Perur Patteeswara Swamy temple is the most popular temple in the city.

Built by the King Karikala Cholan, this temple is situated 7 kms west of Coimbatore near river Noyyal.The presiding deity is Shiva and the 'Swayambu Lingam' is the idol worshipped here. This sanctum is the joint effort of the Chola, Hoysala and V ijayanagara rulers during their reign. The greatest attraction of the temple is the 'Kanaka Saba' or the golden hall which is adorned by a gold plated statue of Nataraja bestowing blessings upon the two sages - Gowmuni and Pattimuni. The go purams and pillars of the hall are exquisitely carved out sculptures highlightin g Dravidian architecture.The significance of Perur temple in earlier days are un folded in the poetic creations of Arunagiri Nather and Kachiappa Munivar. The te mple stands on the banks of the holy river Noyyal called 'Kanchi Manadi' by the locals. Pilgrims from all over visit this spot to pay homage to their ancestors. It is believed that the mortal remains of the dead turn into white stones after about 144 days. The Patteeswarar temple at Perur is the defining landmark of Coimbatores sacred g eography. Offer worship at this ancient shrine of Lord Shiva and receive his div ine grace in abundance. God : pattishvarar Goddess : pachainAyaki Tree : Peepal (Arachu) thiirtham : chakra thIrtham, brahma thIrtham Great saints visited : kAmadhenu, vyAghrapAdar, pada~nchali, parashurAmar, kAlav aR^iShi, sun^dharar, pANdavas, karikARchOzan, kulasekaran, muchukun^dhan, aruNag irinAthar Other names : History: Showering his divine grace to his devotees is Lord Shiva as Patteeswarar along with his consort Godess Pachainayagi in the temple in Perur located near Coimbat ore. The history of the temple goes thus: The divine cow Kamadenu wanted to know the secret of creation and for this she w as asked by Lord Vishnu to pray to Lord Shiva.Following his advice Kamadenu unde r went a penance for several years in the Himalayas but with no avail. One day Saint Naradha came by and told her about a place called 'Dakshina Kailasam' an d asked her to go there and worship Lord Shiva. Kamadenu came to Dakshina Kail asam and performed 'Pal abishegam' everyday and worshiped the divine 'Swayambu L ingam' there which was present in an ant hill. One day Kamadenu's calf - Patti playfully let its leg inside the ant hill and it s leg got stuck in there. Kamadenu tried to free its calf by removing the ant h ill with its horn. From the spot where Patti's leg, Kamadenu's horn had hurt t he Linga, blood gushed out. Seeing this Kamadenu was grieved. Seeing its sorro w, Lord Shiva along with Godess Parvathi gave darshan to her. Till this date on e can find the scar where Patti, Kamadenu had hurt the Lingam. Thus Shiva got t he name Patteeswarar. Lord Shiva told her that this was the place of 'Mukthi' and the secret of birth and creation could not be revealed there. He asked her to go to Thirukkavur t o learn the secret of creation. THE TEMPLE: The Perur Patteeswarar temple was built 2000 years ago by King Karik ala Chola. The sanctum sanctorum of Lord Patteswara is facing the east and be hind him one can find the divine cow Kamadenu. Behind the moolavar the Saptha L ingas and Sahasra Linga ( Thousand Lingas carved in a single Linga) are present. It is said that Lord Shiva performed ecstatic thandava here to fulfill the reque st of Lord Brahma and Vishnu who worshiped him taking the form of Gomuni and Pat timuni. The sanctum sanctorum containing Lord Nataraja is called Kanakasabai. O ne can find exquisite carvings of gigantic pillars which have carved out of a si ngle stone. Stone chains are found hanging in front of the Kanakasabai in the r oof around a many petalled Lotus. The pillars of the Kanakasabai were made from stones taken from Maruthimalai. The carvings were made by a sculptor called Ka mbanachari. On the day of kumbabishega of the temple a young man pointed at the pillar and s aid that it had a flaw. When he was asked to prove it, he ordered that the ent

