Vanchinadha Swamy Temple information

Sri Vanchinadha Swamy Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
Deity	Sri Vanchinadha Swamy (Shiva) Mangalambigai (Parvathi)
Location
Location	Srivanchiyam
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	10°29′N 78°41′E / 10.483°N 78.683°E / 10.483; 78.683
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture

Vanchinadha Swamy temple^[1] is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Srivanchiyam, Tiruvarur District, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Vanchinadha Swamy, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Mangalambigai Amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.

The temple complex covers an area of 2 acres (0.81 ha) and houses two gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 108 feet (33 m) The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Vanchinadhaswamy, Yama and Mangala Nayagi Amman being the most prominent. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 6:00 a.m. to 9 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar, with the Masi Magam festival celebrated during the Tamil month of Maasi (February - March) being the most prominent.

The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 11th century, while later expansions are attributed to Vijayanagar rulers of the Thanjavur Nayaks of the 16th century. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.