Durgai Amman Temple, Patteeswaram

Durgai Amman Temple is a shrine to the goddess Durga within the Thenupuriswarar Temple at Patteeswaram, near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. It is reached through the gopuram at the northern entrance of the larger temple. The village takes its name from Patti, daughter of Kamadhenu, who is said to have worshipped Shiva here. Rajaraja I and other Chola rulers held Durga as their family deity; they prayed to her before battle and kept her north of Patteeswaram as a protecting deity; after the Chola decline she was installed in the Thenupuriswarar Temple.

The six-foot image stands in tribhanga posture with a smiling face, dressed in a madisar sari with garlands of lemon and arali, and her lion stands facing right. Her eight hands hold a conch, discus, bow, arrow, sword and shield, and a parrot. Crowds pack the shrine at Rahukalam on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, above all in the month of Aadi, and Muthupandhal is its biggest festival. A Kumbhabhishekham was held here on 29 January 2016.