Eight valorous deeds of Lord Siva are celebrated by His devotees. There are eight pilgrim centres in Tamil Nadu associated with each of these deeds, said R. Narayanan, in a discourse. The eight places are: Thiruvadhigai, Thirukkovilur, Thirukkadavur, Vazhuvur, Thirukkurukkai, Thiruppariyalur, Thirukkandiyur and Thiruvirkudi.
Thiruvadhigai is associated with the burning of the three cities. The demons who ruled these cities could not be defeated by anyone because they had a boon. All three had to be felled with one arrow. Finally, it was Siva who vanquished the three demons and burnt their cities, earning the name of Tripurantaka. Thiruvadhigai is the place where Thilakavathiyar, the sister of Thirunavukkarasar served Siva. It was here that Thirunavukkarasar was cured of the pain in his stomach and became Siva’s devotee. In Thirukkovilur, Andakasura was killed. Siva killed him and hoisted him on His trident. Thirukkadavur is where Siva was the nemesis of Kala — the God of death. Siva is therefore referred to as Kalari. This is the place where Markandeya, destined to die young, was saved because of his devotion to Siva. Markandeya hugged the linga, and when Yama tried to drag Markandeya away, Siva emerged from the linga and kicked Yama away. Vazhuvur is the place where Siva killed Gajasura, the demon in elephant form. In Thirukkurukkai, Siva burnt Kama, the god of love. Kama had to get Siva to end His penance, so that Siva and Parvati could get back together, and so he shot his arrows at Siva. Siva opened His third eye and burnt Kama. Thiruppariyalur is the place where Siva killed Daksha, through Virabhadra. In Thirukkandiyur, Siva punished Brahma, by cutting off one of his heads. In Thiruvirkudi, Siva, using a chakra, killed the demon Jalandhara.
