Historical Period17c CE
9th–17th c. CE (Pandya + Nayak)
📷 Theni.M.Subramani · [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) · source
Deities
Nellai-appar
Nellai-appar of Tirunelveli — the paddy-field Shiva
Nellai-appar of Tirunelveli — the paddy-field Shiva
Paadal Petra Sthalangal are Shiva temples sung in the hymns of the 3 Tevaram saints — Tirugnana Sambandar, Tirunavukkaracar (Appar), and Sundaramurti (Sundarar). Composed 7th–9th c. CE, the Tevaram is the sacred geography of Tamil Shaivism and foundational to the Shaiva-Siddhanta philosophy.
A devotee planted paddy near the temple; rains threatened the harvest; Shiva himself created a hedge of Bilva trees to shelter the field. Hence Nellai-appar (father of the paddy). The temple is one of the Pancha-sabhai (5 dance-halls of Nataraja) — Thamira-sabhai.
Daily 5-fold puja (ushat-kalam at dawn, kala-santi 6 AM, ucchikalam noon, sayaraksha dusk, ardha-jama 9 PM). Principal offerings: jala-abhisheka, panchamrita (milk/curd/ghee/honey/jaggery), vibhuti, bilva leaves.
Every Paadal Petra's sanctity rests on WHICH saint sang of it and HOW MANY pasurams. Tamil Shaiva tradition treats the Tevaram as Dravida Veda — equivalent in holiness to the Sanskrit Vedas.
