Singamadai Ayyanar Temple, Nalli

Singamadai Ayyanar Temple is in the village of Nalli, about 18 km from Sattur in Virudhunagar district, beside the Singamadai lake. Ayyanar is flanked here by his consorts Purana and Pushkala, with Pechiyamman and a crowd of guardian deities, among them several forms of Karuppasamy.

The founding story tells of a devotee from Srivilliputtur who left home in a drought some 500 years ago, carrying sand from his village shrine. Near Nalli the swollen lake threatened to burst; he set the sand down and went for help, and on his return the water had stopped. A divine voice credited Ayyanar, and the Sevalpatti Zamindar built the temple. The main festival comes three days after Maha Shivaratri in Masi, when Karuppasamy, with Ayyanar's leave, sets out on a ritual hunt and Ayyanar is drawn round the village. Devotees from some 30 villages take part, and women offer pettippazham, coconut and bananas in a leaf box.