The Shiva temple located in Tiruppanankattur is oriented towards the east and lacks a Rajagopuram at its main entrance, which leads into a prakaram that contains the Dwajasthambam, balipeetam, and Nandi. Opposite the main entrance stands another gateway, crowned with a three-tiered gopuram, which provides access to the sannidhi of Krupanatheswarar. To the left of the initial set of Dwajasthambam, balipeetam, and Nandi, there exists a second, identical arrangement. An opening in the inner wall of the temple is positioned across from this second set. Adjacent to the Krupanatheswarar sannidhi, the sannidhi of Thalapureeswarar can be seen through the aforementioned aperture. Both deities within the temple are oriented eastward, and the vimanam above is crafted to mimic the rear of an elephant, referred to as Gajaprushtam. The presence of two male deities is complemented by two female deities within the temple.
During the divine union of Shiva and Parvathy at Kailash, the collective presence of the attendees disrupted the Earth's equilibrium in the North-South axis. To rectify this imbalance, Shiva directed Sage Agasthya to journey southward. Following this command, Sage Agasthya traveled south and on his way, he established a Shiva Linga, which now blesses devotees as Thalapureeswarar. Flanking the entrance to the sanctum are stone sculptures of Sage Agasthya and a palm tree. The goshta images within the sanctum feature Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbhava, Brahma, and Goddess Durga, while there is no dedicated shrine for Chandeshwarar..
See also:- Places visited by Sage Agasthya in his journey to south - 1) Kutralam, 2) Tirukallil, 3) Tiruvotriyur, 4) Tiruverkaadu, 5) Tiruvanmiyur, 6) Achirupakkam
Pulasthyar, a disciple of Sage Agasthya, established a Shiva Linga named Krupanatheshwarar adjacent to Thalapureeshwar during his visit to the site. The entrance to this sanctum is adorned with stone sculptures of Sage Pulasthya and a palm tree. Within the sanctum, Goshta images feature Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, and Brahma, while Chandeshwarar is depicted with a dedicated 'Vimanam' above. Notably, Dakshinamurthy is represented with a bent right leg, a folded left leg, and hands in 'chinmudra' (a hand gesture). Thalapureeswarar, also referred to as Panankatteeswarar and consecrated by Sage Agasthya, is given primary importance in the temple. Rituals are first performed to the 'Linga' consecrated by the 'guru' Agasthya, followed by the 'Linga' consecrated by the 'shishya' Pulasthyar. The deity mentioned in Thevaram is Panankatteeswarar.
The sacredness of the Palm tree and its association with the deity Thalapureeshwar is attributed to Sage Agasthya offering Palm fruit in his worship. This has led to the deity being known as Panankatteeswarar, which translates to 'forest of palms'. Inscriptions discovered in the temple warn that those who harm or cut down living palm trees will face negative consequences or Dosha.. The two main palm trees, are located outside the temple at the back of 'kottai Muneeswarar' Temple.
This is one of the five temples which have the palm as their associated sacred tree. The other four are (1) Tirupananthal, (2) Tirupanayur, (3) Tiruvothur, (4) Puravar Panankattur.
The complimenting female deities Amirthavalli and Krupanayaki are in their own dedicated sanctums, which are surrounded by its own prakaram. Additionally, the circumambulating path around the sannidhi of the female deities feature sannidhis for Bhairavar and Chandra.
The Mandap of this temple features exquisite and rare stone sculptures adorning its pillars. Notable examples include a NagaLinga sculpture positioned on a pillar opposite the sannidhi of Amirthavalli, a depiction of Ram located on a pillar just outside the inner entrance, and a representation of Vali and Sugreev engaged in combat on a pillar across from the sannidhi of Krupanatheshwarar. The arrangement of these pillars facilitates a direct line of sight from the pillar of Ram to that of Vali and Sugreev, while the pillar of Ram itself is obscured from view by the pillar depicting Vali and Sugreev.
Sculpture of NagaLinga
The pathikam rendered by Sundarar is in 7'th Tirumurai.
Temple entrance
Sthambam, Peetam and Nandi
Gajaprushta Vimanam
Twin Dwajasthambam
63 Nayanmars
Dakshinamurthy
Amirthavalli sannidhi
Kripanatheswarar sannidhi
Thalapureeswarar sannidhi
Battle of Vali, Sugreev
Ram - Scupture on pillar