Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Kumbakonam

Kasi Viswanathar Temple stands near the Mahamaham tank in Kumbakonam. Shiva is worshipped here as Kasi Viswanathar and his consort as Visalakshi, and Sambandar and Appar praised the deity in the Tevaram, so the temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam. Legend says Rama and Lakshmana worshipped Shiva here while searching for Sita, and that the nine sacred rivers, burdened by the sins of bathers, were told to bathe in the Mahamaham tank. The temple is one of the twelve Shiva temples connected with the Mahamaham festival.

The present structure is 16th-century Nayak work and covers two acres within two prakarams. Its western gopuram has seven storeys and rises 72 ft. The temple is also called the Nava Kanniyar temple after its images of the nine river goddesses, among them the Ganges, Yamuna, Cauvery and Godavari, shown worshipping Shiva. The lingam said to have been worshipped by Rama stands in the north-eastern prakaram and is locally believed to grow over time. Masi Magam is the main festival.