Karaikal Ammaiyar Temple, Karaikal – The Temple

Karaikal Ammaiyar Temple, Karaikal – The Temple

Karaikal Ammaiyar Temple is located at Bharathiyar street at the heart of Karaikal Town. The east facing temple has three-tiered Raja Gopuram. The temple has two entrances, one for Karaikal Ammaiyar and another for Lord Shiva's shrine. The sanctum enshrines Karaikal Ammaiyar (Punithavathi). She is found in the standing posture holding serving ladle. The walls of her shrine have paintings depicting her life. There is a separate shrine for Ganesha near Karaikal Ammaiyar shrine.

Although this temple is called as Karaikal Ammaiyar temple, the main section of the temple enshrines Lord Shiva. The east facing sanctum enshrines Shiva Linga called as Somanathar. In the Maha mandapam, the south facing shrine for the Goddess Soma Nayaki is found. The Speciality of this temple is, the goddess is very powerful and clears any problems related to marriage.

The flag staff, bali peetha and Nandi mandapam are situated facing towards the shrine of Lord Shiva. The wall around the shrine of Shiva has the niche images of Ganesha, Dakshina Murti, Lingodhbava, Brahma and Durga. Lord Vinayaka is called as Sambandha Vinayaka. 

The temple tank which is very well maintained along with the park around the tank enhances the serenity of this locality. The sub-shrines and idols of Nataraja-Sivakami, Ganesha, Subramanya-Valli-Devasena, Bhairava, Gaja Lakshmi, Surya, Chandra, Chandikeswara, Aadipura Amman and Saneeswara are also found in the temple.