Madhuvaneswarar Temple, Nannilam

The Madhuvaneswarar Temple stands in the town of Nannilam in Tiruvarur district and is dedicated to Shiva. Tradition credits its construction to the Early Chola king Kocengannan. Like many Tamil temple towns, Nannilam takes its identity from a kind of tree: the area was once covered in Madhu forest, so it was called Madhuvanam, and the deity Madhuvaneswarar.

The temple covers 270 by 130 square feet, with an east-facing gopuram 30 feet high and smaller shrines for Ganesha, Murugan, Bhairava, Surya and the nine planets. Appar praised the deity in the Tevaram, and Sundarar glorified the temple in nine poems, making it one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams. It is counted among the temples on the banks of the Kaveri, and the state's HR&CE department administers it.