Sundarsanar was the child of Vasudevar, a vaishnavite of Kanjanur. The child longed to have sacred ashes on his forehead. This was denied by the orthodox Vainavites of the village. To convince them to the truth, the child sat on the red hot chair and showed them that the lord was one. Dakshinamurthy showed grace upon the child who became Haradatta and then recited the holy names of Lord Siva. Kanjanur is also a birth place of ManaKanjaranayanar. It is at Kanjanur that Lord Siva played Kalikamanayanar gave Parasarar the vision of Lord Siva’s Dance.

In the temple, there also the idols of Manakkamcharar, Kalikamar and Surakkaipathar with his wife, staunch devotees of Lord Siva. History has it Lord Siva took fruits from the latter. There also subsidiary shrines for Bhairavar, Suriyan, Sani and Chandran. In the hall of Nataraja, Lord Siva has mother Uma embodied in his own self. This unique sculpture found at Kanjanur. It is this deity who gave the vision of the dance of enlightenment to sage Parasurar.