Garbharakshambigai Temple, Thirukarukavoor

The temple at Thirukarukavoor stands on the south bank of the Vettar River, about 7 km from Papanasam and 20 km from both Kumbakonam and Thanjavur. Shiva is worshipped here as Mullaivananathar and Parvathi as Garbharakshambigai. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, praised in the Tevaram, and is believed to date from Chola times; 31 Chola inscriptions record gifts from kings and devotees.

Legend tells that a curse killed the unborn child of Vedikai, wife of the sage Niruthuvar, and that the goddess appeared and kept the foetus safe in a pot until it was born; the village name is read as 'the place where the foetus was saved'. People now pray here for children and safe births. Entered through a five-tiered gopuram and ringed by a granite wall, the 460 by 284 ft complex has shrines to Nataraja, Somaskanda and the Navagrahas, and a tank said to have come from Kamadhenu's milk. On Sundays in Karthikai, Shiva is bathed with 1,008 conches.