Thirukkaanaattumullur is a pilgrimage village on the northern bank of the Kollidam River, distinguished by regular festival processions and gatherings of worshippers. Its crowded sacred spaces become the stage for Azhwarkkadiyaan’s provocative public debates, while Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan guards him against opponents who might answer argument with force.

Setting and Sacred Geography

The village stands on the northern bank of the Kollidam River, also called Vada Kaveri in the account. In the period described, its waters were regarded as sacred as those of the Kaveri River. During the auspicious month of Thula, devotees gathered in large numbers each day for ritual immersion, giving the riverside a continual devotional presence.

Shrines and Festival Processions

Thirukkaanaattumullur’s Siva temple was a focus of public worship. Siva Peruman appeared in procession along the riverbank as Idabaarudar, riding his divine bull. The afternoon procession drew people from surrounding villages and made each day a festival in its own right. The village’s Vishnu temple was smaller but also renowned: its deity appeared in a grand procession upon the Garuda Vaahanam. The two processions brought distinct traditions of worship into the same busy public landscape.

A Public Debate and Its Guard

Azhwarkkadiyaan chose this substantial festival crowd for a challenge intended to establish the superiority of the Vaishnavite Community. He raised a naaval tree branch and invited adherents of other faiths to debate him, wagering that a defeated opponent would have to surrender everything but the cloth at their waist. His accumulated stakes lay nearby: rudraksham strands, makarakandi jewelry, kamandalam vessels, kundalam ear ornaments, richly embellished silk cloths, and gold coins. The heap suggested that the challenge had brought him previous victories as well as new attention.

Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan stood nearby with his sword unsheathed. While Azhwarkkadiyaan invited disputes of doctrine, Vandhiyathevan deterred physical attacks: when an approaching group of Saivites grew threatening, he warned them away and flourished his broadsword. The men who had seemed ready to act in anger abruptly calmed, leaving the debate—and the protection of its disputant—at the center of the scene.

Narrative Significance

The episode makes the village’s festival life more than devotional background. The processions draw a mixed public into one place, enabling Azhwarkkadiyaan to turn religious contention into a spectacle with material stakes. The contrast between his verbal challenge and Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan’s blade gives the gathering its immediate tension: argument is welcome, but violence is not. Thirukkaanaattumullur thus appears as both a sacred destination and a lively civic setting where belief, performance, and public order meet.