LOCATION
OF THE TEMPLE: Sri Amirtha kadesvarar temple is
located in Thirukadiyur, which is near Mayiladuthurai in Nagappatinam district,
in the state of Tamilnadu, India. It is around twenty kilometers from
Mayiladuthurai. It is situated in the chidambaram- Nagappatinam East Coast
Road.
HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE: There
are a few temples that are well known for the Lord and his Consort and
Tirukkadaiyur is one among them. The Amritaghateswarar - Abirami Temple of
Tirukkadaiyur is associated with the legends of Markandeya and Abirami patter.
When devas and Asuras churned parkadal to get Amirtham , they forgot to Worship
Lord Ganesa (Sri vinayagayar), Lord Ganesa stole the pot of Amirtham and kept
at Thirukadiyur, it is believed that the Sivalingam in this temple is made of
Amirtha Kudam .

Since the pot of Amirtham was hidden here, the lord Ganesa
is called “Kailavarna pilliyar”. Markandeya, son of sage Mrikandu was predicted
to live for only 16 years. As advised by his father, Markandeya worshipped
Amritaghateswarar in Tirukkadaiyur, bringing the water from Ganges through an
underground passage to the temple. On the destined day, Yama appeared with his
noose, kala paasa . Markandeya sought refuge in the Lord and embraced the Siva
Lingam. The Lord warned Yama not to touch Markandeya as he was under his
protection. Yama did not listen and threw the noose that bound Markandeya and
the Lingam together. Angered by this act of rashness, the Lord kicked him with
the left leg and held him under his left foot, making him inactive. Markandeya
was blessed with Ever sixteen . Abirami patter has sung 100 hymns about Goddess
Abirami. This is called Abirami Anthathi. The last word of previous song will
be the first word of the next song. It is known as Andhathi in Tamil poetric
literature.