Tirtha Atlas

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

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Hindu · India

Pathala Ponniamman Temple

Kilpauk, Chennai, Tamil Nadu · 13.0812°, 80.2489°

Goddess Pathala PonniammanVijayanagara (Chennappa Nayak)
Sacred since
1600 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 17th c. (Nayak era)
Vijayanagara (Chennappa Nayak)

History & significance

An Amman temple in Kilpauk, Chennai, traced to the time of Chennappa Nayak and now administered by the Tamil Nadu HR&CE department. It serves as the kuladeivam of roughly a lakh families across the city and its outskirts.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The image of the goddess is said to have come to light about thirty feet underground when a well was being dug at Purasawalkam, which is why she is called Pathala, of the netherworld.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Vijayanagara (Chennappa Nayak)