Kachabeswarar Temple, Thirukachur

Kachabeswarar Temple stands in the village of Thirukachur in Kanchipuram district, and forms a pair with the Marundeeswarar Temple in the same village. Shiva is worshipped as the lingam Kachabeswarar, with his consorts Antanatchi and Kanniyumaiyal. The name comes from a legend in which Vishnu, as a tortoise, worshipped Shiva here; another story tells of the hungry saint Sundarar being fed by Shiva on his way through, an episode he recorded in his Tevaram verses, which make this a Paadal Petra Sthalam.

The temple has records from the 10th century, though scholars place it at least as early as the 8th. The Cholas are believed to have built the first complex, and the present masonry dates from the Nayak period of the 16th century. Behind a flat gateway tower, concentric granite walls enclose the shrines across about two acres. A sixteen-pillared hall with 16th-century carved columns stands in front, next to the tank. Inside are shrines to Thyagaraja, to Irulneeki Thayar, and one showing Shiva serving food to Sundarar.