Thingalur is one of the Saiva Tirupatis in Tamil Nadu. This place's name finds a place in 'Thevaram'. Thingal means 'Chandran' and as this place is dedicated to (Moon)Lord Chandran , it is named after him.

 

 

It is closely associated with two of the 64 Nayanmars mentioned in the Periya Puranam or Thiruthondar Puranam: Thirunavukkarasar and Appudhiyadigal. Appudhiyadigal hailed from Thingalur, which finds mention in Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam. Thingalur is situated on the Thiruvaiyaru-Kumbakonam route. It lies about one-and-a-half km south of Tirupazhanam, which lies 8 km from Tiruvaiyaru.

To seek the blessings of God, devotees resort to various methods of worship. Some perform yagas and some bathe in sacred rivers and ghats. Some do penance by standing one foot and chanting the name of the God.

But Appudhiyadigal did not follow any of these ways. Even though he was one of the Nayanmars, he never pursued the path of others. When the other Nayanmars were devotees of Lord Shiva and worshipped him, Appudhiyadigal worshipped a devotee of Lord Shiva.Instead of worshipping the Lord and seeking His blessings, Appudhi started worshipping Thirunavukkarasar, whom he had never even seen. He had only heard about his greatness and how the Lord made a stone float on the sea for the sake of Thirunavukkarasar. He chanted Thirunavukkararsar's name often with devotion.

He named all things after him so that whenever he saw the item he could his utter his Lord's name and he dedicated all his noble deeds to him.

Once, when Thirunavukkarasar visited Thingalur, he saw a thaneerpandal (where water is supplied free to everyone) called 'Thirunavukkarasar Thiruppani Dharmam'. He was surprised to see his name on the board as it was the first time he was visiting the place. He saw Appudhi sitting there and asked him the reason for writing somone else's name for the noble deed that he was doing.

Appudhi shut his ears as soon as he heard this statement and angrily asked if the man was really a devotee of Lord Shiva. He was enraged by his reference to Thrunavukkarasar, who had communicated to the world the greatness of Saivism, and who, by his devoted worship of Lord Shiva, had won over the people from other religious sects, as 'someone'. He asked for the visitor's name and the place he belonged to. Thirunavukkarasar was touched by the love and devotion of Appudhiyadigal and told him that he was that 'Thirunavukkarasar'. A surprised, scared and nervous Appudhi fell at his feet in reverence. He wanted to serve food to his lord and so invited him home.

Thirunavukkarasar accepted his invitation. Appudhi asked his wife to prepare a meal consisting of the six different tastes. After the food was ready to be served, Appudhi sent his elder son to bring a banana leaf from the backyard. But unfortunately, his son got bitten by a snake. But he managed to return home and hand over the leaf to his father. After fulfilling his duty, he fell down and died as the poison took its toll.

Appudhiadigal and his wife were distressed but, hiding their emotions, they rolled their son in a mat and hid it outside their house. Without informing Thirunavukkarasar about the tragedy, they served him food. But by the grace of Lord Shiva, Thirunavukkarasar understood the situation and asked them to bring the dead son. He went to Thingalur temple and laid the body in front of the temple. He sang 10 'Thirupadhigams' and as soon as he finished singing, the boy got up as though he was waking up from his sleep, and fell at his feet.

Thirunavukkarasar offered the sacred ash to the boy to apply on his forehead. More than being glad to see his son rise up, Appudhi was worried that his lord could not eat food on time. He invited him to finish his lunch and Thirunavukkarasar happily followed him home to do so. He stayed with his devotee for many days.

As Thirunavukkarasar sang a 'Thirupadhigam' beginning 'Onrukolaam' in front of Lord Shiva at this place, which became an antidote for the poison, it is claimed that if one sings it with true devotion, they will be strong enough to break the effect of poison. Such is the greatness of this temple, where Chandran (Moon) offered worship to Lord Shiva and obtained His blessings, as the Puranas say. It is believed that if one visits this place and worships the Lord here, they will be rid of diseases.