Harimukteesvarar Temple, Ariyamangai

Harimukteesvarar Temple is in Ariyamangai, Thanjavur district, about 10 km from Chakkarappalli off the Thanjavur-Kumbakonam road. Reaching it involves minor roads, an unmanned railway crossing that is hard for vehicles, and a short walk. It is one of the seven Saptamangai sthalams of Chakkarappalli, each linked to one of the seven mothers; here it is Maheshvari who worshipped the god. Vishnu, or Hari, also worshipped here, giving the deity his name.

The temple sits on raised ground inside a compound wall, with no gopuram and a cement floor. The one-metre lingam has Vinayaka and Subramania on either side, stucco door guardians and a small vimana, and the goddess Gnanambikai faces east. North of the sanctum are the Saptamatas, with five more of the mothers dating to the 9th century CE nearby. A 13th-century Dakshinamurthy is placed on the south side, Durga on the north, and a twelve-armed Ayurdevi, apparently a recent addition by local people, near a Vishnu shrine.