Sankara Narayanasamy Temple is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

located at

Sankarankovil Sankarankovil is a Municipality Town in the Tenkasi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, On the eastern slopes of Western Ghats. It was a demonym represents literally Sankara Narayana kovil because The Sankarankovil Town houses the fa ...

, in state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The temple was built by Ukkira Pandiyan in 10th century CE. Lord Shiva, known as ‘Sri Sankara Linga Swamy, is the presiding deity of this temple together with his consort

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

, who is known as ‘ Gomathi Amman’.

Architecture

Later the

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

king, Ukkra Pandiyan built a temple and named the town as "Sankara Narayanar Kovil".

Temple Car Festival

The temple car festival is held in the month of

Chithirai Chaitra () is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Chai ...

.The temple also emerged prosperous during the reign of

Tenkasi Pandyas Tenkasi Pandyas were the Pandya dynasty, Pandya kings from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya to his successors who ruled with Tenkasi as their Capital city, capital. With the invasion of the Sultanates, Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagaras, and Madur ...

Culture

A snake pit found in the prakaram located around the Amman Sannidhi inside the temple known as "Vanmikam". It is believed that the sand extracted from the snake pit will cure all diseases.

Aadithapasu Festival

Aadithapasu Festival is held in the month of

Ashadha Ashadha or Aashaadha or Adi () is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to June/July in the Gregorian calendar. In India's national civil calendar, this month is the fourth month of the year, beginning on 22 June and ending on 22 July. I ...

involving the two gods Sankara Lingam and Narayanasamy. The ritual of the goddess Gomathi Amman posing in single foot is also followed.

Darshan timings

The temple is open on all days. The darshan timings are as below: * Morning : 05:30 to 12:30 IST * Evening : 16:00 to 21:00 IST

References

*{{Cite web , url=https://www.maalaimalar.com/devotional/devotionaltopnews/2021/08/19123612/2931639/Sankarankovil-Sankaranarayana-Temple.vpf , title=Sankarankovil-The History, date=19 August 2021 Pandyan architecture Dravidian architecture Hindu temples in Tenkasi district Shiva temples in Tenkasi district