Tirunallar Dharbaranyeswarar Temple

Tirunallar Dharbaranyeswarar Temple
Dharbaranyam
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Karaikkal
Deity	Dharbaranyeswarar(Shiva), Shani,Bogamartha Poonmulaiyaal(Parvati)
Location
Location	Tirunallar
State	Pondicherry
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	10°55′32″N 79°47′32″E / 10.92556°N 79.79222°E / 10.92556; 79.79222
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture

Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple or Dharbaranyeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in a village, Thirunallar of karaikal district of Union territory of Puducherry (24 km from Nagapattinam town of Tamil Nadu.

The temple complex covers around two acre and entered through a five tiered gopuram, the main gateway. The temple has a number of shrines, with those of Dharbaranyeswarar, his consort Praneswari Amman, Saniswararan and Somaskandar being the most prominent. All the shrines of the temple are enclosed in large concentric rectangular granite walls. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Vijayanagar rulers. The temple is maintained and administered by the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions by the Government of Puducherry.

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. Mahasivarathri festival celebrated during the month of the Chittirai (March - April) is the most prominent festival of the temple for the presiding deity, while Sanipeyarchi festival that occurs every 2.5 years is the most prominent for Shani.