Tirtha Atlas

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

1805 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Pasupatheesvarar Temple, Pasupathikovil

Pasupathikovil, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu · 10.8839°, 79.1825°

Shiva (Pasupatheesvarar), with PalvalanayakiChola
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
founding attributed to Kochchenganan
Chola

History & significance

A Shaiva temple 14 km from Thanjavur on the Kumbakonam road, its foundation attributed to the early Chola king Kochchenganan and its sculpture including work of the Thanjavur Nayak period.

Sthala katha — the legend

Varahi is said to have worshipped here for deliverance from the asuras and Kamadhenu to have done penance at the shrine, which is why the goddess is called Palvalanayaki, worshipped by the cow.

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Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
Thanjavur · India
1003–1010 CE
Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram · India
c. 1035 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Ranganathaswamy Temple
Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli · India
built up 10th–17th c.; Rajagopuram 1987
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.
Arunachaleswarar Temple
Tiruvannamalai · India
9th-c. Chola core; 16th-c. gopurams

Sources

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