Thiruvarur: 55 kms. Known in the olden days as Poonkovil, the sacred Shiva temple here is dedicated to Thyagaraja Swamy. The place is considered as sacred as Chidambaram and Varanasi. It is the practice of this place not to take out the procession image of the Amman deity outside the temple premises as she is called Padi Thandal (one who would not cross the steps). A rare Spatika Linga (crystal Linga) of this temple is worthy of seeing for its beauty The huge chariot of the temple is called Aazhi Ther, which is said to be the biggest in the whole of Tamil Nadu. This chariot with beautiful carvings requires a few thousands of devotees to pull it round the streets. It is worthy to note that the Trinity of the music world, Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastrigal and Muthuswamy Dikshitar were born in this village.