Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple or Dharbaranyeswarar Temple: is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shani located in Tirunallar in Karaikal district of Pondicherry, India.The presiding deity is Lord Siva, Dharbaranyeswar and the place Tirunallar was historically called Dharbaranyam. The temple is revered by the hymns of 7th century Tamil saivite poets, Appar, Sundarar and Sambandhar and is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The presiding deity is Dharbaranyeswarar and is believed to have been made of dharba grass. The worship is also centered around the icon of planet saturn, called Shani, originally treated as the door keeper of the shrine. According to Hinduism, saturn resides in each rasi for two and half years.The tradition is to worship Shani before entering the inner sanctum of Lord Siva.
