The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu · 10.9833°, 79.3667°
A Shiva temple at Kumbakonam where the god is worshipped as Someswarar with the goddess Somasundari, its present masonry raised by the Nayaks in the sixteenth century behind a five-tier rajagopuram. The shrine is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, sung by the Nayanars in the seventh-century Tevaram.
The name is explained by Chandra, the moon, having worshipped Shiva here, and the lingam is held to be swayambhu, self-formed.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Nayak