Kaayaaroganeswarar Temple, Nagaikaaronam (Nagapattinam)
| Location of the temple | Nagaikaaronam (Nagapattinam) |
| Lord Shiva known as | Kaayaaroganeswarar, Adhipuraaneswarar |
| Female deity known as | Karuntadankanni, Neelaayadaakshi |
| Pathigam | Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar, Sundarar |
| How to reach | This sivasthalam temple is located in Nagapattinam town. A Divya Desam shrine of Lord Vishnu is also located at Nagapattinam in the vicinity of Shiva temple. |
Nagapattinam Kayarohanaswamy temple is one of the sapthavitanga sthalams. It is better known as the temple of Neelayadakshi. The main deity in this temple is Kayarohanaswamy. It is believed that the lord blessed his devotee Sage Pundari to attain moksha with his body. The rishi also asked for moksha for his descendants, and till this date, when anyone from the sage’s family passes away, the body is brought to the temple gate, where the lord’s clothes and garlands are brought to adorn the body, thus blessing it.
The goddess here is Neelayadakshi. Neelayadakshi means the one with the blue eyes. She is in the form of a pubescent girl, and is believed to be one of the Shakti Peetams. She is also considered to be one among the five most important goddesses, all in different stages of life. These are – Visalakshi (Kashi – Child), Kamakshi (Kanchi – young girl), Neelayadakshi (Nagai – pubescent), Kamalambigai (Thiruvarur – young woman) and Meenakshi (Madurai – married woman).
The Vidangar in this temple is the Sundara Vidangar and the Abhishekam is performed at 9 AM and 8 PM everyday. However, this one is not one of the original lingams, which was stolen ages ago, and recently replaced by a Gomedakam lingam.