Tenkasi Kasi Viswanathar Temple - Paadal Petra Sthalam

Kasi Viswanathar Temple is dedicated to lord Shiva, is one of the main attractions in Tenkasi district. The construction of this temple was initiated by the Pandya king ‘Parakrama Pandian’ in the 15th Century. The massive tower of the temple is the second highest in Tamil Nadu, next to Srirangam temple. It is believed that the divine sages of Hindu mythology Narada, Agasthya, Mrugandu, Indira, Vali and Nandhi etc were all praised and worshipped at this temple. It was the king Parakrama Pandian, who wanted to visit lord Viswanathar of Kasi (Varanasi) daily. Since he could not do it, he made an appeal to the lord. The lord appeared in his dream and told him that he was there at a small distance. A colony of ants moving in procession would show him the way. The following day, the king identified the ants moving in a procession, followed them and found Shiva Lingam and Nandi. He built a temple there and established this town Tenkasi. After 6 years of work along with his brother Sadaya Varman Kulasekara Pandian, the main tower was completed. The history of this temple is available in the stone inscriptions there. Though there were some contradictions on the exact period of his rule, it can be assumed as 15th century. He ruled the southern part of Madurai along with Tenkasi. The temple has exquisite carvings to go through. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams of lord Shiva. The worship of Shiva here along with his consort Ulagamman, is considered equivalent to that of worship in Varanasi. The temple is the gateway to the famous Courtallam waterfalls and Kerala.