houses the lingam (aniconic form of Shiva) as Bhikshadanar. The granite images of the deities Ganesha (son of Shiva and god of wisdom), Murugan (son of Shiva and god of war), Nandi (the bull and vehicle of Shiva) and Navagraha (nine planetary deities) are located in the hall leading to the Shiva sanctum. As in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct of the Shiva shrine has images of Dakshinamurthy (Shiva as the Teacher), Durga (warrior-goddess) and Chandikeswarar (a saint and devotee of Shiva). The shrines of Brahma and his consort Saraswati are located in the south west corner of the temple complex. The Saptaguru or seven gurus (teachers) are identified in the temple. The seven are Bhikshadanar (representing Sadasiva Guru, Shiva as a guru), Brahma (Brahma Guru), Soundarya Parvati (Shakti Guru, the Goddess as a guru), Brihaspati (Deva Guru, the teacher of the gods), Varadarajaperumal (Vishnu Guru), Murugan (Gnana Guru, the guru of knowledge) and Shukra (Asura Guru, the guru of demons). Festival and administration The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The priests of the Bhikshadanar shrine belong to the Shaiva community, while the priests of Purushothamar are from Vaishnava community. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m. The Shaiva and Vaishnava sects have their own rituals. The ritual of Bhikshadanar comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Bhikshadanar and Soundarya Parvati. The worship is held amidst religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like (Monday) and (Friday), fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi for Bhikshadanar. The major festival of the temple, the Brahmotsavam, is celebrated during the Tamil month of Kartigai (November – December) when festival images of both Purushothamar and Bhikshadanar are carried together in the streets surrounding the temple. Kadambha Tiruvila is a festival celebrated in the temple when the festival image of Ranganatha (a form of Vishnu) is brought to the Kadambha tank of the temple for Theerthavari. The temple is maintained and administered by