This is a Vishwakarma community temple. Neelakantha Gurukkal introduces us to Senthil, the rooster who’s been at the temple for 13 years! We enquire about meeting another day to discuss history in detail. Priest seems happy to do it. He tells us about the pillars of the Gayatri Mandapam and the motifs on them. How each one pertains to a particular story and that sage Agastya placed them where they are when establishing the Mandapam. He also tells us some stories about Marakkanam, misplaced inscriptions during British-era reconstruction of temples (Villinur inscriptions in Bahour), and about this Kamakshi Amman initially being the Ambal at the old Vedapuriswara Koyil which was destroyed.
The priest outside, Natarajan Pusari, a goldsmith by profession, belonging to the Vishwakarma community, responsible for the prakara shrines, performs a Navagraha archanai. Never seen this anywhere else. He seems very dedicated, all his archanais even at other shrines is very thorough, lasting for well over 2 minutes every time. At the Vishwabrahma shrine, he tells us about the Vishwakarma community: black smiths, bronze smiths, woodworkers, shilpis, goldsmiths. The Murugan shrine at the north-west corner of the temple is apparently the oldest shrine here, also brought from the old Vedapuriswara temple. It’s made of pacchai (green) stone. Abhishekam done to it once a year during Panguni Utthiram, and one day before that, he cleans the idol during which one can perceive the green tint of the stone.
On the south-west corner of the temple is a Shakti Vinayakar shrine. Right outside the shrine, on either side of him, are two figures. The one to Vinayaka’s right is a naga-lingam, and to the right is a snake-hooded Amman, with no face. The priest from inside tells us that they represent Rahu and Ketu, the naga brothers.