Tirtha Atlas

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

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Hindu · India

Swetharanyeswarar Temple

திருவெண்காடு சுவேதாரண்யேசுவரர் கோயில்

Thiruvenkadu, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu · 11.1753°, 79.8094°

Swetharanyeswarar (Shiva), with BrahmavidyambigaiVijayanagaraDravidianPaadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
1500 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
16th c. (Vijayanagara); Chola origins
Vijayanagara

History & significance

The 'white forest' shrine, a Paadal Petra Sthalam and one of the nine Navagraha temples, dedicated to Budha (Mercury). Founded under the Cholas, whose inscriptions survive alongside Pandya and Vijayanagara records, its present masonry is 16th-century Vijayanagara work.

Sthala katha — the legend

Shiva is said to have taken the fierce form of Aghoramurthi beneath a tree here to destroy the demon Maruthuvasuran.

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Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
Thanjavur · India
1003–1010 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai · India
current structure largely 16th–17th c.
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.
Ekambareswarar Temple
Kanchipuram · India
Chola core; Vijayanagara gopuram 1509
Ramanathaswamy Temple
Rameswaram · India
12th–18th c. (great corridor 18th c., Sethupathis)

Sources

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