Udayalur Kailasanathar Temple

Kailasanathar Temple is located at Udayalur, a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. Udayalur is a few kilometers away from the historic Chola dynasty stronghold town of Kizha Pazhayarai. The village was historically called “Sri Kangeyapuram”.

The temple is almost 1000 years old and built by Rajaraja Cholan. The village also has a name Sivapadasekaramangalam obtained from the name Sivapadasekaran which is an alias of Rajarajan.It is believed that the Samadhi of the great king is also located in the village. The village was given as a gift by the king to one of his wives by name Ulagamuzhuthudayal and the village was named Ulagamuzhuthudayalur which eventually became Udayalur.Udayalur was also said to be the final resting place of the ashes of Raja Raja Chola I based on a stone inscription from the Paalkulathu Amman temple nearby. Actually, it turned out convincingly that this is a false news based on a detailed study taken up by experts in front of the villagers. However, there is a memorial for Raja Raja Cholan nearby.

Legend

Lord Muruga being cursed by Shiva, when he interrupted the Brahma Tatva being imparted to Goddess Parvati, was instructed to come here to Kailasanathar Udayalur and perform penance. He is believed to have dug the holy tank with his lance and hence the Holy Water here at Kailasanathar Udayalur is Kumara Theertham. A king called Ajamaharaja is said to have been advised by Sage Vasishta to bath in this holy tank to relieve himself of Leprosy which did not happen. A divine voice told him that the holy cow Kamadhenu will bath and make this a tank of milk. The king took a holy dip after this, smeared the Lord’s holy ash and he was cured.