Tirtha Atlas

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

1122 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Late medieval · Hindu · India

Arasaleeswarar Temple

Arasili (Ozhindiyapattu), Tamil Nadu · 12.0525°, 79.7728°

Shiva (Arasaleeswarar), with Parvati as PeriyanaayagiChola—Paadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
1500 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
16th c. structure; Chola origin
Chola

History & significance

A Shiva temple in Villupuram district counted among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams of the 7th-century Saiva canon. The original Chola shrine carries inscriptions of Vikrama Chola and Kulothunga Chola; local chieftains rebuilt the temple in the 16th century.

Sthala katha — the legend

The devotion of sage Vamadeva is said to have drawn Shiva to appear beneath an arasu tree here, giving both the deity and the village their names.

Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map

Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
Thanjavur · India
1003–1010 CE
Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram · India
c. 1035 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai · India
current structure largely 16th–17th c.
Ranganathaswamy Temple
Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli · India
built up 10th–17th c.; Rajagopuram 1987
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.

Sources

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