Periyanayagi Madha Shrine, Avur

Periyanayagi Madha Shrine is a Catholic church at Avur, a village some 28 km from Pudukkottai. The village is the birthplace of the Sangam poet Avur Kizhar, and its name is explained as 'cow village', after the cattle that once grazed by a tank here. The site was granted to the Madurai Mission in 1686, and Father Venantius Bouchet, its first missionary, finished a sturdy chapel in 1697 with help from the Tondaiman ruler. The church was rebuilt in 1747. The building is cross-shaped, 240 feet long and 38 feet wide, with eight columns.

Joseph Beschi, the Italian missionary remembered as a Tamil scholar, served at Avur. In 1716, during fighting between the Nayaks and the Tondaimans, the church was razed, and after Tondaiman soldiers stole bullocks from the Mughal army, Beschi was chained and exposed to the midday sun until the commander, Chanda Sahib, ordered his release and honoured him. A Passion play is staged at Easter, and a car festival in summer draws people of all faiths.