The leaves of this tree one can get the gracious relief from many ailments (Subramanian and Rajendran, 1985). The sthala viruksham is believed to be passing through different yugas: Kadamba tree (Neolamarckia cadamba) during the Krita Yuga, Bilva tree (Aegle marmelos) during the Threta Yuga, Vakula or Makizha tree (Mimusops elengi) during the Dwapara Yuga and in the Kali Yuga the neem tree (Azadirachta indica).

The different transformations of this tree are highly imaginative, but devotees attach much importance to this tree with firm religious faith. Vaitheesvaran koil has been well laid out and it covers a large area for different artistic structures. The two Rajagopurams on the eastern and western side are of equal grandeur and importance. In the interior, there are two kattai (short) gopurams on the eastern and western side as well. Vaidyanatha Swamy (Lord Shiva) and Thaiyalnayaki (Lord Sakthi) are the presiding deities of this temple. The word Vaitheeswaran is a Tamil
derivative from Vaidya (Doctor) and Ishvara (God). The Selva Muthukumara Swamy
shrine is also important in this temple. Both Lord Aadi Vaidyanatha at the entrance of the temple and the presiding deity Vaidyanatha are facing west. According to scriptures, worshipping the Lord facing west brings the devotee the benefit of worshipping in 1000 Shiva temples. Dhanavantiri Siddhar attained Samadhi here. People pray here for
remedy from various ailments like boils, pimples scars, etc. (Jagadisa Ayyar, 1991).
Inscriptions from the period of Veerapandiyan, Kulothunga Chola I, Vikrama Chola,
Achuthappa Nayak, and Thuljaji Maharaja are found here. The temple architecture and sculpture is a combination of Pallava, Chola, Nayak and Nagaratthar style. Chola style of architecture was a mature style with an integrated conception of a temple. As there is a separate Amman shrine it can be said that this was an addition to the Swamy shrine built during the later Chola period. It is said that Thuljaji Maharaja constructed the Thatticutri mandapam of Amman Sannidhi in 1767 A.D. The western part of the Mahamandapam was constructed by Thiruvaruran of Kadambanur. From the available copper plates it is known that king Gurumurthi Nayak had constructed the Swami mandapam starting from the Amman shrine to western kattai gopuram. The front mandapam of the Amman shrine was constructed by Tungappa Chettiar of Kanadu Kathan in 1892 A.D. (Subramanian and Rajendran, 1985; Jagadisa Ayyar, 1991).
There are Shiva lingas worshipped by Rama, Jatayu, Skanda, Surya and Angaraka. It is believed that Rama and his brother Lakshmana cremated the vulture king Jatayu who was killed by Ravana when he tried to prevent the abduction of Sita at this place. There is a pond at this temple called Jatayu kundam. It is one of the Navagraha temples associated with the planet Mars (Angaraka).
“Angaraka dosha” is the unfavourable position of Angarakan in the horoscope. People who are affected by a malefic Mars in their horoscope perform Angaraka pooja to neutralize the negative effects. According to legend, Planet Mars was once afflicted with red leprosy and was cured by Vaidyanatha Swamy, and from then on it is treated as Angaraka sthalam. There are 18 temple tanks within this temple. Siddha Amirtha Kulam is the most prominent. This tank is situated opposite to the Thaiyalnayaki shrine. This tank has medicinal properties and is believed to cure all diseases.
The legend goes that when siddhas in the Kaliyuga offered ‘Devamirtham’ to the lord, a part dropped into the tank and hence it is called Siddha Amirtha Kulam. Angaraka (Mars) was relieved of red leprosy when he bathed in this tirtham (CPREEC, 2002). The devotees take a holy dip in the temple tank before worshipping the deity. It is also a local belief that dissolving jaggery in the waters cures skin diseases. However, these days the temple administration is very conscious about keeping the water clean and has discouraged this practice. A separate bin has been placed near the temple tank to deposit the jaggery.
Many Siddhars had performed abishekham with nectar and gained many boons. It is said that this place is the headquarters of medical science that offers cures for several diseases. A medicine ball (Thiruchandhu Urundai), made of anthill sand, abishekha water, veppilai (neem leaf), abishekha sandal and sacred ash is consumed to bring relief for any disease. Those suffering from skin problems get the punugu (musk) oil for applying on their body for relief. Lord Vaidyanatha cures not only the physical pains of the people but also cures them from the recurring disease of births and deaths (Sundararajan and Mukerji, 2003).
First tonsuring ceremony of kids is performed in this temple for the general health of the child. Mavilaku (lighting lamp in rice cakes) is a form of worship practised. The practice of mixing salt and pepper in front of the temple mast and the pot near the temple tank is also followed. It is a practice to purchase silverplated images of body parts to put in the Hundi (vessel for offering) to fix ailments (Raj, et al. 2006).
The village is also known for palm leaf astrology called Naadi Jothidam in Tamil. The great sages (Siddhars) of India had the power to look into the past and future of the entire universe and had written these predictions on palm leaves. The texts are mainly written in vatteluthu, an ancient Tamil script. The palm leaves are possessed by the families of astrologers in Vaitheeswaran temple and were passed down from one generation to another.