Edaganathar Temple, Thiruvedagam

Edaganathar Temple stands on the bank of the Vaigai River at Thiruvedagam, a village in Madurai district on the Madurai–Cholavandan bus route. Shiva is worshipped as Edaganathar in the form of a lingam, and Parvati as Elavarkuzhali. Praised in the 7th-century Tevaram, it is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams. Legend tells that when the saint Sambandar challenged Jain scholars, his verses written on a palm leaf (edu) floated against the Vaigai's current and came to rest here, while the Jains' leaf did not; the village and deity take their names from the episode.

The complex covers about five acres, with two gopurams facing the main shrines and spacious corridors. The original temple is credited to the Pandyas and the present masonry to the 16th-century Nayaks; inscriptions of Jatavarman Kulasekhara Pandyan and Krishna Deva Raya record endowments. Carvings on the steps down to the river recall Sambandar's contest, which is re-enacted at the Edu Ethireriya Utsavam.