Vaitheeswaran Koil – Mars (Mangal)
Shiva is worshipped here as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran — “The Divine Healer” (Vaidya = doctor, Ishvara = lord).
Architecture of the Temple
The temple is built in Dravidian style.
It has a five‑tiered main gopuram (rajagopuram) plus two inner gopurams. Large precincts (prakarams).
The main shrine (garbhagriha) holds the self‑manifested Shiva Lingam facing west, which is somewhat unusual (many temples have deities facing east).
There is a shrine of Thaiyal Nayagi (the consort goddess) in the second precinct.
Neem (margosa) tree (Sthala Vriksha) inside temple grounds, believed to have medicinal properties.
Temple has multiple mandapams (pillared halls), sculpture work, metal images of deities such as Nataraja, Angaraka etc. is also considered sacred and medicinal.
How to Reach to Temple
Located in Vaitheeswaran Koil village, between Sirkazhi and Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu.
By road: There are frequent bus services from nearby towns such as Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam. It’s well connected.
By train: Nearest railway stations are Mayiladuthurai, Chidambaram, etc. Also, there is a small local station at Vaitheeswaran Koil.
By air: The nearest airports are Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) (domestic) and possibly Chennai for international flights; travellers then go by road/rail.
Temple Timings
