Pillayarpatti Temple, Karaikudi

Pillayarpatti Temple is situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in the Sivaganga district. It is one among the oldest of cave temples in the state and is located at Pillayarpatti that is situated in-between the towns of Karaikudi and Padukottai. The inscriptions on the walls of the temple suggest that the temple was made sometime between 1091 and 1238 AD.

This world-famous cave temple has the images of various gods and goddesses cut from rock. However, the temple is dedicated to Karpaka Vinayakar or Lord Ganesha (the elephant god) who is the presiding deity in the temple. Pillayarpatti Ganesha carved out of a hillock is 6 feet tall. The idol is unique with the tusk unusually curved at the right. It was built by the Pandya kings.

Hence, the Vinayaka Chaturthi or the Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated with a lot of devotion and fervour each year at the temple. Thousands of devotees flock the temple during the festival and participate in the celebrations religiously for a period of ten days. The Car Festival is also celebrated around the same time as the Vinayakar Chaturthi.