வேதாரண்யம் (திருமறைக்காடு) வேதாரண்யேஸ்வரர் திருக்கோயில்Vedaranyeswarar Temple, Vedaranyam (Thirumaraikkadu)

Sthala Mahātmyam

Vedaranyeswarar Temple at Vedaranyam — anciently Thirumaraikkadu, 'the forest of the Vedas' — is a celebrated Paadal Petra Sthalam sung in the Tevaram. Legend holds that the four Vedas worshipped Shiva here, giving the town its name, and that Rama came to absolve himself of sins incurred in the war against Ravana. Shiva is worshipped as Vedaranyeswarar with his consort Vedanayaki. Famous lore recalls how the saints Appar and Sambandar sang to open and to close the temple doors that the Vedas had sealed. As one of the Sapta Vidanga Sthalams, its Vidanga deity is Bhuvani Vidangar, and here Thyagaraja grants the Hamsapada Natanam — a dance moving with the graceful gait of a hamsa (swan). The shrine received one of the seven dancing Vidanga images within the Muchukunda legend centred at Thiruvarur. The chief celebration is the ten-day Masi Magam Brahmotsavam; twin car festivals fall in Aadi (with Aadi Pooram) and Thai (aligned with Thai Amavasya), drawing large gatherings of pilgrims.