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One Ponmeni pledged his land to a money lender named Makisuran.  He worked in the same land to maintain his family.  Unscrupulous Makisuran tortured all the people this way by lending them money and swelled their liabilities with abnormal compound interest rates.  He thus swallowed the lands of all.  He severely beat Ponmeni due to default in payments and demanded Ponmeni in the presence of villagers to plough the Poongavanam out side the place in a single night on Shivrathri day before sunrise and threatened to do with his life if he failed to do so.

Poongavanam is the place of evil spirits.  Ponmeni thought it better to fail and die in a day than dying each day.  He began tilling the land praying to Mother Karumayee.  He saw an old man and an aged woman under a tree.  The woman was very thirsty.  Ponmeni helped the old man to fetch water.  When they returned, they found the woman disappearing.  When Ponmeni turned to the old man, he also was not there.  When Ponmeni resumed his tilling, he found the plough stuck and the spot began to bleed.  A voice assured him of safety and said “I am Angala Parameswari who came in the guise of the aged woman.  Now, I am an ant-hill here.  Responding to your prayer, I came with Lord Shiva.  As my presence had been made known to the world by you, you will be relieved of poverty, continue worshipping me and the Lord.”

Within a few minutes the anthill became visible.  As the Goddess appeared from Poongavanam, she came to be worshipped as Poongavanathu Amman.

    The sacred tree Neem is in the outer prakara.  A swaymabu anthill, Goddess Karumari, Lord Vinayaka and Nagadevadas (serpent deities) are under the tree.