Sri Kokilambigai Vudanurai Sri Thirukameswarar Temple

It’s a beautiful ancient temple located in the city and lot of other temples close by this. It has large pond, beautiful structure and sculpture. The temple is very popular for marriage and other functions. The temple is surrounded by large landscapes but maintenance needs to be improved to keep the classic structure intact. Overall good quality place to get the blessing of God

One of the best place for me...the temple was. Build by chola and it is oldest temple.
Every day between 12.15 pm to 2pm they are providing free meals Annadhanam here with sambara rasam and butter milk .

Felt good vibrations here...

I came for another function nearby, i thought trespassing in temple to see lord Siva
I'm very impressed by architecture of the temple and devoties here.
Murugar giving special appearance. Not crowded.
In such a big temple I seen only fees Iyyers.

Ohm nama shivaya

It s a temple in busy town, almost 1000 years old Bhagwaan Shiva temple..build by Cholas, this temple stands tall and beautiful. Pandit ji there is very supportive and welcoming... when we entered first, one lady, who was doing sewa of cleaning the outside floor, offered bunch of Jasmine flowes for my wife to tie it in her hair - which was very touching... and Pandit ji welcomed us to inner sanctum sanctorum.

Rudra Abhishek takes place 4 times a day - 5:30 AM, 8:30AM, 12:30 PM, 4:30 PM, 8:30PM.... you can attend any of these. People are genuinely devoted and one the best feels in Puducherry.

Aum Namah Rudraaye! 🙏

The temple located at Villiyanur - Pondicherry. Once you enter the temple you get that positive vibes and peacefulness in your mind . Many statue for Muruga and Sivan . Evening is the best time to visit .one of the biggest temple in Pondicherry .

The temple placed at Villiyanur - Pondicherry. Once you enter the temple you get that positive vibes and peacefulness in your mind . Many statue for Murugar and Sivan . Evening is the best time to visit .one of the biggest temple in pondicherry . Just a side One Perumal temple is there. You can visit both lord Sivan and Perumal at single visit

Very peaceful and good temple to visit. Plan to visit in morning

One of the oldest tamil temples.. Built by The original complex is believed to have been built by cholas. , with later additions from different ruling dynasties. Great innovation for tourism.

Famous temple in villinur which is also called as villianur temple.
We also have 2 more more temples around this Kokilamba - Kameeswarar temple.
The place is clean and more shops are around this place for purchasing food and other temple pooja essentials.
We came to this temple from pondicherry by scooter and the roads are not that good but is okay.

It's a divine experience,welcoming locals behaviour and the kind of impressive architecture one can see here...must visit.

Maintenance good.. still need improvement…
No restrooms…ample parking space..

Kokilamba-Kameeswarar Temple, Villianur Temple, Puducherry. Kameeswarar Temple (also called Kokilamba - Kameeswarar temple or Villianur Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Villianur, a town in the South Indian Union territory of Puducherry. Shiva is worshiped as Kameeswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Kokilamba Amman. The temple complex covers an area of two acres and all its shrines are enclosed with concentric rectangular walls. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of KRameeswarar, his consort Kokilamba Amman and Ranganathar being the most prominent. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and many yearly festivals on its calendar. Brahmotsavam, the prime festival during the Tamil month of Aadi (July - August) is the most prominent festival celebrated in the temple. The original complex is believed to have been built by Cholas, with later additions from different ruling dynasties. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Puducherry. Legend and History As per Hindu legend, while Vishnu and Brahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source. Brahma took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boar Varaha, and sought its base. The scene is called lingothbava, and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied and said he had found the pinnacle. In punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on earth in his worship. He also asked Brahma to build a temple on the banks of Mutharu River in Thondaimandalam. Brahma built the temple and got relieved of the curse. The original structure is believed to have been constructed during 12th century, while the later additions are believed to have been built by Medieval Cholas and Vijayanagar Empire, while the present masonry structure was built during the 16th century. There are inscriptions from Raja Narayana
Sambuvarayar (1339-63), who is believed to have donated around 850 acres (340 ha) to the temple and it was irrigated by Ossudu Lake. Architecture Kameeswarar temple is located in Villianur, a village on Puducherry - Villupuram main road.
The temple has a flat entrance tower facing South, and all the shrines of the temple are enclosed in concentric rectangular granite walls. The central shrine is approached through pillared halls. The central shrine facing East houses the image of Kameeswarar in the form of Lingam (an iconic form of Shiva). The shrine of KokilambaAmman, facing South, is located in separate shrine around the first precinct. The central shrine is approached through a Mahamandapam and Arthamandapam.
As in other Shiva temples in South India, the shrines of Vinayaka, Murugan, Navagraha, Chandekeswara and Durga are located around the precinct of the main shrine. The second precinct has the temple tank and a garden around the periphery of the compound wall. Religious Importance and Festivals The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed three times a day; Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at
12:00 a.m. and Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for Kameeswarar and Gnanambigai. Unlike other shiva temples, anointing with oil is not performed in the temple. There are weekly rituals like somavaram (Monday) and sukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals like pradosham, and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi. Brahmotsavam, the prime festival during the Tamil month of Aadi (July - August) is the most prominent festival celebrated.

