Udhvaganathar Temple, Thirumanancheri

Udhvaganathar Temple, which also goes by the name Kalyana Sundareswarar Temple, is a Shiva temple at Thirumanancheri, a village of Mayiladuthurai district, one of the temples along the Kaveri. Shiva is worshipped as Udhvaganathar, or Arulvallanathar, in a self-manifested linga, and the goddess as Kokhila. Appar and Sambandar praised it in the Tevaram; first built in brick in their 7th-century time, it seems to have been rebuilt in stone under Parantaka I, and inscriptions of Rajaraja I record a gift by Sembiyan Mahadevi.

Temple tradition holds that Shiva married Parvati here as Kalyana Sundarar, after a long legend in which she was cursed to live as a cow, tended by Vishnu as a cowherd, and finally rose from the sacrificial fire of the sage Bharata; nearby temples are tied to each stage of the story. Devotees come to overcome delays in marriage, wedding rituals are performed every day, and worshippers may take home the garland. A five-tiered rajagopuram leads in, and wall sculptures from Uttama Chola's reign include Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhavar, Bhikshatanamurti, Durga and Kankalamurti.