Thambiluvil Sri Sivalinga Pillayar Temple

According to local tradition, around 1931 an Indian engineer working on a nearby construction project had a child who was born mute. Hearing of the miraculous powers of the deity worshipped at Kaluthavalai, he vowed to perform a pongal offering to Lord Pillaiyar if his child gained speech.

It is said that the child miraculously began to speak through the blessings of the deity. The engineer prepared offerings, but heavy rains and flooding prevented travel to the temple. In a dream, a divine figure appeared and said:

“Do not worry. Offer worship and pongal beneath that tree, placing a stone sanctified with sea water — I dwell there.”

Following this vision, the engineer purified a large seashore stone, placed it under a thuvurai tree near the current site, and performed the pongal and pooja. Since many Kaluthavalai villagers had also worked at that project site, and the vow was fulfilled there, the location came to be known as Kaluthavalai Pillaiyar.

A devotee named Mudumonthan Mozhi Suyambu Narayanan from Nalukkal Taluk, Tirunelveli District, South India, constructed a small shrine and performed the temple’s Kumbhabhishekam (consecration) on 26 June 1971. He maintained the temple for several years, during which the annual Aani Uttaram Theertha Utsavam festival began and continues to this day.

Before returning to India, Narayanan entruste

• தம்பிலுவிலில் இடம்பெற்ற திருவெம்பாவை தீர்த்தம் – BattiNews (in Tamil), 2015. Coverage of the Thiruvempavai Theertham festival at Thambiluvil Sri Sivalingapillaiyar Temple.