Innambur Ezhutharinathar Temple
The temple has a five-tiered "rajagopuram", the entrance tower and all the shrines are enclosed in rectangular walls. The temple has four daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8 p.m., and three yearly festivals on its calendar, namely Margazhi Tiruvathirai during the Tamil month of "Margazhi" (December - January), Kodabisheakam during "Chittirai" (April - May) and Aipassi Annabishekam during "Aippassi" (October - November) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Legend. As per Hindu legend, once the accountant Of the  temple was asked to submit the accounts to the king. The accountant did not have the correct accounts during the time and feared punishment from the king. An ardent devotee of Shiva, the accountant prayed to the god to rescue him. Shiva, in the form of the accountant, submitted the accounts. The king was pleased and praised the accountant, who was amused at the events. He later realised that it was divine grace. Since Shiva came down and submitted the accounts, he came to be known as Ezhutharinathar. As per another legend, the presiding deity was worshipped by an elephant . There is also a belief that sage Agastya attained knowledge about grammar after worshipping Ezhutharinathar. The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the northern banks of River Kaveri. Architecture. The temple is located north-west of Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam - Thirupurambiyam road. Ezhutharinathar temple has a rectangular plan with two "prakarams" (outer courtyard) covering an area of and a five-tiered "rajagopuram" (gateway tower) facing East. The central shrine faces east and houses the image of Ezhutharinathar (Shiva) in the form of the "lingam" made of granite and is believed to be a "swayambhu" (self manifested ). There are shrines for Shiva's sons Ganesha (Vinayagar) and Kartikeya (Murugan), on either side of the sanctum entrance. The granite images of Nandi (the bull and vehicle of Shiva), a tall flag staff and a "Balipeeta", the place of offering, axial to the sanctum. As in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct or the walls around the sanctum of Ona Kantheeswarar has images of Dakshinamurthy (Shiva as the Teacher), Durga (warrior-goddess) and Chandikeswarar (a saint and devotee of Shiva). The temple precinct is surrounded by granite walls. Following the legend of the elephant, the roof  over the sanctum is in the form of an elephant, called Gajaprashta Vimana. Worship and religious practises. The temple priests perform the "puja" (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; "Kalasanthi" at 8:00 a.m., "Uchikalam" at 11:30 a.m., "Sayarakshai" at 6:30 p.m and "Arthajamam" at 8:00 p.m.. Each ritual comprises four steps: "abhisheka" (sacred bath), "alangaram" (decoration), "naivethanam" (food offering) and "deepa aradanai" (waving of lamps) for Ezhutharinathar and Nithya Kalyani. There are weekly rituals like ' (Monday) and ' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like "pradosham", and monthly festivals like "amavasai" (new moon  day), "kiruthigai", "pournami" (full moon day) and "sathurthi". Margazhi Tiruvathirai during the Tamil month of "Margazhi" (December - January), Kodabisheakam during "Chittirai" (April - May) and Aipassi Annabishekam during "Aippassi" (October - November) are the three festivals celebrated in the temple. Religious significance. 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 Tirugnanasambandar and Tirunavukkarasar. Tirugnanasambandar describes the feature of the deity as: Tirunavukkarasar describes the feature of the deity as: