Thayumanavar Temple

The Thayumanavar Temple is a temple situated in the Rockfort complex in the city of Tiruchirappalli, India. The temple is situated close to the base of the Rockfort and was constructed by the Pallava king Mahendravarman I in the 6th century AD. Within the temple, there is a 100-pillared wall. The vimanam of the shrine is covered with gold.

According to another mythology, a pregnant woman named Rathnavathi is nearing labor and she suffers in enormous pain as her mother who is to help her has not yet arrived. The pregnant woman suffers alone and pleads to God. Then Lord shiva takes the form of her mother and helps her in the pregnancy. Thus, the Lord was praised as "Thayum Ana Swamy" (The Lord who could act like a Mother) and hence the temple began to be called as "Thayumanaswamy temple". Around 200 steps need to be climbed to reach the beautiful temple. The paintings on the ceiling are amazing. The structure of the temple shows the excellent art in olden days. The temple has many small shrines inside, but major shrines are for Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Mahalakshmi.