The Nilgiris district (Tamil Nadu) is home to many tourist spots and spiritual places that attract visitors. One such place is the Dakshinamurthy Thirumadalayam, located in the Kanthal area near Ooty. This temple is a part of the Thirumadalaya complex and falls under the control of the Hindu Religious Charities Department, specifically the Visalakshi Amman Udanurai Kashi Vishwanath Sami Temple. Within this temple, there is a special Siddhar Peedam, which is famous for being a place where many Siddhars (The Siddhar in Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called siddhi) performed penance in the past. The Siddhar Peedam was constructed in their honour and remains a significant site. Siddha medicine was historically practised here and continues to be followed to this day.
Additionally, the temple houses a separate shrine for Balathandayuthapani, with the Dakshinamurthy Temple located nearby. Notably, during a period when only men were abbots, a woman named Mancha Ammaiyar served as the abbess of this monastery.
Saravanan highlighted the temple’s significance, stating that the Shiva idol here is revered similarly to the Panalingam bearing the Poonal in nature. Visalakshi Ambal is seated to the left of Thirumal. The temple is also known as Nalvar Sannathi in the Nilgiris district and features nine continuously burning torches known as Navajothis. Additionally, Lord Saturn, one of the Navagrahas, is enshrined separately within this temple.
Gangadevi Vinayagar, Anjaneya, and Ayyappan, as Parivar deities, each have their own separate shrines in this temple. The current abbot is Perur Adhinam Tavathiru Marudachal Adikalar.
Devotee Kumararajan shared his thoughts with local 18 on the temple’s uniqueness, stating, “I have lived in this area my entire life and have been visiting this temple since childhood. Various movies are shot here, and there are records that Mahatma Gandhi visited this temple.”
Another devotee Ravichandran, mentioned, “I have been visiting this temple regularly for 20 years. About 200 years ago, many Siddhas lived in this Nilgiris area, particularly in the Kanthal region. Although we can’t travel to Kashi in North India, we can experience similar blessings by visiting Kanthal Tulsi Math. I encourage devotees to come here and seek the blessings of the Siddhas.”
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