Tirtha Atlas

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

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Madhuvaneswarar Temple

நன்னிலம் மதுவனேசுவரர் கோயில்

Nannilam, Tamil Nadu · 10.9065°, 79.6161°

Shiva as MadhuvaneswararEarly Chola—Paadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
dating unrecorded
Early Chola

History & significance

A Paadal Petra Sthalam in Nannilam town praised by the saint Sambandar in the Tevaram; its construction is traditionally attributed to the Early Chola king Kocengannan.

Sthala katha — the legend

The temple town's name is traced to a forest of madhu trees believed to have once covered the region.

Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map

Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
Thanjavur · India
1003–1010 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai · India
current structure largely 16th–17th c.
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.
Ekambareswarar Temple
Kanchipuram · India
Chola core; Vijayanagara gopuram 1509
Ramanathaswamy Temple
Rameswaram · India
12th–18th c. (great corridor 18th c., Sethupathis)

Sources

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