Vettuvan Koil

Vettuvan Koil in Kalugumalai, a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

It opens and overlooks to the east, but shares the entrance and a walk path from the west side of the hillock with the Kalugumalai Jain Beds (Highway 187).

The temple was built in the 8th century along with the Kalugumalai Jain Beds under the patronage of Parandhagan Netunjadaiyan of the early Pandyan era.

The vimana (ceiling over the sanctum) has niches of Parsavadevatas, the attendant deities of Shiva, like ganas, Dakshinamurthy depicted playing a mridanga, Siva with his consort Uma, dancers, various niches of Nandi (the sacred bull of Shiva) and animals like monkeys and lions.

[8] Vettuvan Koil is maintained and administered by Department of Archaeology of the Government of Tamil Nadu as a protected monument.

Side view of Vettuvan Koil
Rock-cut carved sculptures on vimanam.