The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
Kandiyoor, Mavelikara, Alappuzha district, Kerala · 9.2531°, 76.5294°
Completed in 823 under Rajasekhara Varman and rebuilt in 1218 by Rama Kotha Varma of Odanad, this is the earliest Kerala temple whose origin is fixed by an epigraph. It is one of the 108 great Shiva temples of Kerala and has a two-tiered rectangular sanctum.
The sage Mrikandu is said to have found an image of Shiva in his Kiratamurthy form while bathing in the Ganga, and to have installed it on the bank of the Achankovil.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chera; rebuilt under Odanad