Apatsahayesvarar Temple, Alangudi

Apatsahayesvarar Temple, known too as Guru Sthalam and Tiru Irum Poolai, is a Shiva temple in the village of Alangudi in Valangaiman taluk, Tiruvarur district. It lies 16 km from Kumbakonam and 56 km from Thanjavur on the Thanjavur–Thiruvarur road. Shiva is worshipped as a lingam, and his consort Parvati as Elavarkuzhali. Legend links the name to Shiva swallowing deadly poison, the deity being the saviour in hard times. Sambandar and Appar sang of it in the Tevaram, so it is a Paadal Petra Sthalam.

Counted among the nine Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu, it enshrines Guru, the planet Jupiter, making it part of the state's Navagraha pilgrimage. Devotees offer cloth, grain, flowers and jewels associated with the planet and light sets of lamps. The Cholas are believed to have built the first complex, with the present masonry from the 16th-century Nayak period. A five-tiered rajagopuram leads into two precincts over about two acres, and sixteen water bodies are associated with the temple.