Sri Nellivananathar temple is located in the village named Tirunellikka, in the district of Tiruvarur, in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. The main deities of this temple are Nellivana Nathar and Nellivaneswarar (Lord Shiva) and his consort is Mangalanayaki.
The holy tree of this temple is Gooseberry. The holy waters of this temple are Brahmma and Surya theerthams. The agamam or pooja of this temple is known as Kameeyam. This temple is nearly 1000-2000 years old in this region. The historical name of this place is Tirunellikka.
According to the temple’s head preist, “Lord of the temple is praised in the hymns of Saint Tirugnana Sambandar. This is the 117th Shiva temple on the southern bank of Cauvery praised in Thevaram hymns.”
The main festivals of this shrine are Dheep festival (Tiru Vilakku Puja) on last Thai Friday in January-February, Chithirai festival is celebrated in April-May, Navarathri in September-October; Thai Poosam, Aavani Mother Wedding Festival on the first Friday; Sashti in Aipasi-October-November; New Year days according to the Hindu traditional calendar and Georgian calendar, Deepavalli and Pongal.
In this west facing temple, Lord Shiva is a Swayambu murthy. It is to be noted that for a week in Masi-February-March, the rays of Sun fall on the Lord during the evening’s hours when Surya Puja is conducted in this temple. The temple is open for all Hindus from 6.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and from 6.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. Other shrines in this temple complex belong to Lord Vishnu, Lord Bhrama, Shani Bhagwan and many other God and Goddess.