Kandeeswarar Temple, Thirukkandiyur

The Kandeeswarar Temple stands at Thirukkandiyur, about 2 km from Tiruvaiyaru on the road between Kumbakonam and Thanjavur. Shiva is worshipped here as Kandeeswarar and his consort Parvati as Mangalanayagi. The shrine is praised in the 7th-century Tevaram hymns and is one of the eight Ashta Veeratanam temples, each marking a victory of Shiva; this is the one tied to the legend of Shiva removing one of Brahma's five heads. Inscriptions record gifts from the Cholas, the Thanjavur Nayaks and the Thanjavur Marathas.

A five-tiered rajagopuram leads to a west-facing sanctum, while Parvati stands in her own south-facing shrine. The halls hold images of the Sapthastana and Panchabhoota lingas, and the temple is one of the few with a separate shrine for Brahma. Kandiyur is also one of the seven temples of the Sapthastanam festival, when glass palanquins carrying the deities of seven shrines converge on the Aiyarappar temple at Tiruvaiyaru.