Vaitheeswaran Koil

Vaitheeswaran Koil, in Mayiladuthurai district about two hours from Thanjavur, is the Navagraha temple associated with Mars (Angaraka). Shiva is worshipped here as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran, a name built from vaidya, doctor, and ishvara, god, because he is believed to have come as a physician to heal a devotee named Angahara of leprosy. The shrine was praised by the 7th-century Nayanmar poets and is a Paadal Petra Sthalam; its five inscriptions, mostly from the reign of Kulothunga Chola I, record repairs, building work and gifts.

A five-tiered gopuram and two inner towers lead to the central lingam, which is surrounded by metal images of Subramanya, Nataraja, Somaskanda and Angaraka. The goddess Thaiyalnayaki, believed to cure illness, has her own shrine in the second precinct, and there are smaller shrines to Dhanvantari and to Angaragan near the eastern gate. The Siddhamirtham tank and the temple's neem tree are both thought to heal, and the town is well known for Nadi palm-leaf astrology.