Then Shiva took the form of a Hunter and split opened the pot with his arrow. Eventually when the pralayam stopped, the pot settled in Kumbakonam (got its name since the Kumbham settled here). The flood water level rose so high that it got the pot kept in Kailash floating for years. When the Brahma pralayam started, it killed all living creatures on the earth. Lord Shiva arranged to put the sample of seeds of living organisms in a pot (Kumbham or Kudam) filled with amirtham (nectar) and keep it atop Kailash (as a backup in safe vault!). There will be plenty of more temples which I don’t know / didn’t list out and as usual, readers may please comment with some useful unlisted information and corrections for the sake of everyone.Īt the end of every yuga, the destruction of all the living beings in the earth through flood takes place and this is called Pralayam. So many months back I made a start and completed the list of temples around Kumbakonam only now (still I am working on the directory within city). Only if more people start to visit these areas, these temples will get some refresh. Many of the temples are in good conditions and many without even oil for lamp. There are specialised temples for every known human problems of today. When I started making a directory of temples in and around Kumbakonam I knew it’s like disturbing the hornets nest but then I wanted to do it desperately since people visit Kumbakonam only for the Navagraha temples and a few other important temples in and around, whereas the region holds most sacred temples for every half km on an average.