Thingalur Kailasanathar Temple

"Thingal" means the moon, and the town is said to take its name from it. The temple's belief is that Chandra worshipped Shiva here.

A puranic reason is given for the moon's waxing and waning. Chandra married the twenty-eight daughters of Daksha but showed love to only one. The others complained to their father, and an angry Daksha cursed Chandra to lose his light. The story says Chandra worshipped Kailasanathar here and regained it.

Another story is also told. When the nectar from the churned ocean of milk was being shared out, an asura hid in the line of devas. Surya and Chandra exposed him, and his head was cut off; that head became Rahu. Fearing Rahu's revenge, Chandra is said to have taken refuge with Shiva here, and by tradition Shiva granted that even if swallowed by Rahu, he would grow whole again in fifteen days.

The presiding deity Kailasanathar faces east. The goddess Periya Nayaki has her own south-facing shrine. In the first prakaram is a separate shrine for Chandra, whose image is carved in black granite and is usually draped in white. There are also shrines for Subramanya, Gajalakshmi and Bhairava. The sacred trees are vilvam and banana, and the tank is the Chandra Pushkarini.

Thingalur is the home of Appoothi Adigal, one of the 63 Nayanmars. He had never met Appar in person, yet took him as his guide. He named both his sons Thirunavukkarasu, and, according to the Periya Puranam, named the water sheds and feeding halls he set up after him too.

Once Appar came to the village and Adigal invited him to a meal. The elder son, sent to cut a plantain leaf, died of a snake bite, and Adigal hid it so the meal would not be spoiled. On learning the truth, Appar sang the hymn beginning "Onru kolam", and by tradition the boy rose up alive. Sekkizhar tells this story at length in the Periya Puranam. The temple has images of Appoothi Adigal and his family.

The village is mentioned in the Thevaram: Appar sings of it in one of his hymns. But that hymn does not name the deity here, so the temple is counted as a Vaippu Sthalam rather than a Paadal Petra Sthalam. Its origins are thought to be Chola, with later extensions and renovations; one account dates the present stone structure to the Nayak period. The temple has a single prakaram. A recently built three-tiered gateway tower faces east, while the main entrance is on the south. It is run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Tamil Nadu, whose own page calls it a Chandran parihara sthalam. The main festivals are Maha Sivarathri in Masi, Margazhi Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram and Thirukarthigai. The temple is known for annaprasanam, a child's first feeding of rice.

Many come on Mondays to worship Chandra. The usual offerings at his shrine are white cloth, abhishekam and archana. Many families like to hold a child's annaprasanam, the first feeding of rice, at this temple. Some also pray for obstacles in marriage talks to clear, for a child, or for progress in studies. These are devotional practices based on belief, and no result is promised. For timings and fees, please check with the temple before you go.