ire pillar should be smeared with sandal wood paste. The next day, it was found that one particular spot in the pillar was still moist. When that place was br oken a toad was found inside that pillar. Seeing this Kambanachari cut his hand as a punishment to himself for the mistake he had committed. Till today that p illar remains half broken. Significance: This temple gives the boon of Moksha. It is said that when anybody dies around thi s temple they will be freed from the cycle of birth and death. This is signifie d by the tamarind tree in front of the temple and palm tree behind the temple. The tamarind tree signifies no rebirthThis tree yields tamarind only once in many months and even then its seeds when sown do not sprout. The palm tree signifies eternity. This tree has been living for many thousands of years. Salient featu res of this temple: Appar, Sundarar have sung about this temple in their songs. This temple has the most significant Nataraja after Chidhambaram. This is one of the only three places in tamil nadu where the sanctum sanctorum o f Lord Murugan is facing the west direction.( the other two places are Palani an d Thiruvannamalai. Every September ( in the Tamil month of Pankuni) the grand 'Perur Natyanjali' ta kes place here for which dancers all over the world throng to perform. This temple has been renovated recently and many stone pillars have been meshed and varnished to prevent damage. It is located 7 kms away from the city and is said to be built by Karikala Chola n before 1500 years. The temple is dedicated to Lord Patteeswarar and his better half Pachainayaki. Devotees gather during the festive occasions. The Kanagasaba i hall has some exciting sculptures. This is one of the ancient temple. The temp le stands on the banks of the holy river Noyyal called 'Kanchi Manadi' by the lo cals. It is believed that the mortal remains of the dead turn into white stones after about 144 days. Pilgrims from all over visit this spot to pay homage to t heir ancestors. The Perur Patteeswara Swamy temple is the most popular temple in the city. Built by the King Karikala Cholan, this temple is situated 7 kms west of Coimbatore n ear river Noyyal. This sanctum is the joint effort of the Chola, Hoysala and Vi jayanagara rulers during their reign. The greatest attraction of the temple is t he 'Kanaka Saba' or the golden hall which is adorned by a gold plated statue of Nataraja bestowing blessings upon the two sages - Gowmuni and Pattimuni. The gop urams and pillars of the hall are exquisitely carved out sculptures highlighting Dravidian architecture. Referred to as kA~nchivAyp pErUr in sun^dharar thEvAram, pErUr is one of the ver y ancient temple in the Coimbatore region. This is also called western chithamba ram (mElaich chithambaram). This temple gets mentioned in the sha~Nkara bhAShyam written by shrI sha~Nkara bhagavatpAdar. The noyyalARu which was known as kA~nc hi flows to the north of this temple. Long ago it was found that one cow used to pour its milk over an anthill regular ly in the forest. There people found a self manifested li~Ngam. From that time t he worship of the Lord is supposed to have started in this temple. The impressio n of the cows feet and its horn could be found on the shiva li~Ngam. karikARchOz an worshiped here to get rid of the sin of murder here. kulachEkaran got cured o f the lepracy and muchukun^dhan got removed the darkness in his face praying the Lord here. The history of this temple dates back to 1500 years period. And this magnificent temple was built by Karikala Cholan. Perur temples main deity is Pateeswarar and Pachanayaki Amman. The temple architecture here is really wonderful and unique. The hall here with in the temple has rare sculptures and carvings that stand te stimony to splendid work of art. This temple can be reached by road and it is ab out 7 kms from Coimbatore railway station and 10 kms from Gandhipuram. Festivals celebrated at Pateeswarar temple. Every year during March the Panguni Uthram festival is celebrated in a grand manner with thousands of devotees thron ging this shrine to offer their prayers to Lord Pateeswarar.Other important Fest ival are also conducted at this temple with conventional rituals.The annual fest

ival is celebrated in Panguni month.In the Tamil month Karthikai Shankabishekam is conducted in the morning and Annabishekam in the evening. The Patteeswarar temple at Perur is the defining landmark of Coimbatores sacred g eography. One of the best known Shaiva kshetrams of Kongunaadu, the Perur temple is held in great reverence as a Moksha Sthalam a place capable of bestowing moksh a or spiritual freedom to devotees. Shiva here is worshipped as Patteeswarar (beca use he was worshipped by Patti, daughter of the divine cow Kaamadhenu) and Devi as Pachainaayagi Amman or Maragathaambaal. The Kanakasabha mandapam in this temple is a special highlight with a beautiful shrine to Nataraja (panchaloha murti) a nd stunning monolithic sculptures carved in stone. Other important auxiliary dei ties worshipped at Perur include Ganapati, Jnaana Dandaayuthapaani (Murugan), Jn aana Bhairava, Dakshinaamurthy, Surya, Chandra and the Navagrahas, with separate shrines for all of them. The temple has a rich history. The main sanctum is bel ieved to have been built by Karikaala Chola in 500 CE and it was later patronize d by the Chera rulers of Tamilnadu and the Hoysalas of Karnataka. Offer worship at this ancient shrine of Lord Shiva and receive his divine grace in abundance. he Natyanjali (festival of dance) is celebrated with large number of classical d ancers participating in the performance during September every year. Arudra dari sanam is conducted during Margali month with large gathering of devotees offer t heir prayers and to receive the Lords blessings. Temple Timings 6.00 am to 1.00 pm 4.00 pm to 8.30 pm Pooja timings 7.30 to 12.00 noon 7.30 to 8:30 pm Phone 0422- 2607991 Auspicious Occassions in the Temple Chitrai - Tamil New Year Aadi - Pooram and Ammavasai Purattasi - Navarathri Ayppasi - SooraSamharam Karthigai - ThiruKarthigai Margazhi - Aarudra Dharisanam Panguni - Uthram Specialities: naTarAjar deity and many beautiful sculptures The specialities of this holy place are: 1. immortal palm 2. reproductionless tamarind 3. wormfree dung 4. bone becoming stone 5. The dying creatures keeping their right ear upwards MORE ABOUT PERUR The central shrine has references to the 7th and 8th century. While the main hal l is predominantly of the Nayak period (16th century) Symbols and inscriptions represent the Cholas (tiger), Cheras (bow and arrow) an d the Pandyas (fish) periods. The Veerakal symbolises bravery Arjuna performing penance on a needle point deserves special mention Butter drips out of Vennai Krishnan's mouth in another exquisite sculpture Majestic pillars decorate the Kanakasabhai The pillars that surround the idols of Lord Nataraja and Sivakami are inclined, as if to indicate humility. A carving of Nataraja's hair settling down indicates his calm posture after dance. A broken sculpture has a story too. A master craftsman threw his axe on it when his son pointed out a defect in it. A toad crawled out. Sculptors call it kal kul

therai (toad), a defective stone. Megalithic sculptures abound. These structures have marginal or nil error as the y are carved out of a single stone. Location: State : Tamil Nadu District : Coimbatore Situation: A town 6 km west from Coimbatore.