Thiruvur, in Thiruvallur District, is home to a Siva temple where this deity is worshipped as Singandishwarar (Shringandishwarar). It is an ancient village which was once called Turugur, as revealed by a 13th-century Chola inscription found in this temple. It was a part of a place called Perumulaiyur alias Ulagalanda Chola Chaturvedimangalam, a subdivision of Ikkattu Kottam. The name Ulagalanda Chola Chaturvedimangalam is after the title `Ulagalanda Chola’, which, according to scholars, could have been a title of Rajadhiraja Chola I (1018-1054 CE) as perhaps a land-survey was undertaken in his reign. The Singandishwarar temple was, till recent times, in a dilapidated state as photographs inside the temple indicate. Due to the efforts of a few devotees, this temple has been rebuilt and regular worship is now conducted.
According to the Sthala Puranam (traditional story associated with this temple), Sage Rishyashringa, who is mentioned in the Ramayanam of Maharishi Valmiki, worshipped God Siva here and hence the name Shringandishwarar (Singandishwarar). It is interesting to note that a 13th-century epigraph belonging to the reign of Vijaya Gandagopala, a chieftain of the Telugu Choda dynasty, mentions the name of the deity as Rishyashringishvaram Udaiya Nayanar, while a 16th-century Vijayanagara inscription refers to Siva here as Singishvaram Udaiya Nayinar. The stone base of the gopuram features a well-carved sculpture of Rishyashringa, with the face of a deer, while an image of this rishi is located in the mandapa near the main sanctum.
The entrance to the Singandishwarar temple, with a majestic gopuram, is on the south and leads to a wide open prakaram (enclosure). Two mandapas with pillars featuring numerous sculptures in the Vijayanagara style are located in front of the south-facing sanctum of Goddess Parvati, known as Utphalamba. Close by is the principal shrine for Singandishwarar, with an inner prakaram running around it. This east-facing sanctum has devakoshtas (niches on the outer walls) for Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavamurti, Brahma and Durga. The Nandi, dvajastambham, and bali-pitham are on the east in the outer prakaram. Sanctums for Ganesha, Subramnaya, Surya, Chandra, and other deities are also seen here.
There are a few inscriptions in this temple, one among which, as mentioned earlier, belongs to Vijaya Gandagopala and is dated 1268 CE. There are several epigraphs of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya (1251-1268 CE), whose capital was Madurai and whose extensive empire extended from Kanyakumari to Nellore. A few Vijayanagara era epigraphs of the reigns of Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529 CE), and Venkatapati Raya (1586-1614 CE) are also here.
The Sthala Vriksham, as in many other Siva temples, is the Vivam. The temple tank is situated a few metres away from the temple. On the other side of the road is a shrine for Vishnu, which is in a very ruined condition. A Vijayanagara inscription in the Singandishwarar temple refers to this Vishnu as Kariya Manikka Perumal, the same name as it is called today.
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Thiruvur is approximately 40 km from Chennai and 8 km from Thiruvallur.