Kadambavaneswarar temple is more than thirteen hundred years old. It is believed that those who worship Kadambar in the morning are ensured of Mukti followed by Ayyarmalai Rathinagiriswarar and Thirueengoymalai Nathar in the evening on the same day. As it is facing north, it is also known as the Dakshina Kasi. There is a legend behind attached to this belief. Lord Brahma was tired after his task of creation and prayed to Lord Shiva for mukthi. Lord Siva praised Brahma for his job of creation and called him to worship Kadambavaneswarar - to bathe thrice a day in the sacred Kaveri River and perform abisheka to the Lord. Lord Shiva granted darshan along with Ambal.
Kadambar is in a seated posture. His other names are Kadambanathar, Sundaresawarar, Soundaresar. Ambal is Mutrilla Mulaiammai. Her other names are Baalagujaambigai, Thiruveni. Sannadhis are there for Viswanathar, Vinayagar, Subramanyar, Somaskandar, Gajalakshmi, Jeshtaadevi, Naalvar, Aruvathimoovar, Sekhizhar, Chandikeswarar, Natarajar, Navagrahams. The panchaloha idol of Lord Nataraja is unique as here the Lord is not stepping on the asura Muyalagan.
Behind the main shrine worship is offered to the Sapta Kanniyar or seven female deities. Once when Goddess Durga was fighting with the asura Dhumralosanan, seven deities fought with the asura along with the Devi. The asura ran away and vanished near the hermitage of rishi Kaathyaayana. The saptha kanniyars thought the asura had taken the form of the rishi and thus killed the rishi. In order to get rid of Brahmahathya dosham, they offered prayers at various temples and relieved on worshipping the Lord at this temple.
The temple has a central Mahaamandapam and two praakaarams. The Ambal sannadhi faces the east with a kodimaram & bali peedam. In the interiors of the temple to the east of the 2nd prakaram there is the Vaahana Mandapam which houses processional vehicles for the deities. Navarathiri Mandapam is in the North West corner. Brahma theertham is in the south east. The temple is also known by the names Palaasavanam, Brahmapuri and Agnistalam. It has a five-tiered rajagopuram at the entrance. It also has several stone inscriptions of Natarajar and Sivakami, and inscriptions from the Chola and Vijayanagar periods. The east side koshtam is home to a six-faced Lord Brahma, along with Sandikeswarar. He is always in a meditative state of worship. On the south koshtam is Dakshinamurthy, and on the west koshtam is Annamalayar. On the South are Jeshtadiri (Jeshtadevi), Nalwars, and 63 Nayanmars. Vinayakar (Ganapati) is on the southwest corner. On the west is Shanmughar with Valli, Devayani and Somaskandar, and Gajalakshmi. There are shrines for Subramanyar, Navagrahas, Sekkizhar, and Viswanathar.
The Thai Poosa thiruvizha (festival) is a major festival celebrated here. Brahmotsavam is conducted for 10 days in the month of Maasi. The main festival at Kulithalai Temple is the Haradatta Sivacharyar in the Tamil month of Thai.
