Vilwavaneswarar Temple, Thiruvaikavur

The Vilwavaneswarar Temple, also called the Thiruvaikavur Temple, is a Shiva shrine on the southern bank of the Kollidam, about 8 km north of Kumbakonam. Shiva is worshipped as Vilwaneswarar and Parvati as Valaikai Nayagi. The temple is believed to date from the Chola period of the 7th century, and Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar sang of it in the Tevaram, making it one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams.

Its best-known legend tells of a hunter who, chased up a vilva tree by a tiger, dropped leaves through the night to stay awake. They fell on a lingam below, and as it was Maha Shivaratri he earned Shiva's blessing. When Yama came for him the next day, Dakshinamurthy and Nandi drove death away, and Nandi here faces the entrance as a result. A stucco panel of the story decorates the doorway. A granite wall and a five-tiered gateway tower enclose the shrines, and the second precinct holds images of Vishnu, Bhairava, Surya, Chandra and Shani.