Tirtha Atlas

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

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Early medieval · Hindu · India

Ranganathaswamy Temple, Karamadai

Karamadai, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu · 11.2422°, 76.9603°

Vishnu as Ranganathaswamy, with Ranganayaki Thayar and BettadammanCholaDravidian
Sacred since
900 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
10th–11th c. (Chola); towers 1944 and 2013
Chola

History & significance

A Vishnu temple 23 km from Coimbatore on the Mettupalayam road, first built under the Cholas and enlarged by Tirumalai Nayakar in the seventeenth century and by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar in the 1940s; its northern tower dates to 1944 and the seven-tiered eastern rajagopuram was finished in 2013. It is counted among the 108 Abhimana Kshetrams, follows the Tenkalai tradition, and is run by the state endowments department.

Sthala katha — the legend

A herdsman is said to have found the deity's face beneath an anthill after his cow bled into it.

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Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
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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