The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
திருவானைக்காவல் ஜம்புகேசுவரர் கோயில்
Thiruvanaikaval, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu · 10.8533°, 78.7056°
One of the five Pancha Bhoota Sthalams of Shiva, embodying the element water — an underground stream keeps the sanctum lingam perpetually wet — and also a Paadal Petra Sthalam. The vast complex carries 11th–12th-century Chola inscriptions and was greatly expanded, with its seven-tiered rajagopuram, by the Hoysala king Someswara in 1236–37.
Parvati, doing penance on earth, fashioned a lingam of water beneath a jambu tree, where two cursed celestials worshipped it as an elephant and a spider until their devotion freed them.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chola