Moolavar: Sri Kaya Nirmaleswarar
Amman: Sri Akilandeswari
This temple is called Agni Thalam because the Lord appeared to Vasishtha in the form of a flash of light. Many festivals including Pradosham, Shivaratri, and Soma week fasts are held.
There is a five-tiered Rajagopuram facing east. Next to the main hall is Nandi. The temple has many Ganeshas, the Lord of the five holy places, the Goddess Valli, along with Murugan, Chatur Puja Bhairava, Ash Puja Bhairava, Swarna Akarshana Bhairava, Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Dakshinamurthy, Lingodbhavar, Brahma, Durga, Ayyappa, Surya, Shaniswaran, and Nagas. There is also a Hanuman shrine. During Deeparadhana, the light of the lamp is beautifully displayed on the Linga Thirumeni.
Vasishtha had to face many trials while performing penance here. Based on Narada's advice that if one worships Shiva with flowers and water, one can overcome those trials, Vasishtha created the river Vasishtha. While searching for a suitable place to perform puja, he found a Linga Thirumeni there, which had stopped him at one place. When he started performing puja with it, he saw a crack caused by his foot tripping. After thinking for a while, he had an idea that he could perform puja with it. When he finished the worship, a flash of light appeared and when he saw the Linga Thirumeni, he realized that the crack had disappeared. The deity was called Kaya Nirmaleswarar because the Lord removed the defect in the Linga and gave him a vision
Location: Sri Kaya Nirmaleswarar temple, Kottai, Attur, Salem
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