Madhunatha Swamy temple, Elathur, has a separate niche for Lord Saniswarar.
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district is distinct in ways more than one. It has a
separate niche for Saturn (Lord Saniswarar) and devotees can circumambulate the sannidhi and offer their worship.
The shrine is believed to be an ancient one, at least
1,000 years old, as per the sthala puranam entitled
Elanthai puranam.
story on the presiding deity of the temple, Madhunadha Swamy. Sage Agasthya during his visit to the south, created a Lingam out of sand and it chanced to be under the shade of a tamarind tree.
The sage did intense penance under the tree and as
days rolled by suddenly honey started trickling down
from the trunk of the tree to the root, where the Lingam was situated. And the Lord got the name Madhunatha. As the nectar dropped from the leaf (leaf-elai) to the root (root-thur), the place assumed the name, Elathur.
Tamarind is the sthala viruksham. Musicians visit
this shrine and perform a special abishekam with
honey, praying for a sweet voice.
Aram Valartha Nayagi is the Lord’s consort. The
temple has separate niches for deities such as Annapoorani and Muruga. Elathur is nine km from
Thenkasi. There are frequent buses from Thenkasi
and Shencottah.
Request for history
Local devotees, championing the cause of the temple, wish to state that the full version of the sthala puranam is not available.Families of all those connected with the village, Dikshitars and other inhabitants, have migrated.
Those who may have the entire text of Elanthai
(sthala) puranam may contact
G. Nataraja Perumal,
1/2/12, East Street, Elathur-
627 803, Tamil Nadu, email:
natarajgreen@hotmail.com
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