Thiruverumbur

Thiruverumbur - Erumbeeswarer Temple 

It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva. Built on a 60-foot (18 m) tall hill, it is accessible via a flight of steps. The temple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam,  and it is counted as the seventh in the list of temples in the southern banks of river Kauvery.

Shiva is believed to have transformed himself into an ant hill and tilted his head at this place to enable ants to climb up and worship him. Erumbeeswarar is revered in the canonical 7th-century Tamil Saiva work the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The temple's main shrines and its two prakarams (outer courtyards) are on top of the hill, while a hall and the temple tank are located at the foothills. 

Thiruverumbur – Sri Erumbeeswarer Temple
Main Deity	Lord Shiva
Name	Sri Erumbeeswarar
Goddess Name	Sri Narunguzhal Nayagi Amman
Location	Thiruverumbur  (Trichy – Tanjore Road)
Significance	Paadal Petra Sthalam Kaverikarai Sivasthalam Malaikovil
Ancient	Built by Aditya Chola
Travel Base	Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Near By	Tiruchirappalli, BHEL

According to Hindu legend, there lived a demon (asura) Tharukasuran, who conquered Prithvi (earth) and Svarga (heaven). Indra, the leader of celestial deities and other gods suffered at the hands of Tharukasuran and sought the help of the creator-god Brahma, who asked them to worship Shiva in Thiruverumbur. In order to deceive Tharukasuran, the devas transformed into ants and reached the temple. Since the surface of the lingam (an iconic form of Shiva) was slippery, the ants found it difficult to climb up and worship. Shiva transformed himself into an ant hill and slid his head, which enabled the ants to climb and worship. Hence the name Erumbeeswarar is derived from Erumbu meaning ant and Easwaran referring to Shiva. 

This is one of the three places where Shiva slid his head for his worshippers, the other two being the temples at Virinjipuram and Thiruppanandal. The temple is also referred as Rathinakoodam, Thirverumbipuram, Erumbeesam, Brahmapuram, Laskhmipuram, Madhuvanam, Rathnakoodapuram, Manikoodapuram and Kumarapuram in various religious literature.

The temple is one in a series built by Aditya Chola (871-907 CE) along the banks of river Cauvery, to commemorate his victory in the Tirupurambiyam Battle. It has several inscriptions from the Chola Empire dating back to the 10th century. The temple has been declared a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India and is locally referred as "Kailash of South India". The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 am to 8:00 pm, and three yearly festivals in its calendar.

Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Erumbeeswarar by circumambulating the hill barefoot in a practise called girivalam. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. This Temple has been declared as Ancient monuments by ASI, Archaeological survey of India.

How To Reach :

Thiruverumbur - Erumbeeswarer Temple

Malaikoil, Thiruverumbur,

Tamil Nadu 620013, India