one of the important festivals of Gomathi amman celebrated in the Tamil month of Aadi in a grand scale. The story on this: Sri Gomathi Ambal did Thapas at Punnai kshetra and Lord Shiva gave Her darshan as Sankaranarayanaswamy on the Uthirada day in the month of Adi (July–August) and thereby indicating that God Shiva and God Vishnu are same. Further to prove this theory, it is also said that Sankaranarayanasami gave darshan to Sankan and Padman. It is in practice to make the psychiatric patients, or those suffering from diseases and persons believed to have been haunted by evil spirits, to sit on Sri Chakra peetam, in front of Goddess Gomathi Amman continuously for 40 days so that they could be cured. Maavilakku (offering made of rice) is an important offering to this amman. Those who come to visit this temple also offer miniatures of snake, scorpion and other reptiles to get rid of curses. Snake Pit When a farmer was working in a nearby field (Perungulathoor) to destroy an ant hill, he found blood flowing out from the Ant Hill after hit by the axe. He immediately rushed to the king and reported the incident. When the king came and searched he found the siva lingam inside the Ant Hill with two snakes (believed to be Sankan and Padman) protecting it. This lingam is brought from that place to the current temple. Mud is taken from this place every year on a particular occasion and placed inside the temple (on the praharam of gomathi amman's sanctum santorum) and it is believed that applying the holy sand/mud taken from the snake pit on one's body can cure various diseases. It is believed that all devotees who pray to the goddess Gomathi amman have always found solace. It is believed that those who worship in this temple will all become crorepathis (i.e. will gain wealth of rupees ten million). References Shakti temples