Lord Vaidyanatha, the doctor!

There is a famous temple near my native place dedicated to the Mrutyunjaya, Lord Shiva who relieves the faithful of diseases. Vaitheeswaran Kovil, situated about 15 km from Mayilaaduthurai in Tamilnadu, is a temple where the presiding deity is Vaitheeswaran, meaning the “Lord of medicine”. One of the Navagraha temples situated in this region of Tamilnadu (Mars, Angaaraka is worshipped here), this is the Kshetram where Angaaraka was cured of leprosy. Also, there is a pond here, called jataayu kundam, where Jataayu, the vulture was cremated by SriRaama after the former was killed by Raavana.
Relief from diseases:
Thiruchandu Urundai, or balls made of ash from the Homam, are provided here. These, when taken along with the sacred mud from near the neem tree in the temple, and some water from the Siddha Amrita Teertham, can cure diseases. The devout also donate salt, pepper and silver images of body parts to get relief from ailments. The Prasaadam given here is sandalwood powder mixed with Kumkumam, after Abhishekam to Lord Subrahmanya who is present here as Muthukumaaraswaamy.
Reciting the Vaidyanatha Ashtakam, an octet describing the glory of the Lord, thrice a day, is helpful in maintaining good health, and this is mentioned in the last Shloka in the Ashtakam itself:
Sri Baalaambikesa Vaidyesa Bhava Roga Haredisa
Japen Naama Thrayam Nityam Maha Roga Nivaaranam.

Interestingly, there is a majestic, but curiously not-so-well-known temple very near to the famous Andaal temple in Srivillipputhur near Madurai, dedicated to the same Vaidyanaatha Swaamy. I visited this Vaidyanaatha temple recently, when I went to Srivilliputhur, and found that this temple also has a place from where devotees take sacred mud!

Koodal Azhagar Temple, Madurai

The Koodal Azhagar temple is located at the heart of the holy city of Madurai. (Not to be confused with the more famous Azhagar Kovil in AzhagarMalai, outside the city.)

The gigantic Ashtaanga (octagonal) Vimana and the ornate walls of the temple make it a very unique architectural marvel. Situated right next to commercial buildings of today, this Vishnu Sthala is more than a millennium old!
Koodal" means "coming together", and Madurai has been a city where people of different communities have lived together for centuries.
"Azhagu" in Tamil means beauty and Azhagar is how Madurai locals call Lord Vishnu who gives us Darshan in all his splendour. Thus the name for the temple.
Here, Koodal Azhagar is in the sitting posture, and the Thaayar (Lakshmi) is Goddess Madhuravalli.

Specialities of this temple:
1. Here, Lord Vishnu is seen in 3 postures-sitting (Koodal Azhagar), standing (Sooryanarayanar) and reclining (SriRanganaathar). Another temple which has Him in these 3 postures is the Vaikuntha Perumal temple in Kanchipuram.
2. This temple has a shrine for the Navagrahas! While the Navagrahas are found only in Shaiva temples, this unique Vishnu Sthalam houses them.

So, the next time you come to Madurai to see Meenakshi Sundareswarar, pay a visit to this temple also-it's very near to the Meenakshi temple!