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Thirukkadaiyur Abhirami temple, Tranquebar 2006-2007 The name of this Shiva temple is Thirumeignanam and it dates back to the 11th century. It lays in the village Thirukkadaiyur, approximately seven kilometres northwest of Tranquebar in Nagapattinam District. The legend tells that Mrikandu prayed Lord Shiva to bless him with a son. The god appeared for him and asked him to make a choice between an honest and virtuous son who would live for only sixteen years or would he prefer a son who would be rude but live for 100 years? Mrikandu chose the former and the boy became an ardent devotee of Shiva. The day the boy turned sixteen, he ran to the Shiva lingam in the temple and prayed to escape death and Shiva rescued him and incarnated him as Kalantaka (the ender of death). The temple is visited by many worshippers who pray for a long life. The rites of Shastiapthapoorthi (60th birthday), Bhimaradha shanthi (70th birthday), 80th birthday (sadabishegam) are very famous here. Tranquebar – or Tharangampadi – is a village on the Coromandel Coast of south India. A large part of the population in Tranquebar are fishers or working within business related to fishing. The language is Tamil and the majority of the inhabitants adhere to religious traditions of Hinduism, but there are also smaller communities relating to Christianity or Islam. During India’s colonial period, Tranquebar functioned as a Danish trade station from 1620-1845. The place has a rich intercultural history, documented in historical buildings and rich archival sources as well as old and new ethnographic collections of material items, photos and accounts of everyday life.

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