Tirtha Atlas

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

1122 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Soundareswararswamy Temple

Thiruppanaiyur, Tamil Nadu · 10.8629°, 79.6565°

Shiva as Soundareswarar (consort Periyanayagi)Undetermined—Paadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
dating unrecorded
Undetermined

History & significance

One of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, centred on a sacred palmyra tree and associated with the Early Chola king Karikala.

Sthala katha — the legend

Karikala is said to have been standing under the temple's palmyra tree when the royal elephant identified him as king, leading to his coronation.

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

Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
Thanjavur · India
1003–1010 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Madurai · India
current structure largely 16th–17th c.
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Chidambaram · India
core 10th c.; expanded to 13th c.
Ekambareswarar Temple
Kanchipuram · India
Chola core; Vijayanagara gopuram 1509
Ramanathaswamy Temple
Rameswaram · India
12th–18th c. (great corridor 18th c., Sethupathis)

Sources

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