Kumbakonam is one of the oldest towns of South India. It is the headquarters of the taluq of the same name in the District of Tanjore in Madras State. The distancefrom Madras to this town in 194 miles by the Southern Railway. During seventh century A.D., Kumbakonam was the capital of the Chola kings. There are numerous ancient temples in the town and also the famous Maha Makham Tank. Besides, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Brahma which is very unique and rare in India.

There are many temples in Kumbakonam dedicated to Lord Siva also, of which the temple of Adi Kumbeswarar is considered very sacred. This is situated in the heart of the town facing the east and occupies an area of 1,89,000 sq.feet. The main gopuram is 128 feet in height and contains many figures of rare and exquisite beauty.

There are four prakarams to the temple in which rows of houses, shops, and many shrines dedicated to Vinayaka, Subrah- manya, Bhikshtana, Sapta Kannikas, Lakshmi, etc. may be found. The sthala- vriksha is Vanni tree and this can be seen in the third Prakaram. In the same prakaram there is a shrine for Vinayaka who is locally known as Adi Vinayaka. The legend goes to show that this Vinayaka came to this place even before Lord Siva and hence the name Adi Vinayaka.

The pot containing nectar and the seed of creation was decorated by Lord Brahma with the sacred thread. A coconut was placed over it with mango leaves and Darbha grass and the same was kept on the peak of Mount Meru. At the time of deluge, the sacred pot was carried by the currents to Kumbakonam where it got tilted. Now Lord Siva came here disguising himself as a hunter and aimed an arrow at the vessel and broke it.

The place from where Lord Siva aimed the arrow at the pot came to be known as Banapuresam (banam means arrow). There is a shrine here for Lord Siva under the name Banapuriswarar. Due to the impact f the arrow on the pot, the coconut, mango leaves, sacred thread, etc., with which the vessel had been decorated, fell at different places, where we find today shrines dedicated to Siva.