Pushpavananathar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in the village of Tiruppoonturutti near Tiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Aiyarappar, and is represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Soundaranayagi. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil poet saints known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
There are many inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from Cholas, Thanjavur Nayaks and Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. The oldest parts of the present masonry structure were built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions, including the towering gopuram gatehouses, are attributed to later periods, up to the Thanjavur Nayaks during the 16th century.
The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Pushpavananathar and Soundaranayagi being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls and three precincts; the most notable is the second precinct built during the Vijayanagar period that has many sculptures. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple is maintained and administered by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Thiruvalampozhil Shiva Temple, another Padal petra sthalm is located nearby in the same village.
Legend
The temple is believed to be the place where Thirunavukkarasar (also called Appar), the Saivite saint from the 7th century is believed to have performed extensive weeding work in the temple. The temple is also the place where the other Saivite saint Sambandar is believed to have stopped at the entrance and the Nandi moved a little to allow him the view of the sanctum. The place is also believed to be the place where Appar shouldered the palanquin of Sambandar. As per Hindu legend, Indra was cursed by sage Gautama to have thousand moles in his body to make him ugly for his bad desires. Indra was passing through many places for relief, but when he reached the place, he started performing worship with flowers (called poo in Tamil). The presiding deity thus came to be known as Pushpavananthar. As per the regional view, a holy place lying between two rivers is called Thurthi. It is one such place, with the other Thuruthi located near Mayiladuthurai
Architecture
The temple is located 5 km south-west of Tiruvaiyaru on the Thanjavur Tiruvayyaru road. The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram the gateway tower. The Panchamurthi mandapa is found in the first precinct and the Vasantha Mandapa is found in the second entrance. The first precinct has paintings of the life of sage Appar. There are various unique sculptures in the temple like Appar in seated posture, Panruti Katava Nambi and Durga standing in one leg to atone the killing of Mahishasura. The temple occupies an area of around . The central shrine houses the image of Pushpavananthar in the form of Lingam facing east. Unlike other temples, where the Nandi is located axial to and facing the sanctum, in this temple the Nandi is located slightly out of axis. The central shrine is approached through the flagstaff and Mahamandapam, both which are located axial to the gateway. The shrine of Valambigai, the consort of Shiva facing West is located in the Mahamandapam leading to the sanctum. As in other Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, the shrines of Vinayaka, Murugan, Navagraha, Chandikesa and Durga are located around the precinct of the main shrine. There is a hall of Nataraja near the sanctum. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.