Kasi Vishwanathar Temple - Thanjavur

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Site Name: Kasi Vishwanathar Temple
Site Type: Hindu temple 
Location:  Mela Masi Veethi (West Main Street), Tanjore city, Tamil Nadu state, India
Highlights: Built by the Maratha King
Nearest Railway Station: Tanjore
Nearest Airport: Trichy
How to reach: Well connected by road and rail
Hotel: A lot of options across the entire Tanjore city
Restaurants: A lot of options across the entire Tanjore city

Those who know about Thanjavur (Tanjore) city in South India know mainly about the great Brahadeeswarar Temple built by Raja Raja Chola around 1000 years back. However, there are many rare and interesting sites found across the entire city. Let us explore about an interesting temple named Kasi Vishwanathar temple in this article.

The West Main Street, which is called a Mela Masi Veethi in Tamil language, is a well known locality for the citizens of Thanjavur. If someone wants to explore Thanjavur beyond the Big temple, he/she can start with this street. Bangaru Kamakshi temple is located in this street. The very next structure of this temple is Navaneetha Krishnan temple. Few buildings away from the Krishnan temple, there is a temple dedicated to Ram called as Vijaya Raman Temple. After crossing few more buildings, there is another temple under the administration of Thanjavur Palace Trust, Kasi Vishwanathar temple.

Kasi Vishwanathar temple is south facing temple which has a small Raja gopuram (tower). The temple belongs to the Maratha period. It was built by the Maratha King Pratap Singh in the 18th century CE.

The main shrine enshrines Shiva Linga called Kasi Vishwanathar. There is a separate east facing shrine dedicated to the Goddess Vishalakshi.

The outside walls of the main shrine has the niche (Koshta) images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhava, Brahma and Durga.

There are sub-shrines of Ganesha, Shanmukha with Valli and Devasena, Navagraha and Chandikeshwara.

The idols of Bhairav, Shaneeswara and Hanuman are also found in the temple.

Happy travelling.
Location: Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India

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