In recent days Pondicherry has been renamed as Puducherry and the Temple is located in Villianur in a busy market area on the main road. The full name of the Temple is Sri Kokilambal Samedha Sri Kameeswarar Temple. This Temple in Villiyanur could be entered on all four sides by the Devotees. The East facing entrance is one of the main entrance on the arterial road. Apart from this the South facing entrance has a seven tiered Rajagopuram. The West and Northern entrances are small. The East facing entrance has a multi pillared Mandapam with a Gopuram with the name of the Temple embossed on it. Beneath this Gopuram are two East Sub Shrines of two Vinayagars. Beyond this Gopuram is an East facing five tiered Rajagopuram. Beneath this Rajagopuram are the North facing Idols of Adhikaara Nandhi and Suyasambigai. There are several multi pillared Mandapams and the ceiling of these too are painted in different colours. The Six Abodes of Murugan known as Arupadai Veedu are drawn on the ceiling making it look attractive. Then there is a Sub Shrine of Vinayagar on the left and another Sub Shrine of Sri Arumugam on the right and both these Sub Shrines face Eastwards. Even the massive wooden doors of the Temple are beautifully etched with Divine Images. Near one of the entrances there is an Idol of a Dwara Baalaka and a Dwara Baalaki on either side and they face Eastwards. In the next Mandapam there are East facing Idols of Maha Saraswathi, Vinayagar, Valli Devasena Samedha Subramaniyar, Gajalakshmi and Iyyappan. There is a South facing Urchava Mandapam and a Navagraha Sannadhi close to it. Another West facing Bhairavar Sub Shrine too is seen here.

In the following Mandapam there are West facing Idols of Surya Bhagwan and Chandra Bhagwan who looks towards the Moolasthanam. This Temple has a Nandhi Bhagwan, a Neivedhya Peedam or Bali Peedam and a tall Dwajasthambam or Kodi Maram facing the Moolasthanam. Devotees cannot enter the Moolasthanam through the Eastern side. Instead Devotees may have to circumambulate and enter the Moolasthanam to have a Darshan. There are two East facing Dwara Baalakas. Beyond this is the Moolasthana Mandapam in which a small East facing Idol of Vinayagar and an Idol Artha Kameeswarar is seen. In the East facing Moolasthanam the Presiding Deity of Sri Kameeswarar is seen in the form of a Swayambhu Shiva Lingam. It is said that this Swayambhu Shiva Lingam was found to be of Sand and hence it is called as Manal Lingam. Facing the Presiding Deity is a small Nandhi Bhagwan close to the Moolasthanam. Around the Koshtam of the Moolavar there are Idols of Bala Ganapathy, Dhakshinamoorthy, Maha Vishnu, Brahmma, Durgai and Chandikeshwarar. It is unique that an Idol of Sri Ammaiappan has been embossed on the wall of the Sub Shrine of Sri Chandikeshwarar and Sri Ammaiappan's Idol is North facing. There are two Dwara Baalakis who stand guard before the Ambal's Shrine. The Consort here is known as Sri Kokilambal and Her Shrine is South facing. Goddess Gokilambal is seen in Her Shrine in a standing posture. Within the Ambal's Shrine a Mahameru and a Sri Chakkaram are also seen. The Dwajasthambam and the Neivedhya Peedam pertaining to the Ambal's Shrine is kept quite a distance away from Her Shrine. Facing the Shrine of Ambal are two Nandhi Vaahanam. The smaller of the two Nandhi Vaahanam is known as Suga Prasava Nandhi and it could be rotated. It is a practice here that Devotees in whose family a baby is expected would come to this Temple and Pray to Goddess Gokilambal and they would tilt or rotate the Nandhi towards the Dwajasthambam. No sooner the baby is born the Devotees from the same family would come here and rotate the Suga Prasava Nandhi back to its original direction, facing the Shrine of Ambal. Around the Koshtam of the Ambal there are Idols of Iccha Sakthi, Kiriya Sakthi, Gnana Sakthi and Chandikeshwari. 

