Early medieval · Hindu · India

Kokarneswarar Temple, Thirukokarnam

Thirukokarnam, Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu · 10.3915°, 78.8006°

Shiva as Kokarneswarar, with BrihadambalPallavaRock-cut

Sacred since

640 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

mid-7th c. (Pallava)

Pallava

History & significance

A rock-cut temple excavated for the Pallava king Mahendravarman I around the middle of the 7th century, with Chola and Pandya additions early in the second millennium. Its goddess Brihadambal was the family deity of the Thondaiman rulers of Pudukkottai, and the shrine is reckoned among the oldest accurately datable stone temples still in worship.

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