As per Hindu legend, this is one of the 64 places where Shiva performed his Thiruvilayadal, the divine plays A dancing girl named Ponanaial was a staunch devotee of Shiva and her only aim in life was to make an idol of Shiva made of gold.
She was not able to accomplish due to lack of money. Pleased by her devotion, Shiva appeared in the form of metallurgist named Rasavathi who converted iron, bronze and aluminium to make the golden idol.
Impressed by the beauty of the idol, Ponanaial pinched the cheeks of the idol, which is believed to be the mark in the idol.
The lingam in the temple is believed to have been self-manifested and was worshipped by Surya, Dharmaraja, Nala, Chandra, Thirasanan, Brahma and Vishnu. Since Shiva appeared under Parijatha tree, the presiding deity came to be known as Pushpaveneswarar.
Pushpavaneswarar temple is located in Thirupuvanam, a village located on the banks of Vaigai river, located 20 km (12 mi) from Madurai and 29 km (18 mi) from Sivaganga.
The temple in its current structure built of stone was built by the Chola king Aditya I (870 - 907 CE). The temple has a seven-tiered Rajagopuram, the gateway tower that pierces the rectangular wall that houses all the shrines.
The temple tank is located adjacent to the temple. The sanctum sanctorum houses the one of the rare image of Pushpavaneswarar in the form of Lingam, an iconic form of Shiva with three faces, said to be of the very few in India.
There is an Ardha Mandapa and a Mukha mandapa, pillared halls leading to the sanctum. The first precinct has the shrines of Vinayakar, Murugan, Durga, Dakshinamurthy and Chandikeswara. The second precinct has a hundred pillared hall.