Rajagopuram
The nine-storey tower was rebuilt in 1990. Distinguish that renewal from the older Pandya temple.
Tenkasi
Temple Circuit · reading guide · 8 September 2026Shiva appears in King Parakrama Pandyan’s dream and directs the establishment of a southern Kashi beside the Chittaru. The temple belongs to the fifteenth-century Pandya setting.
Shiva appears in King Parakrama Pandyan’s dream and directs the establishment of a southern Kashi beside the Chittaru. The temple’s name and its place in Tenkasi carry that sacred connection to Varanasi.
The temple belongs to the fifteenth-century Pandya setting. Look at the sculpted hall and then the nine-storey rajagopuram: the present tower was rebuilt in 1990 after a fire. Reading these separately helps distinguish the older temple from the renewed gateway.
Allow time for worship and the discoveries below. Follow posted access and photography rules.
Rajagopuram
The nine-storey tower was rebuilt in 1990. Distinguish that renewal from the older Pandya temple.
Hall on the permitted temple route
Pause with the carved figures after darshan, remembering the king’s sacred connection to Kashi.
Tenkasi district · Temple history · Tenkasi district · Sacred founding account