Nagaraja Temple, Nagercoil

Nagaraja Temple in Nagercoil, near the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to Nagaraja, king of serpents, and gave the town its name. Its date is uncertain, probably before the 12th century. The main sanctum keeps an unusual form: a thatched shrine five feet high with a sand floor and a seated Nagaraja with five heads, today enclosed in a modern stone cover. Two further shrines honour Ananthakrishna, with Rukmini and Satyabhama, and Shiva.

The mandapa before the sanctum mixes Hindu deities and Jain figures: three seated Mahaviras, two Parsvanathas and Padmavati Devi, all set over lion emblems instead of their usual symbols. A 16th-century inscription records a gift by the Travancore king Bhutala Vira Udaya Marthanda Varma to priests with Jain names, and a record of 1521 shows Jain use at that time. The evidence suggests it began as a Jain shrine or had strong Jain involvement. Two brass images older than the 14th century, each under a hooded serpent, are also kept here.