Pushpavaneswarar Temple, Thirupuvanam

Pushpavaneswarar Temple, also called Poovananathar temple, is a Shiva temple in Thirupuvanam in Sivaganga district, on the banks of the Vaigai. Shiva is worshipped as Pushpavaneswarar and the goddess as Soundaranayagi. The temple is believed to date from the Chola period, and it is a Paadal Petra Sthalam: Sambandar and Appar each sang ten verses to the deity in the Tevaram. The lingam is believed to be self-manifested.

The temple is counted as one of the 64 places of Shiva's Thiruvilayadal, his divine plays. In the story, a devoted dancer named Ponanaial longed to make a golden image of Shiva but had no money, so Shiva came as a metal-worker named Rasavathi who turned iron, bronze and other metals into gold for her. Taken with the finished idol, she pinched its cheek, and a mark on the image is believed to be from that. A granite wall with a seven-tiered rajagopuram encloses the shrines. Festivals include Vaikasi Visakam, Navaratri and the Aipasi Kolattam festival.