Needur Somanathaswami Temple

Needur is located at a distance of 5 kilometres from Mayiladuthurai. Needur is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the grooves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity. The region is believed to have been covered with Magila forest and hence called Magilavanam.^[1]

The presiding deity is Somanathaswami. The consort is Veyurutholi Ammai. The temple has shrines to Sivalokanathar, Kailasanathar, Ananda Thandavamurthy, Ganesha, Murugan and the Seven Virgins.

According to Hindu mythology, on a visit to the earth, Indra, the king of the gods desired to do pooja for Shiva. However, he could not find a shivalinga for the purpose. He reached the banks of the Kaveri River where he collected wet mud to create a shivalinga for worship. The Somanathaswami Temple is believed to have been constructed at the spot where Indra made the shivalinga.

• "Somanathaswami Temple".