Shanmughanathar Temple, Kunnakudi

Kunnakudi Shanmuganathar Temple
Image of the temple atop the hill
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Sivaganga
Deity	Kunnakudi Shanmuganathar swamy (Murugan)
Location
Location	Kundrakudi
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	10°06′54″N 78°41′57″E / 10.11500°N 78.69917°E / 10.11500; 78.69917
Architecture
Type	Tamil architecture

Kunnakudi Shanmughanathar temple (also called Kunnakudi Temple or Kunnakudi Murugan Temple) in Kundrakudi, a village in the outskirts of Karaikudi in Sivaganga district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Murugan. Constructed in the Hindu style of architecture, the temple is located in the Tirupattur - Karaikudi Road, around 14 km (14,000 m) from Karaikudi. There are three caves located on the western side of the lower rock, that has rock-cut shrines from the Pandyan Empire from the 8th century. The caves have the earliest sculptural representation of Dvarapalas, the guardian deities, for any South Indian temple.

The temple has a five-tiered gateway tower, the gopuram in the hill, leading to a pillared hall and the sanctum. The temple is open from 6:00 am – 11:00 am and 4 - 8:00 pm. Four daily rituals and many yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which Panguni Uthiram festival celebrated during the Tamil month of Panguni (March - April) and Thaipoosam during Thai (January - February) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Kunnakudi Thiruvannamalai Mutt Adikam, while the rock-cut caves are maintained as a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India.