have then set fire to his holy dwelling. But by his yogic powers, Sambandar had the heat transferred to the king, who consequently suffered in agony. Upon the Queen's request, the young saint then sang the Padigam 'Mandiramavadu Neeru' and sprinkled a few grains of holy ash on the right side of the king's body to alleviate the pain. In contest, the Jains in turn chanted the Aruga Mantra (Jain Mantra) and stroked the left side of the king's person with peacock feathers, but it only aggravated the pain! In response to entreaties by the king and his ministers, Sambandar applied a few more grains of the sacred ash to the king's left side also. The poor Pandian monarch, who only a little while ago was the very picture of suffering, misery and distress, now smiled gaily and was free of his burns. But the Jains challenged the Saivites further, asking that the Mantras of both religions be written on palm leaves and consigned to flames to see which one survived the ordeal of fire (thereby showing superiority over the other). The Jains first placed their palm leaf onto the fire but it was soon consumed by the flames. Saint Thirugnana Sambandar placed on the flames one leaf containing the forty-ninth Padigam of the Tevaram hymn which was sung at the shrine of Lord Darbharanyeswaran Shiva at Thirunallar. The leaf remained untouched by the flames and maintained its evergreen freshness, reestablishing Saivism as the true religion in Pandian capital. Hence the glory of the Thirunallar temple. Etymology The name ThiruNallar(u) is believed to represent the association of King Nala of the Nishadha country who was delivered from the bad effects of Shani (Saturn) by invoking the Lord's mercy here (Nala + Aru = Nallaru). The word "Aru" here denotes "to heal" and the two words taken together means the place where Nala was redeemed from the (malefic) hold of Saturn through the Lord's Grace. Others are inclined to read the meaning 'between rivers' in the name Nal-Aru, as this place is situated amidst rivers Noolaru and Vanchiaru in the north, and Arasalaru in the south. Transportation ThiruNallar is located around 7 kilometer away from the district headquarter karaikal. It is well connected with karaikal and kumbakonam. There is no train service available to thirunallar but one can reach karaikal railway station which is located around 7 kilometer from temple. Daily