Tirtha Atlas

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

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Naimisharanya

Naimisharanya, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh · 27.3425°, 80.4913°

Puranic forest tirthaUndetermined
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
dating unrecorded
Undetermined

History & significance

A sacred forest tract at Nimsar in Sitapur district, named repeatedly in the Puranas and in both epics. Tradition holds that the Puranas were first recited here to an assembly of sages, and the site remains an active pilgrimage centre.

Sthala katha — the legend

The Varaha Purana explains the name by saying that a host of daityas was destroyed here within a single nimisha, an instant.

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

Related sites

Kola Valvill Ramar Temple
Thiruvelliyangudi · India
dating unrecorded
Sthalasayana Perumal Temple, Tirusirupuliyur
Thirusirupuliyur · India
dating unrecorded
Thirukkavalampadi
Thirunangur · India
dating unrecorded
Thiruarimeya Vinnagaram
Thirunangur · India
dating unrecorded
Thiruvanpurushothamam
Thirunangur · India
dating unrecorded
Perarulaalan Perumal Temple (Thirusemponsei Koil)
Thirunangur · India
dating unrecorded

Sources

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