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Rockfort, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu · 10.8281°, 78.6969°
The Shiva temple of Tiruchirappalli's Rockfort, cut into a 273-foot monolith whose cave shrines go back to the Pallavas; the main complex was raised by the Pandyas in the 8th century and renewed by Vijayanagara and Madurai Nayak rulers. The deity is revered in the Tevaram, making it a Paadal Petra Sthalam.
Shiva took the form of a devotee's absent mother to deliver Rathnavathi's child during a flood, earning the name Thayumanavar, "he who became a mother".
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Pandya