Pillaiyarpatti

Pillaiyarpatti: The best known of the Nagarathar clan temples, Pillaiyarpatti, about 12 kms from Karaikudi on the road to Madurai. It attracts visitors in large numbers from all parts of India and abroad. The Karpaga Vinayagar here is a huge bas-relief in a cave hewn out of a hillock and is a splendid example of the art of the South India sculptor. The tall sculpture is more than 6 feet tall and dates back to the 5th Century A.D. The Rajagopuram is on the eastern entrance and rises in five storeys. The temple is rich in stone and terracotta sculptures. There are 30 bronzes in the temple that date from the 10th century. The main deities here are Karpaga Vinayagar, Lord Thiruveswarar and his consort Sivagami. Mathur: The Mathur temple is a little over 5 kms from Karaikudi, that can be reached not long after passing Iluppakudi. Burial urns found in the vicinity indicate that there were settlements here more than 1500 years ago. The temple is rich with sculptures, and there is a unique piece at the entrance to the mahamandapam, where the steps, the two flanking elephants and the pedestals for the two doorkeepers have all been hewn from one stone. The nearly 70-foot tall rajagopuram here has been constructed in five storeys. The vizha mandapam or the festival hall in front of the rajagopuram or the main tower, at the entrance was built in 1949 and can seat 500 persons within the hall and another 500 around it. The main deity here is Lord Ainootheswarar and his consort Periyanayaki.