Arasanipalai, a village situated very close to River Cheyyar and about fifteen km from River Palar in Thiruvannamalai District, has a tiny temple for Lakshmi Narayana. This east-facing shrine has only a small, modern archway in front, entering which devotees see a monolithic deepa-stambham (light-post), atop which a lamp used to be lit in times bygone to illuminate the surroundings. A Garuda shrine faces the main sanctum with an image of Lakshmi Narayana Perumal. The deity is seated holding the Sankha and Chakra in the upper hands while the lower right hand is in Abhaya hasta and lower left hand encircles the waist of Goddess Lakshmi who is seated on His left lap. The Utsava-murti (processional image), worshipped as Srinivasa Perumal is flanked by Goddesses Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi (Goddess of the Earth).
The prakaram (enclosure) has sanctums for Goddess Lakshmi known as Padmavati Thayar and Andal, both facing west. There is a modern shrine housing various deities like Dhanvantari (Vishnu as the God of medicine), Hayagriva (manifestation of Vishnu as the bestower of knowledge), Santana Lakshmi (Goddess Lakshmi who blesses devotees with progeny), Ramanujacharya (the important Srivaishnava Acharya or preceptor) and Vedanta Desika, another celebrated Srivaishnava Acharya. Of immense interest in this sanctum is a rare Utsava-murti for Venkatadvari, a Samskrit scholar, who lived in the late 17th century, and hailed from Arasanipalai. He wrote several Champus (a genre of literature which is a combination of verse and prose) such as Visvagunadarshana Champu, Varadabhyudaya or Hastigiri Champu (about Varadaraja Perumal in Kanchipuram), Srinivasavilasa Champu (about the God of Thirumala) and Uttara Champu (which deals with the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana, and was intended to complete King Bhoja’s Champu). Of these, the Visvagunadarshana Champu is incomparable in its originality. In this literary work, two Gandharvas (celestials), named Krishanu and Vishvavasu fly over the earth, commenting on various things, including places of pilgrimage. It serves as a valuable source of information about many historic and sacred sites.
A road perpendicular to the Lakshmi Narayana temple leads to a Rama sanctum which faces west. An unusual and interesting feature here is that Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman are all consecrated in a straight line. Usually in Rama temples, the image of Hanuman is seen standing by the side or sometimes facing Rama. Close to this sanctum is another shrine, with a stone image of Bhakta Hanuman and a Utsava-murti of the same deity with right hand in Abhaya hasta and left hand resting on a gada (mace). A very rare Utsava-muti of Hanuman’s mother Anjana Devi is also in worship here.