Krishnapuram Temple

6 miles from Tirunelveli, Krishnapuram temple displays a sculptural splendor like none other. More than 300 years old, the figures in Arulnigu Venkatachalapati temple look as alive and young as ever. It is interesting to see that besides the usual statues of deities, the sculptures also depict scenes from the court life. Another unique feature of the temple is the musical pillars that emanate interesting sounds, when tapped. It encloses the temple of Lord Venkatachalapati installed here with amazing statues of Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. The Mandam to the north of the temple is known as Veerappa Naick Mandapam with two beautifully carved elephants adorning its entrance. The six pillars at the Mandapam exhibit Puranic scenes with dexterity and look life-like. The stone for carving out the idols produce melodious musical sounds when struck at different places.

One of the pillars depicts the story of the adventure of Bhimasena with Purushamrigam, a half-man and half-beast who an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. The Bhima stole some of its milk for the 'yagya' to be performed by his elder brother when he was in deep penance and had to run for life when the creature came to know about it. With the help of the cunningness of Lord Krishna and finally, the righteous love of Yudhishthira for his younger brother, Bhima finally manage to escape from his death at the hands of the creature, who was impressed by the love of the brothers for each other. Another pillar shows a princess and a prince being abducted by a Kuravan and a Kuratti (gypsies) and rescued by a king or minister. Yet another pillar shows Arjuna with a flowing beard performing penance with bow and arrow in his hands.