The specialty of this place is that its the only Siva temple where the Lord is in a Sayana position (sleeping). In every other temple, you will find Lord Siva in the form of a Linga, but in this temple, you will find Siva sleeping on Parvati's lap.
Story goes like this - on the advise of lord vishnu, the devas and the asuras were churning the ocean of milk. the mandara mountain was used as the churn stick and the serpent vasuki was the rope. when the mountain sank, lord vishnu supported the mountain by taking the tortoise incarnation. this was the kurma avatara. the first item that emerged from the churning was a pot of poison. the devas and asuras rushed to lord siva and pleaded with him for protection. Lord Siva then swallowed the poison, but before it could go further, Parvati pressed his neck and the poison remained there permanently. That is why we know Lord Siva by another name -- Neelakantha (blue throated).
It is believed that Lord Siva, after consuming the poison, was very tired and drowsy. So, he lied down to rest on Parvati's lap at Surutapalli.
This place is famous for so many other deities. Here, the Dakshinamurthy is seen along with his consort Gowri, which is something you don't see in any other temple. There is also a Durga sculpture where the goddess is holding a parrot in her lower hand and the other lower hand is resting on her thigh. This is very rare for a Durga sculpture.
Another rare feature is at the entrance. The doorkeepers on either side of the temple are also with their consorts. In every other temple, you will find the doorkeepers alone.
