Tenkasi

Tenkasi, whose name means southern Kashi, lies near the foothills of the Western Ghats. Its great Vishwanatha temple is dedicated to Shiva and recalls the sacred city of Kashi on the Ganges. Inscriptions identify the Pandya king Parakrama Pandya as a builder of the temple. The shrine became a lasting monument of the later Pandya rulers, who retained a seat in the southern Tamil country after their power at Madurai had declined.