Sahasralakshmeeswarar Temple, Theeyathur

Sahasralakshmeeswarar Temple is a Shiva temple at Theeyathur, also called Theeyathur Vadakottai, in Pudukkottai district. The god is Sahasralakshmeeswarar and the goddess Periyanayaki, and Surya and Agni are said to have worshipped here.

The legend begins with Vishnu, who found himself one flower short while offering a thousand lotuses to Shiva and was about to give one of his own eyes instead when Shiva stopped him. Hearing of this, Lakshmi wished to see Shiva too, and on the sage Agastya's advice she made her own offering of a thousand flowers at this spot. Pleased, Shiva appeared to her and stayed on for his devotees, taking the name Sahasralakshmeeswarar. Believers also hold that Viswakarma and three sages, all born under the Uthirattadhi star, perform an unseen fire ritual here on that star each month. Subsidiary shrines include Brahma, Dakshinamurti, Lingothbavar, Vancha Ganapathy, Subramanian with his consorts, the Navagrahas and Bhairava.