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

Thanthondreeswarar Temple, Belur

Belur, Salem district, Tamil Nadu · 11.7075°, 78.4042°

Thanthondreeswarar (Shiva)CholaTamil
Sacred since
1100 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
12th c. (Chola)
Chola

History & significance

A Shiva temple on the bank of the Vasishta Nadi at Belur in Salem district, dated to the twelfth century and attributed to a Chola king, with the goddess Dharmasamvarthini. Its seven-tier rajagopuram rises about 97 feet and was rebuilt between 1992 and 2002, being consecrated afresh in February 2002; the temple is linked with Kanampulla Nayanar, forty-eighth of the Nayanmars.

Sthala katha — the legend

A pepper merchant called Manickam Chetty is said to have found a self-formed lingam here and to have built the sanctum, thereafter being known as Milagu Chetty.

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Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
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1003–1010 CE
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c. 1035 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Ranganathaswamy Temple
Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli · India
built up 10th–17th c.; Rajagopuram 1987
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.
Arunachaleswarar Temple
Tiruvannamalai · India
9th-c. Chola core; 16th-c. gopurams

Sources

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