The incredible sculptures of Katchabeswarar Temple:

Katchabeswarar temple located in Thirukachur village of TamilNadu, India is a Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. As per Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu who was in the form of a tortoise called as ‘Karkada’ in his divine incarnation worshipped Shiva to attain divinity. Based on this story, this place was named as ‘Kascapavoor’, which was later commonly known as Kachoor. Hence the presiding deity got his name as ‘Karchabeswarar’.

This temple was built by the Chola dynasty in as early as the 8th century and was later rebuilt by the Nayak dynasty in the 16th century. The significant aspect of this temple is a 16 pillared hall, in front of the gateway, which bears various sculptures belonging to the 16th century.

An important sculpture of this temple depicts the renowned Tamil poet “Sundarar” being fed by Lord Shiva in a Brahmin disguise and hence thereby earning the name as ‘Virundeeswarar’ (i.e. Feeder).