Kannudaya nayagi- Nattarasan kottai, sivaganga

Kannudaya Nayagi - the guardian deity of the eyes. She protects the eyes of her devotees. It is not surprising to find devotees praying here to cure their eye ailments. This temple is set amidst a tiny hamlet in Nattarasan Kottai near Sivaganga in Tamilnadu. The Goddess here is very powerful and  a  swaymbhu moorthy (self manifested) The granite idol is always  decked up with jewels and silk and flowers. This temple is also known as Kananthal temple; very ancient believed to have been built in the 18th century. 

Utsavar ,Goddesss Parasakthi  is seen here with 8 hands.

Devotees offer eyes made of silver metal ( flat eye shapes are cast in metal) to the deity  and seek blessing from her.  Devotees also offer salt to deity to ward off skin and stomach ailments.  Temple gets crowded during Navarathri.

The temple mandapam is huge and has a beautiful  water tank in front - this is a very common feature in all temples in Sivaganga district. Vinayaka shrine is very near to the pond.

A few miles away from the temple lies the famous Kalayar Koil. Shall write about it in my next post.

  Great Tamil poet Kambar who translated Ramayana into Tamil is laid to rest in this town and the tomb is just a few meters from the temple click here to see pictures.

I also found local women selling handmade eco friendly, colurful items just outside the temple. Got a couple of those as souvenir. Thought I should share what I captured. These colorful items are made of palm leaf and reed and coloured using natural dyes.
Pictures of temple here in this link.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNUjMbszPMTn3MK2GHZdzFTe2QRbbGliJD60uc6?key=CNSoyaenvI_4Eg

Nattarasan kottai -51 kms from Madurai.

temple timing 6 am- 1pm

4.30 pm -8.30 pm.