Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Hindu · India

Arasaleeswarar Temple

திருஅரசிலி

Arasili (Ozhindiyapattu), Tamil Nadu · 12.0525°, 79.7728°

Shiva (Arasaleeswarar), with Parvati as PeriyanaayagiChola—Paadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
1500 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
16th c. structure; Chola origin
Chola

History & significance

A Shiva temple in Villupuram district counted among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams of the 7th-century Saiva canon. The original Chola shrine carries inscriptions of Vikrama Chola and Kulothunga Chola; local chieftains rebuilt the temple in the 16th century.

Sthala katha — the legend

The devotion of sage Vamadeva is said to have drawn Shiva to appear beneath an arasu tree here, giving both the deity and the village their names.

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Related sites

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1003–1010 CE
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c. 1035 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai · India
current structure largely 16th–17th c.
Ranganathaswamy Temple
Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli · India
built up 10th–17th c.; Rajagopuram 1987
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chola