page_title: Vilwanatheswarar temple
section_title: Religious importance
hierarchical_section_title: Vilwanatheswarar temple / Religious importance
caption_attribution_description: English: Thiruvalam temple
context_page_description: Vilwanatheswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Thiruvalam, a village in Vellore district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped as Vilwanatheswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Vallambigai. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
  The temple complex covers around one acre and entered through a five tiered gopuram, the main gateway. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Vilwanatheswarar and his consorts Vallambigai, being the most prominent. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls.
  The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. The Brahmotsavam festival is celebrated during the month of the Magam is the most prominent festival.
  The original complex is believed to have been built by Cholas, while the present masonry structure was built during the Nayak during the 16th century.
context_section_description: It is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanars Sundarar. The temple houses the samadhi of Sanakar, the disciple of Dakshinamoorthy in front of the image of Shiva. The temple is also the place where Sivananda Mouna Guru Swamigal was doing penance.
caption: Image of shrine of the temple
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