Jalanatheeswarar Temple, Thakkolam

Jalanatheeswarar Temple, also called Thiruvooral, is a Shiva temple at Thakkolam in Vellore district, praised in the 7th-century Tevaram. Shiva is worshipped as Jalanatheeswarar, with Parvati as Giriraja Kannikambal. The temple is believed to have been founded by the Pallavas, enlarged by the Cholas and rebuilt in masonry in the Nayak period in the 16th century. Thakkolam gave its name to the great battle of around 940 between the Cholas and the Rashtrakutas, in which Parantaka I's son Rajaditya was killed. Legend says Yama, the seven mothers and two sages worshipped Shiva here.

A three-tiered gopuram leads to shrines enclosed by concentric granite walls. The linga in the sanctum is made of sand, so ablutions are poured only on its base. The temple tank is fed by a natural spring that flows from Nandi's mouth, giving the temple another name, Pokkeswarar. A Pallava sculpture of Shiva seated with Uma and Skanda, in the Thyagaraja form, is among its treasures, and inscriptions of the 10th and 11th centuries mention temple women.