திருக்காரவாசல் (திருக்காறாயில்) கண்ணாயிரநாதர் திருக்கோயில்Kannayiranathar Temple, Thirukkaravasal (Thirukkarayil)

Sthala Mahātmyam

Kannayiranathar Temple at Thirukkaravasal (also Thirukkarayil), about thirteen kilometres south of Thiruvarur, is a Paadal Petra Sthalam glorified in the Tevaram of Thirugnana Sambandar. Shiva is worshipped here as Kannayiranathar (Kannayiramudaiyar) with his consort Kailasanayaki. He is also called Netrapureeswarar, for legend holds that he restored sight to a blind girl at the temple's consecration. As one of the Sapta Vidanga Sthalams, its Vidanga deity is Adhi Vidangar, and here Thyagaraja graces the Kukkuda Natanam — a dance imitating the strutting movements of a kukkuta (cock or rooster). The shrine received its Vidanga image within the shared Muchukunda legend, in which Indra's gift of the dancing Shiva idols was distributed among the seven delta temples centred on Thiruvarur. Dating to the Chola period around the ninth century, the temple bears inscriptions attesting to royal patronage. Set amid the fertile Cauvery delta, it remains an integral station on the Sapta Vidanga pilgrimage of the seven dancing shrines of Lord Thyagaraja.