What is the sthala katha — the legend — of Suyambulingaswamy Temple, Uvari?

High medieval · Hindu · India

Suyambulingaswamy Temple, Uvari

Uvari (Tirunelveli district), Tamil Nadu · 8.2861°, 77.8992°

Shiva as Swayambunathar, a self-manifested lingam, with Brahma SakthiUndetermined—

Sacred since

1000 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

dating unrecorded

Undetermined

History & significance

A Shiva temple in the coastal village of Uvari on the Tiruchendur–Kanyakumari road in Tirunelveli district, where the sun's rays fall on the swayambhu lingam throughout the Tamil month of Marghazhi.

Sthala katha — the legend

Devotees believe illness disappears if one bathes in the sea for forty-one days while praying to the deity, and give thanks with baskets of sea sand or images of nagas.

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