According to the Hindu legend, the god Shiva sent the sage Agastya to this place to balance the weight of the deities attending his marriage with Parvati.

[2][3] The 7th-century Nayanar saints Sambandar and Appar wrote of the temple in their poetic work, Tevaram.

The original masonry and towers date back to the 9th century CE, as seen from an inscription in the structure made by Chola kings.

The inscriptions from the Chola kings record various gifts like land, sheep, cows, and oil to the temple commemorating various victories of the dynasty.

It is classified as Perunkoil (also called Madakkoil): a big temple built on a higher platform of a natural or man-made mounds.

The walls on the interior of the sanctum have sculptural representations of Shiva and Parvati on the west, Vishnu on the north, and Brahma on the south.

The shrine of Girisundari Amman, the consort of Kalyanasundareshwar, is located in the first precinct facing west.

The temple has sculptural and metallic images of Ganapathi (elephant god), sage Agastya, and the three Shaiva saints: Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar.

Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaiva community, a Brahmin sub-caste.

The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m., and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alankaram (decoration), naivedyam (food offering), and deepa aradhanai (waving of lamps) for both Kalyanasundareshwar and Girisundari.

The worship is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast.

Tonsure ceremony for getting children shaved for the first time to promote proper growth is a very common worship practice.

[3] Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century Tamil Shaivite poet, venerated Kalyanasundaresar in eleven verses in Tevaram, compiled as the Second Tirumurai.

[8] Appar, a contemporary of Sambandar, also venerated Kalyanasundaresar in ten verses in Tevaram, compiled as the Sixth Tirumurai.

when the glittering caṭai is hanging low, you are practising dance singing the four Vēdas in which there are melody-types.

Kunti, the mother of Pandavas from the Mahabaratha period, is believed to have taken a holy dip in the tank, worshiping Kalyanasundaresar.