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Early medieval · Hindu · India
Sankara Narayanasamy Temple, Sankarankovil
Sankarankovil, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu · 9.1600°, 77.5500°
Sankara Linga Swamy (Shiva) with Gomathi Amman, and Sankaranarayana, the joined form of Shiva and VishnuPandya (Ukkira Pandiyan)Dravidian
Sacred since
900 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
10th c. (Pandya)
Pandya (Ukkira Pandiyan)
History & significance
The great temple that gives Sankarankovil its name, attributed to the Pandya king Ukkira Pandiyan in the tenth century and unusual in enshrining Shiva and Vishnu in a single joined form. Its Chithirai car festival and the Aadi Thabasu observance draw large crowds each year.