Ukthavedeeswarar Temple, Tiruthuruthi
| Location of the temple | Tiruthuruthi (Now known as Kuththalam) |
| Lord Shiva known as | Ukthavedeeswarar, Vedhasuwarar, Sonnavaararivaar |
| Female deity known as | Mughizhaambikai |
| Pathigam | Tirunaavukarasar, Sambandar |
| How to reach | This sivasthalam temple is located at Kutthalam, 9 Kms from Mayiladuturai towards Kumbakonam. The temple is about 1 Km. from Kutthaalam bus stop. Tiruvelvikkudi, Tiruedirkolpaadi and Tirumananjeri are other paadal petra sivasthalams in the vicinity of Kutthalam. By engaging an auto at Kuththalam, one can visit all the 4 temples viz., Tiruthuruthi, Tiruvelvikudi, Tiruedhirkolpadi and Tirumananjeri easily within half a day. |
| Map courtesy by: Yahoo Maps | |
The place where Parvati grew to adulthood as Bharatha Maharshi’s daughter is within the town of Kuttalam. Kuttalam itself has a number of temples, and this one is known as the Ukthavedeeswarar temple. Very few people know of the name “Thiruthurutthi”, which is the ancient name of the place. The main deities in this temple are Ukthavedeeswarar and Parimala Sugandha Nayaki.
It is believed that Shiva arrived here for the marriage and the couple also departed from this place. The sthala vriksham here is the Kuttalam tree, which is believed to have been brought from Kailas when Shiva arrived for the wedding. Under the tree is a pair of Padukas, believed to be those of Shiva, which he left behind when he left his father-in-law’s place with his wife.
This is a beautiful temple, with exquisite work on the gopurams. While one fa�ade of the gopuram depicted the child Parvati with her foster parents – the rishi and his wife, another depicted the marriage, while another showed various forms of Dakshinamoorthy. There was also one of Parvati praying to a lingam.