Tirtha Atlas

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

1122 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Early medieval · Hindu · India

Thirumeninathar Temple, Thiruchuli

Thiruchuli, Tamil Nadu · 9.7000°, 78.4830°

Shiva as Thirumeninathar, with Parvati as ThunaimalaiyammaiPandyaDravidianPaadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
600 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
by 7th c. (Pandya); later dynastic additions
Pandya

History & significance

The Paadal Petra Sthalam of Thiruchuli in Virudhunagar district, a Pandya foundation built on the plan of the great Madurai and Rameswaram temples and closely associated with the saint Sundarar.

Sthala katha — the legend

During the great deluge Shiva is said to have swallowed the floodwaters here in a swirl ('chuli'), giving the town its name.

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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: Pandya