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Padaleshwarar Temple is situated in Thiruppadirippuliyur, Cuddalore.
This temple is dedicated to the incarnation of Lord Shiva,
Padaleshwarar. Thirupathiripuliyur in Cuddalore district is one of
the ancient saivite shrines in Tamil nadu sanctified by the visit of
two of the four chief nayanmars viz. THIRUNAVUKKARASAR and
THIRUGNANASAMBANDHAR. The former part of the name of this sacred
place indicates the sthalaviruksha PATHIRI TREE and the latter
PULIYUR indicates the tiger legged saint who made penance in this
place.
 The Presiding Deity Lord Pataleeswarar is also known as THONDRA
THUNAI NADHAR and the Goddess is named PERIYANAYAKI Amman. This is
one of the most important temples in Cuddalore. This is an ancient
and beautiful temple.
It is believed that Goddess Uma reached Tiruppathiripuliyur after
worship of 1008 Shiva sthalams. She worshipped Lord Padaleeshwarar
installed under a Padiri tree. After years of penance, Lord Shiva
appeared and he united with the Goddess under the sacred Padiri
tree, which is now the sthalavriksha of the temple.The tree is
associated with the Ekapatala, sister of Goddess Uma who took only
one Patala leaf for food.
This shrine is a very ancient one held in high veneration by the
saivites. According to the inscriptions found in the temple and
rendered in modern Tamil by the Department of Archeology, the
history of this temple could be traced to the periods of paranthaga
Chola, First Rajarajan, First Rajendren, First Kulothungan, Vikrama
Chola and also by the kings of Pallava and Pandiya dynasties who had
performed renovation works from time to time in this temple and also
made grants and gifts for the upkeep of this temple.
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