The Agnisvarar temple at Tirukattupalli is one of the smaller and also one of the earlier temples of Aditya I's time (871 - 907 CE). The suffix palli suggests that the place should have been an abode of Jains, and indeed a stone image of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Jaina Tirthankara was discovered in the area. The local Jainsim was probably swept away by the Saiva Nayanars. The temple of Agnisvarar should have been in existence at least some time before the seventh century CE, as the Tamil saints Appar and Sambandar have sung hymns in the honour of the deity consecrated here. The image in the sanctum is so placed that the rays of the rising sun fall on the linga during the equinoxes. The feature accords with the belief that the Lord of this place is worshipped by the Sun. Appar also mentions that the deity was held dear by hunters and the learned. The earlier structure must have been made of brick or other perishable material and was probably replaced by a stone structure in the ninth century during Aditya I’s reign. The period is discernible from the temple’s style rather than inscriptions. The original temple of Aditya’s time consisted only of the sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha) with a superstructure (vimana) over it and the half-hall (ardhamandapa). These two parts form a unit by themselves. The other halls or mandapas and the shrine of the Goddess are later additions. The neck (griva) of the vimana and the crowning cupola (sikhara) are heavily stuccoed. While the divinity niche figures are later icons replacing the original icons, the figure of the Dakshinamurti in the niche of the griva on the south is original and seems almost Muttaraiyar (600-900 CE), that is, a bit more ancient than the sculpture style from Aditya's time hence the temple should be ascribed to early phase of Aditya's time. References: S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1966, pp.13-20 M.W. Meister and M.A. Dhaky, 1963, p. 161.