Northampoondi
Situated 26 kms from Tiruvannamalai, this fifth temple in the line is the next most ancient one to the Hill temple, full of stone inscriptions belonging to the earlier centuries. The presiding deities are Kailasanathar and Periyanayagi.
The Sthala Purana links this temple to the sage, Narada Muni,. Daksha had three sons who were reared by him to succeed in his place; however, Narada Muni gave Deeksha to them and converted them to become disciples of Lord Shiva. Even though the Lord was his son-in-law, Daksha got angry with this and cursed the sage due to which he became seriously ill. Narada started a twelve year- long penance here, bathing in the river daily and praying under the Elandhai (jujube) tree, which is believed to be there even today. At the end, the Lord appeared before him and relieved him of the effects of the curse. As a result, the place came to be known as Naradhampoondi which gradually changed to Northampoondi over time. The saint prayed to Lord Muruga for twelve more years; the Lord in return blessed him to become the Head of the Satha Rishis, the seven holy saints in the Hindu pantheon.
This temple suffered maximum damage during the invasion of Malik Kafur, with many idols stolen or vandalized; the signs of this are visible even today. After many attempts at restoration over centuries, the temple is in a much better shape today. Ambal is supposed to have prayed to Lord Vishnu on the form of Venugopalaswamy accompanied by Sridevi and Bhudevi; in memory of this, there is a large shrine within the temple for the latter, which attracts a lot of pilgrims.
