Tirtha Atlas

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

1805 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Tadkeshwar Mahadev Temple

Abrama, Valsad district, Gujarat · 20.5900°, 72.9367°

Shiva as Tadkeshwar MahadevUndetermined
Sacred since
1200 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
traditionally found in 1215; over 800 years old
Undetermined

History & significance

A Shiva temple on the bank of the Wanki river near Abrama in Valsad district, remarkable for a roof left deliberately open with a hole about 22 feet across so that the midday sun falls on the six-to-eight-foot semicircular lingam; fairs are held at Maha Shivaratri and through Shravan.

Sthala katha — the legend

The ceiling is said to have been raised twice and lost twice, to fire and then collapse, until Shiva appeared in a devotee's dream saying 'I am Tadkeshwar Mahadev, I need the rays of the sun' — and the temple was left open to the sky.

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Sources

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