The inner peripheral has a North facing Idols of Naalvar viz Appar, Sundarar, Sammandhar, Manickavasagar along with Meikandar, Arulnandhi Sivam, Maraignana Sammandhar and Umapathy Sivam. There are North facing Idols of the 63 Naayanmaars along with Kaatchinathar and Vinayagar. The Temple's inner peripheral has East facing Sub Shrines of Valampuri Vinayagar, Somaskandar, Valli Devasena Samedha Subramaniyar. Close to these is an East facing enclosure in which the Urchavamoorthy Idols are safely kept. Likewise there are East facing Sub Shrines of Varuna Lingam, Sahasra Lingam, Kasi Lingam and Sri Muthukumarasamy flanked by Valli and Devasena. There is a South facing Natarajar Shrine in which Sivagami Ambal Samedha Sri Natarajar is seen. A Naalvar Idol is seen within this Shrine. To the left of this Shrine is another small Natarajar Idol and to the right is Sri Sattanathar. This Sattanathar is supposed to extricate all Legal problems of His Devotees. There is a South facing Palliyari which is fully gold plated. Close to this is a Eesanya Lingam and a West facing Idols of Naga Devathas. 

The outer peripheral of this Temple has a huge enclosure for lighting oil lamps. The Temple has a Madapalli and a well maintianed Ghoshala. There is a huge Pushkarani located within the Temple premises and also has a Theerthavari Mandapam. The Sthala Viruksham is Vilva Vanam.whereas the three Theerthams are known as Brahmma Theertham, Hrudhabanasini and Shankarabarani River. The Chariot of the Temple is unique since it has been carved out of Teak Wood and measures upto 80 feet. There is a reasonably well maintained Nadhavanam. The outer peripheral has a Kalaiarangam in which Temple functions could be held with ease. This Temple is unique since it has two Navagraha Sannadhis. One small Navagraha Sannadhi is found within the Temple while the other Navagraha is found in the outer peripheral. What is unique here is that there is a Sub Shrine built for each and every Navagraham. The outer peripheral has a North facing Pidari Amman's Sub Shrine and close to this is a Vinayagar Idol along with several other Idols of Naga Devathas. Purattasi Navarathri, Aavani Moolam, Chithirai Vishu, Aadi Thapasu, Thaipoosam, Panguni Brahmmothsavam, Pradosham, Maha Shivarathiri are the festivals that are celebrated in a grand manner. 

The historical fact of this Temple is that it is around 1300 years old and was built by the Chola Rulers against heavy odds. The reasong being is that Puducherry is a Coastal area on the seashore and is full of sand. Stones are a rare commodity. The Chola Rulers managed it very well and brought huge stones and boulders from in and around Gingee and Thiruvannamalai using Elephants, other Animals and Prisoners. This is the only Temple in those days to have been out of granite and stone. 

Contact Details: Koushik Kumar Gurukkal 88258 32108 and 0413 2666396

Temple Timing: 5 AM to 11.30 AM and 4.30 PM to 8.30 PM

Distance from Vikravandi to Pondicherry is 35 Kms

Distance from Thirukovilur to Pondicherry is 87 Kms

Distance from Thiruvannamalai or Tiruvannamalai to Pondicherry is 112 Kms

Distance from Thiruthuraiyur to Pondicherry is 45 Kms

Distance from Panruti to Pondicherry is 49 Kms

Distance from Vadalur to Pondicherry is 63 Kms

Distance from Chidambaram to Pondicherry is 69 Kms

Distance from Cuddalore to Pondicherry is 23 Kms

Distance from Sirkali to Pondicherry is 94 Kms

Distance from Kumbakonam to Pondicherry is 141 Kms

Distance from Thirunageswaram to Pondicherry is 144 Kms

Distance from Srivanchiyam to Pondicherry is 148 Kms

Distance from Thiruvamathur to Pondicherry is 52 Kms

Distance from Annamputhur to Pondicherry is 33 Kms

Distance from Thirunavalur to Pondicherry is 64 Kms

Distance from Rishivandiyam to Pondicherry is 114 Kms

Distance from Valikandapuram to Pondicherry is 135 Kms

Distance from Tiruchirapalli to Pondicherry is 201 Kms

Distance from Thanjavur to Pondicherry is 178 Kms

Distance from Kancheepuram to Pondicherry is 123 Kms

Distance from Vandavasi to Pondicherry is 80 Kms

Distance from Polur to Pondicherry is 123 Kms

Distance from Cheyyar to Pondicherry is 101 Kms

Distance from Vellore to Pondicherry is 158 Kms

Distance from Chennai to Pondicherry is 165 Kms

Nearest Railway Station is Villianur R.S.

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