page_title: Agastheeswar Temple
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Agastheeswar Temple / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Agastianpalli temple அகத்தியான்பள்ளிகோயில்
context_page_description: Agastheeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, located in the town of Agathiyampalli, Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The temple is locally called Agasthiyar Kovil.
  It has several inscriptions dating back to the medieval Chola and later Pandya period. The temple has six daily rituals at various times and three yearly festivals. The temple has several shrines with that of Agastiswara and his consort Pakampiriyal Nayagi being the most prominent. The annual Brahmotsavam is attended by thousands of devotees from far and near.
context_section_description: The recorded history of Agasthiyanpalli and the regions around it is found from the inscriptions in Agastheeswarar Temple and the Vedaranyeswarar Temple. The inscriptions date from the reign of Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012–1044 CE) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE) indicating various grants to the temple.
  Agasthiyanpalli continued to be a part of the Chola Empire and the Chola region emerged as a centre of Saivism during the reign of Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE). After the fall of Cholas during the reign of Rajendra Chola II in the 13th century CE, the erstwhile Chola region was caught under a power struggle between Pandyas and Hoysalas. The royal patronage continued to the temple during the rule of the Nayaks.  The inscriptions from the Pandya king Kulacekarn (1268 - 1309) indicates that he was cured off his ailments after praying at the temple. He constituted a festival at Vedaranyeswarar temple to commemorate the event.
caption: Vimana of the presiding deity
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