Nadutariappar Temple, Kanrappur

Nadutariappar Temple is a Shiva temple at Kanrappur near Tiruvarur, about 9 km from Thiruthuraipoondi on the road between the two towns. Shiva is worshipped here as Nadutariappar and his consort as Srivalli Nayagi. Appar praised the deity in ten Tevaram verses, which makes the temple a Paadal Petra Sthalam, and Hidimba is believed to have worshipped Shiva here.

Legend tells of a Shaiva girl married into a Vaishnava family who prayed in secret. When her husband threw her lingam into a well, she began to worship the wedge used to tether calves; as he raised an axe to split it, Shiva emerged from the wedge and blessed the couple. The name Kanrappur comes from kanra, the Tamil word for this wedge, and the lingam in the sanctum shows an axe mark on top. The oldest parts of the building are 11th-century Chola work, and the complex covers close to 2 acres within granite walls. Vaikasi Visagam, held for three days in May–June, is the main festival.