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Cholapuram, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu · 11.0551°, 79.4129°
A Chola-period Shiva temple at Cholapuram, on the Kumbakonam-Chennai road, whose presiding deity is Bhairavesvarar and whose goddess is Bhairavesvari. Only the base of its front mandapa survives, and it is known for housing sixty-four Bhairavas.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
The place, once called Bhairavapuram, is held to be where Bhairava first appeared as a form of Shiva, and where all sixty-four Bhairavas manifested.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chola
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