. There is no history of snake bites reported here, although a lot of snakes are seen in this region. Due to its close association with snakes, this place is considered as a place for remedy for sarpa dosham, kala sarpa dosham and Rahu dosham. General belief in Hinduism is that, when one has sarpa dosha, he/she would not be blessed with a child. To get out of this problem, people offer special prayers here. Apart from the snakes, Brahma and Agasthiyar also prayed in this temple.