Historical Period11c CE
9th–11th c. CE (Chola)
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Deities
Swetaranyeswarar — white-forest Shiva; Budha parihara
Swetaranyeswarar — Budha's remission temple
Swetaranyeswarar — Budha's remission temple
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.
One of the 9 Navagraha temples, for Budha (Mercury). Shiva here killed the fierce Meeyalakan demon with his Aghora-murti form, one of the 5-faced Shiva forms.
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.
