Papanasanathar Temple in Papanasam, a village in Tirunelveli district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to Hindu god Shiva.

The temple was originally built by Chandrakula Pandya, with further additions by the Vijayanagar and Nayak kings during the 16th century.

The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

[2] The lingam, the iconic form of Shiva in the temple is believed to an aspect of Surya, one of the planetary deities.

[4] As per another legend, the king of celestial deities, Indra slayed a demon Dwastha, the son of Sukracharya (the Guru of Asuras) as he was performing a penance to seek superior powers against the Devas.

The west facing shrine adjacent to the flagstaff has a hall with yali pillars, where Nataraja is housed.

Veerappa Nayaka (1609-23 AD), a ruler of Madurai Nayak dynasty built the Yagasala, dwajasthamba (flag staff) and Nataraja hall.

In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The temple rituals are performed six times a day: Tiruvananthal at 6:30 a.m., Sirualasanthi at 7:00 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:30 a.m., Uchikalam at 11:30 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., and Arthajamam between 8:00  - 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Papanasanathar and Ulagammai.