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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.