Nagannathaswamy Temple, Keezhaperumpallam, Hindu temple in Keezhaperumpallam, Tamil Nadu.
Nagannathaswamy Temple in Keezhaperumpallam has a flat rajagopuram with a central passage, its white pillars stained and edged with a red band. Above the opening a panel carries a Tamil inscription, and the top edge holds a seated deity with a bull, two white cows and two seated figures. Inside are the shrines of Naganathar, Ketu, Anugraha Vinayaka, Subramanya, Gajalakshmi and Bhairavar.
The village is mentioned in the 7th-century Tevaram, the Tamil Saiva canon, as a Vaippu Sthalam. The original complex is believed to have been built by the Cholas, while the present masonry structure dates from the 16th-century Nayak period. The temple is now administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Tamil Nadu.
The temple is known for the Annaprasanam ritual, the first feeding of rice to infants. Devotees offer cloth, grains, flowers and jewels suited to Ketu, and light sets of lamps. The Rahu–Ketu transition is celebrated here every 2.5 years.
The temple lies in Keelaperumpallam, 2 km from Poompuhar and 93 km from Thanjavur on the Thanjavur–Poompuhar road. The gopuram and central shrine face east, while a second entrance opens south toward the Ambal shrine. The Ketu image stands in the first precinct, facing west toward the presiding deity.
The Ketu image stands in the first precinct, made of black granite and facing west toward the presiding Shiva. Devotees mark the Rahu–Ketu transition with a celebration every two and a half years, and the temple is known for the Annaprasanam rite, the first feeding of rice to infants.
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