Arapaleeswarar temple, Kolli Malai
About Arapaleeswarar temple, Kolli Malai
Arapaleeswarar Temple, also known as Arappalli, stands in the Kolli Hills of Namakkal District in Tamil Nadu. The temple is one of the Vaippu Sthalams, sacred shrines celebrated in the devotional hymns of Tamil Saivite saints Gnanasambandar and Appar. The presiding deity, Arapaleeswarar, derives his name from a legend in which devotees accidentally cooked fishes from the temple pond, but the fishes miraculously came to life and jumped back into the water—the deity is thus revered as the one who saved the severed fishes. The main Shivalinga is a swayambumurthy with a distinctive scar on its head caused by a plough strike. The temple's architectural design allows devotees standing at a single spot to view the presiding deity, Mother Thayammai, Lord Vinayaka, and Lord Muruga. The shrine houses additional sanctums for various deities including Kasi Viswanathar, Visalakshi, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Dakshinamurthy, Chandikeswara, Durga, Kalabhairava, and celestial bodies. The temple is estimated to be 500-1000 years old and is situated in an area historically called Valapur Nadu, with connections to the Chera dynasty and the charitable king Valvil Ori.
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