I had an amazing experience at thirukameshwar temple. U can feel the purity the peace and even you can feel that there are pure souls of gods and goddesses moving around. This will leave you mesmerising. Must visit. The ambience was so soothing.

A vast temple and famous in pondicherry. Beautifully maintained and ravishing pond. Peaceful atmosphere. Must visit temple.

OM namha shivaaya
heavenly temple complex with sacred pond with many fishes,and attached gow gowshala...good vibes and peace
basic parking nearby
needs proper maintainance and rules for devotees
pondicherry government should look into this matter for preseeving this amazing historic temple complex
keep the surroundings clean
Recently they covered Pradakshina patha with stone floor covering,previously it was raw sand and gravel...
Need some traffic free entry around temple surroundings...
East(main Gopuram)entry is next to main road,bit busy traffic...
South Gopuram and North side entry is less traffic...

Well Maintained Temple by the Pondicherry Govt. Its a Very Old and Massive Temple. Go in the Morning for Easy Parking and Morning Poojas. Since bang in midst of a market place, Mid Morning and Evening should be crowded. a Shivaite Temple.

Very big ancient temple with lots of old sculptures which teach us....a lot
Night is the Best time time now to visit this temple because the view of this temple is glorious with golden lights...

When is the Annual Car festival celebrated in this temple. If possible kindly let me know when exactly in 2024.

Villianoor is one of the “Padal Petra Sthalams” located on the outskirts of Pondicherry which is easily accessible by State Highway and public transport.
Located in Pondicherry City this temple a mid-sized temple with a mega sized divinity.
A beautiful temple is a popular one with the local population. Villanoor is publicized for the Christian Church but not many know that the Shiva temple existed long long time before that.
AMbal is known by the name Kokilambal and has a shrine perpendicular to the Shiva Shrine.
A must visit temple

Sri Kokilambikai sametha Sri Kameeswarar temple is situated in the village of Villianur, Pondicherry. The temple, built in the 11th century, is quite large covering 2 acres of land, with both the temple and the temple pond contained within the temple walls. The architecture of the temple is in concentric rectangles with the first one housing the pillars and temple pond, while the inner one houses the sanctum sanctorum as well as goshta devatas

As you enter the temple, on your left, you will notice Nandiswarar with his consort, Suyasha, which is a rare sculpture. There is a kodimaram and Prasava Nandi in front of the main Nandi statue in front of the sanctum sanctorum. The temple is revered for healing skin diseases as King Dharmapala Cholan is believed to have been rid of leprosy after praying to the Lord here and bathing in the temple pond, Hruthapa Nasini

Lord Kameeswarar is a Swayambhu (self-mainfested) here and is believed to have blessed Lord Brahma after He realized his mistake of lying about finding Lord Shiva's head. Lord Brahma prayed in a forest of Vilwa (Bilwa) trees, which was called Vilwanur, which over time came to be called as Villianur

Goshta devatas are quite large and well decorated/ well maintained in this temple with Lord Ganesha, Dakshinamoorthy, Ranganatha, Lingothbavar, Valli Devasena sametha Subramanya swamy, Brahma, Devi, Chandikeswarar, Kalabairavar, Chandran, and Sooryan along with Nayanmars & Navagrahas being present

Temple is generally well maintained with sufficient number of priests to take care of aarukaala (6 times of the day) pooja. Google Maps leads you to one of the crowded entrances on the market street, however if you go 100 metres to the front and take a right, you have sufficient parking space on the side street. There is a large temple chariot in front of the Maps location

This is a really ancient, religiously significant Hindu temple for Lord Shiva in this region, so if you're in Pondicherry, please try and gain the blessings of Lord Shiva at this at least 1000-1200 years old temple!