Brief
History
: The temple is situated on the eastern coast. It is
a huge structure with three parakaramsand several mandapams
with mini shrines to other deities. There is a huge
Anjaneya in a mini shrine. There is a huge Nandi measuring
12 feet in length and 9 feet in height., with the idols
of Viswanatha Naicker and Krishnama Naicker. The lingams
are housed in the inner section of the Ramalingeshwara.
High walls enclose the temple, forming a rectangle with
huge pyramidal gopura entrances on each side. The gateways
lead to the spacious closed ambulatory, flanked to either
side by continuous platforms with massive pillers set
on their edges. These corridors are the most famous
attribute of the temple, their extreme - 205 metres,
with 1212 pillars on the north and south sides - giving
a remarkable impression of receding perspective. Delicate
scrollwork and brackets of pendant lotuses supported
by yalis, mythical lion-like beasts, adorn the pillars.
There are shrines for Ganapathi and Subramanya. To the
right of the Lords shrine is the shrine for Parvathi.
To its North is the Kasi Viswanathars shrine.