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High medieval · Hindu · India
Masilamaninathar Temple, Tharangambadi
Tharangambadi, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu · 11.0266°, 79.8565°
Shiva (Masilamaninathar), with the goddess AkilandesvariPandyaTamil with Chinese elements
Sacred since
1306 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1306 (Pandya)
Pandya
History & significance
Built in 1306 by the Pandya king Maravarman Kulasekara Pandiyan I, this is one of the few surviving shore temples in India, standing 300 m north of the Danish Fort Dansborg. Its design mixes Tamil and Chinese elements, said to have been intended to draw Chinese merchants, and it is one of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by the Nayanars Appar and Sundarar.