Penneswarar Temple, Penneswaramadam

Penneswarar Temple, also called the Penneshvaramadam Shiva Temple, stands beside the Thenpennai river at Penneshvaramadam near Kaveripattinam in Krishnagiri district. Kulothunga Chola III built it in 1188 CE after defeating the Hoysalas, and a statue of the king stands in the temple. Legend says Parashurama prayed to Shiva here after killing the Kshatriyas 21 times. Its seven-tier rajagopuram, the largest in the district, is said to be the work of the Athiyaman.

The temple is a store of history. Some 42 inscription stones have been found, from many dynasties: one records a 13th-century Hoysala order that anyone begging in the kingdom would be killed, another a lamp lit by a queen of Raja Raja Chola III, alongside the Chola tiger emblem. Others mention the port of Chennapattinam, and inscriptions point to a Thevaram school that once stood here. The temple holds more Navakandam sculptures than any other in Tamil Nadu.