Tirtha Atlas

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

2271 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Hindu · India

Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu · 10.9572°, 79.3737°

Rama, with SitaThanjavur NayakDravidian
Sacred since
1560 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
begun under Achuthappa Nayak, completed under Raghunatha Nayak (1600–34)
Thanjavur Nayak

History & significance

A Rama temple at Kumbakonam begun under the Thanjavur Nayaks in the later sixteenth century and completed by Raghunatha Nayak, with later Maratha additions. Its mandapa pillars carry a pictorial Ramayana counted among the fullest renderings of the epic in Indian sculpture, and it is one of five Kumbakonam temples tied to the twelve-yearly Mahamaham festival.

Sthala katha — the legend

The temple's images are said to have been recovered from a temple tank in the nearby village of Darasuram.

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Sources

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