Arasaleeswarar Temple

The Arasaleeswarar Temple is located in Ozhindhiampattu and is dedicated to Lors Shiva. Many Shiva sthalas were visited by Sage Vamadeva for seeking relief from a curse. When he reached this place, he relaxed for a while under an Arasu tree thinking about how pleasant it would be if God Shiva was there under the tree. Fulfilling the Sage's wish, the God appeared there as a swayambumurthy, relieving Vamadeva of his curse. The sage immediately had a bath in the nearby spring, installed the Linga and worshipped it. The named Arasaleeswarar and the place Arasili comes due to God's appearance. The area was under the rule of Chalukya king Satyavradhan. The king was a strong devotee of God Shiva. A garden was created by him and he also installed another Shivalinga in the place which was being worshipped by him. His servant once found the plants without flowers and informed the matter. This was not taken seriously by the king. The servant repeated the news next day too. To catch the flower thief, the place was closely watched by the king in the wee hours and he found that a deer was happily eating the flowers. The king was angry and shot an arrow. The deer escaped. The king shot another arrow at the tree and it started bleeding. The king thought that the animal was wounded and looked into the hole but found a Shivalinga only and not the deer. It was the Linga that had disappeared long back. The king bowed before the bleeding God and sought his directions. God appeared before the king and said that the deer was nobody else but him. He blessed the king with children. The temple came into being with the efforts of the king.