Tirtha Atlas

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

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Hindu · India

Kaliyuga Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Kallankurichi

Kallankurichi, Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu · 11.1494°, 79.1203°

Vishnu (Kaliyuga Varadaraja Perumal)VijayanagaraDravidian
Sacred since
1500 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 16th c. (Vijayanagara)
Vijayanagara

History & significance

A Vaishnava temple about 10 km from Ariyalur where the object of worship is a pillar rather than an anthropomorphic image. The building is roughly five centuries old and shows Vijayanagara-period Dravidian work, with sculpted pillars filling the ardha mandapa.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

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.

A cowherd named Maangan is said to have gone looking for a missing pregnant cow, found her newly calved at the spot, and so learned of a wooden pillar of Vishnu there that held great power.

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Sources

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