Tirtha Atlas

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

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Early medieval · Hindu · India

Mayuranathaswami Temple

மயிலாடுதுறை மாயூரநாதசுவாமி கோயில்

Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu · 11.1019°, 79.6503°

Shiva (Mayuranathaswamy), consort AbhayambikaCholaChola / DravidianPaadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
650 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
10th c. renovation (Sembiyan Mahadevi); attested 7th c.
Chola

History & significance

The great temple of Mayiladuthurai, attested in the 7th-century hymns of Appar and Sambandar and renovated by queen Sembiyan Mahadevi in the 10th century. It ranks among the six Kaveri shrines held equal to Kashi Vishwanath of Varanasi.

Sthala katha — the legend

Parvati, cursed to become a peahen, is said to have worshipped Shiva here and regained her form as Abhayambika - giving the town its name, Mayiladuthurai.

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Ranganathaswamy Temple
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built up 10th–17th c.; Rajagopuram 1987
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
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core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.

Sources

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