Map showing location of Vaitheeswaran Kovil temple from Sirkazhi bus stand.
Map courtesy by: Google Maps

About the temple: The main deity Vaidyanathar shrine is facing west and the female deity Thaiyal Nayagi's shrine is facing south. In the west prakaram there is a shrine for Aarumugakumarar. In the north prakaram there is a shrine for Bhadrakaliamman. There is also a shrine for Selvamuthukumarar along with his female consorts Valli and Deivaanai. There are shrines in the temple for Veerabhadrar, Annapoorani, Dakshinamurthy, Gajalakshmi, Ashtalakshmi, Natarajar and Durgai.

According to the legend Sri Ramar is said to have cremated Jadaayu at this sthalam as per the bird's last wish.

It is firmly believed that by praying and worshipping at this temple, people are cured from their health problmes. According to the legend, Angarakan (Mars) one of the Navagrahas was suffering from leprosy and he came to this sthalam and prayed God Shiva and was cured of his disease. There is a separate shrine for Angarakan at this Sthalam and the temple at Vaitheeswaran Kovil is considered as one of the Navagraha Sthalams and attracts big crowds every day. Another important Paadal Petra Sthalam Sirkazhi is also located nearby (6 Kms from here).

A long corridor lined with pillars on either side marks the entrance to the Vaitheeswaran Kovil, which is 13 Kms from Mayiladudurai towards Sirkazhi, and 6 Kms from Sirkazhi. The main deity is Vaidyanatha Swamy, who is believed to have arrived as a Vaidyan or healer, in response to the prayers of Angarakan (Mars) to cure him of the leprosy he was suffering from. His consort is Thaiyalnayaki, who accompanies him, with a vessel containing medicinal oil. There is also a shrine to the divine healer, Dhanvantari in this temple. Angarakan resides in this temple, blessing those who come to him, as a bronze idol (Utsava Moorthy), which is taken out in procession mounted on a goat every Tuesday.

The medicine which Shiva is believed to have given to Angarakan is made from the ashes of the homa kundam in front of the Subrahmanya shrine, is called Thiruchaandu urundai, Rituals are performed where a mixture of earth and ashes from the homa kundam are shaped into pills and placed at the Thaiyalnayaki shrine and distributed. This is the main Prasadam in this temple, and is believed to cure every type of illness.

Devotees bring a mixture of rock salt and black pepper and offer it to the lord outside the shrine, praying for their health and well being. It is also a tradition to dissolve Jaggery in the temple pond, which is believed to dissolve any type of congestion - lungs congestion, heart blockage, etc. recently however, this practice seems to have been stopped by the temple authorities, and separate bins have been placed outside the shrine for salt, pepper and jaggery, in order to reduce the pollution of the pond.

It is believed that Rama performed the last rites to Jatayu at this place. Another interesting thing about this temple is that the navagrahas are in a single file, because they are believed to be looking at Vaidyanatha swamy here.