The Vaitheeswaran Koil or Vaitheeswaran temple is a hindu temple dedicated to lord Shiva. It is located in a small town Vaitheeswarankoil in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. Lord Shiva is worshiped as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran in this temple which means the "God of healing" and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can heal diseases.
The word Vaitheeswaran is derived from two tamil words Vaidya means doctor and Ishvara means god or master. It is one of the nine planets (Navagraha temples) and is associated with the planet Mars(Angaraka).
The holy waters of the Siddhamirtham tank within the temple complex contains nectar, and a holy dip is believed to cure all diseases.
During the Ramayana period, Rama, Lakshmana and Saptarishi have worshipped the deity in this place. There is a pond at this temple called Jatayu kundam. One of the nine planets, Angaraka(Mars) suffered from leprosy and was cured by Vaidhyanathaswamy and from then it is treated as one of the Navagraha temples for planet Mars.
