The structural temple constructed in the time of Rajaraja Chola : Srinivasan A TO Z INDIA JULY 2022 PAGE 24 Sthala puranam and temple information : In recent times, Udaiyalur has gained prominence as possibly the final resting place of the great Chola king Rajaraja Chola. Flanking the very-well-maintained Agraharam of Udaiyalur village are two temples – a Perumal temple, and this temple for Siva as Kailasanathar. There are also two other temples for Palkulathi Amman and Selvi Makali Amman, both of which are regarded as grama-devatas – guardian deitie s protecting the village. In addition, there is a separate Siva Lingam amidst the fields, which is said to be the final resting place of Rajaraja Chola. Some people, however, regard this Kailasanathar temple as the mausoleum of Rajaraja Chola. In earlier times, this place had the name Sri Kangeyapuram. Udaiyalur gets is name from Ulagamuzhuthudayal, one of Rajaraja Chola’s queens, to whom he gifted the tem ple. As a result, the place came to be called Ulagamuzhuthudayal-ur (town of Ulagamuzhuthudayal), and later, simply Udaiyalur. Once in Kailasam, Siva was imparting Brahma Tatvam to Parvati in private. Murugan, then a child, happened to barge into their chambers, and had to be punished for his offence. So, Siva asked Murugan to Sri Kangeyapuram and worship Him. While Murugan was engaged in penance, he heard a celestial voice Lord Murugan was punished for having intruded on a private conversation between Shiva and Parvati, and performed penance here. Later, a king affected by leprosy bathed in the tank created by Murugan, and after it was filled with milk by Kamadhenu, his disease was cured. But the most interesting aspects of this place are almost entirely attributable to Rajaraja Chola, who also built t his temple. What are these fascinating aspects, including a heavily disputed theory about the great king’s end? Read here: Kailasanathar Temple, Udaiyalur, Thanjavur telling him to use his spear to dig a temple tank, which was promptly done (and is hence called Kumara Teertham). Murugan took a bath in the tank and was relieved of his curse. Later, Ajamaharaja who was ruling this region, was affected by le prosy. He approached Sage Vasishtha for a cure, and the latter told the king to take a bath in the temple’s tank created by Murugan, and then worship Kailasanathar here. As he was doing so, the king heard a celestial voice, asking him to worship Kamadhenu. He did so, and Kamadhenu materialised immediately, and began filling up the tank with her milk (and ever since then, this pond has also been called Paal- Kulam, meaning pond of milk). The king bathed in the milk, and then worshipped Kailasanathar, which relieved him of his disease. The structural temple was constructed in the time of Rajaraja Chola, dating back to the late 10th or early 11th century. Ulagamuzhuthudayal provided grants of her own, for the upkeep of the temple and to ensure regular pujas. There seem to have been some later improvements underta ken during the Nayak period. In Chola times, this place was called Arumozhideva Valanattu Sivapadasekara Mangalam, and the deity here was called Sivapadasekara Easwaramudaiyar. Given the many connections with Rajaraja Chola, his birth star – Sadayam – is celebrated with