Karpaka Vinayakar Temple, Pillayarpatti

North East, East and now South. For the next two years I am here in Karaikudi for my post graduation and a whole new world lay before me to explore.

My first destination here became this ancient rock-cut cave shrine with a sudden planning by my new hostel mates. On this fine sunday morning, after breakfast we set out with our cycles to the new bus stand from where we took a bus bound to Madurai. The journey to Pillayarpatti took around half an hour for the approximate 12km distance.

The design of the temple was similar to the several other temples found in this part of the country. A sufficiently large water tank can also be found beside the temple. The primary deity in this temple is Ganesha or Karpaka Vinayaka, as known locally. In this shrine, Ganesha is portrayed with two arms and a trunk curled towards his right as opposed to the usual four arm and left curled trunk. The temple is built over a hillock where the cave with the deity was originally situated. The temple has been credited to the times of Pandya Kingdom. This temple is the only one in Tamil Nadu which contains a 6 feet rock-cut Pillayar deity.