Tirtha Atlas

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

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Late medieval · Hindu · India

Apatsahayesvarar Temple, Alangudi

Alangudi (Tiruvirumpoolai), Tamil Nadu · 10.8293°, 79.4092°

Shiva as Apathsahyesvarar (consort Elavarkuzhali); Guru (Jupiter) shrineNayak—Paadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
1500 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
16th c. (Nayak); Chola origin
Nayak

History & significance

A Paadal Petra Sthalam revered in the Tevaram and one of Tamil Nadu's nine Navagraha pilgrimage temples, honoured as the Guru (Jupiter) sthalam. The original complex is credited to the Cholas, with the present masonry built under the 16th-century Nayaks.

Sthala katha — the legend

Shiva is said to have drunk the deadly poison of the ocean-churning here, earning the name Apatsahayesvarar, the saviour in peril.

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Ekambareswarar Temple
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Ramanathaswamy Temple
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12th–18th c. (great corridor 18th c., Sethupathis)

Sources

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