Pushpavananathar Temple

Pushpavananathar Temple stands in the village of Tiruppoonturutti, on the Thanjavur road about 5 km south-west of Tiruvaiyaru. Shiva is worshipped here as a lingam, and the temple is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams praised in the Tevaram. Legend says Indra, cursed by the sage Gautama, found relief here by worshipping with flowers, or poo in Tamil, which gave the deity his name. Tradition also holds that the saint Appar did weeding work in the temple, and that the Nandi shifted aside so that Sambandar could see the sanctum from the entrance.

That story explains a rare feature: the Nandi here sits slightly off the line of the sanctum. The complex covers about 2.5 acres behind a five-tiered rajagopuram, and paintings of Appar's life line the first precinct. Sculptures include a seated Appar and Durga balancing on one leg. The temple's festival deity joins the Saptha Sthanam procession of glass palanquins held at Tiruvaiyaru each April.