Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam

A Shiva rock-cut cave temple hewn from the same hill as the Vishnu shrine, dated to the 8th-9th century and noted for sculptures of Mahishasuramardini and the Sapta Matrikas.

Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam, Thirumayam
Practical guide

Plan Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam

Who's going?Tailor Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam to your trip
Typecave
Nearest baseThirumayam
DistrictPudukkottai
Best timeOctober to March is the cooler, drier…
Time neededAbout an hour
EntryFree
Places to visit5

Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam is planned from Thirumayam, one of the travel bases in Pudukkottai district. Use Thirumayam for stays, food and local transport, then plan this place as a focused stop.

What to expect

Highlights

Getting there

How to visit

  • Base yourself in Thirumayam or nearby in Pudukkottai, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel.
  • If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.
Timing

Best time

October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.

Weather in Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, ThirumayamSeasonal guide

Live forecast loads in your browser.

Today at Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam
Sunrise6:03 am
Sunset5:58 pm
Golden hour best light4:58 pm–5:58 pm
Blue hour after sunset5:58 pm–6:23 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 261°
Moon tonight🌒 Waxing crescent · 25%
Retreating monsoon. October and November still see spells of rain from the retreating monsoon, though it is usually lighter than mid-year. Conditions are generally good but worth checking.

Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.

Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop

Stays, food & things to do near Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam

Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.

Verified inventory is being added here.

Verified places are being added. The category filters will fill in as approved stays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and nature listings go live.

List your place
Ranked guides

Top experiences around Thirumayam

4 more places around Thirumayam. Open a guide to plan the visit and onward journey.

heritageThirumayam Fort

120 m · 1 min walk

A seventeenth-century hill fort above Thirumayam, with a separate visitor route from the living temples below.

templeSathyamurthi Perumal Temple, Thirumayam

70 m · 1 min walk

A rock-cut Vishnu temple within Thirumayam Fort, home to one of the largest reclining-Vishnu (Anantasayana) rock-cut sculptures in India.

templeAthmanathaswamy Temple, Avudaiyarkoil (Tirupperunturai)

The Tirupperunturai temple associated with Manikkavachakar, known for distinctive Atmanatha worship and fine stone carving.

K
Kattubava Pallivasal (Kattubava Mosque)
Place
heritageKattubava Pallivasal (Kattubava Mosque)

8.4 km · ~14 min by cab

A 17th-century Sufi mosque and dargah built by Arcot Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah in Indo-Islamic style with a large dome, arched gateway and minarets. It houses the tomb of the Sufi saint Bava Fakruddin, believed to be a grandson of the Nagore saint Shahul Hamid. Its annual urs festival draws pilgrims of many faiths, including Hindus, making it a symbol of local interfaith harmony.

Roampedia is commission-free — own or know a stay, eatery, guide or shop near Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam? List it and it appears here once verified.

Add a nearby business
Before you go

Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam — at a glance

Timings9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, closed Fridays
Best timeOct-Feb (plains hot Mar-Jun)

Entry: Covered by the fort/ASI ticket — confirm on site

Getting here

How to reach Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam

Nearest railway Pudukkottai (PDKT) ~18 km; nearest airport Tiruchirappalli (TRZ) ~40 km

Getting around Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam

If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.

If you need help at Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).

Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.

Nearby

What’s near Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam

templeSathyamurthi Perumal Temple, Thirumayam

A rock-cut Vishnu temple within Thirumayam Fort, home to one of the largest reclining-Vishnu (Anantasayana) rock-cut sculptures in India.

70 m · 1 min walk · straight line
heritageThirumayam Fort

A seventeenth-century hill fort above Thirumayam, with a separate visitor route from the living temples below.

120 m · 1 min walk · straight line
K
Kattubava Pallivasal (Kattubava Mosque)
Place
heritageKattubava Pallivasal (Kattubava Mosque)

A 17th-century Sufi mosque and dargah built by Arcot Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah in Indo-Islamic style with a large dome, arched gateway and minarets. It houses the tomb of the Sufi saint Bava Fakruddin, believed to be a grandson of the Nagore saint Shahul Hamid. Its annual urs festival draws pilgrims of many faiths, including Hindus, making it a symbol of local interfaith harmony.

8.4 km · ~14 min by cab · straight line
museumGovernment Museum, Pudukkottai

A major museum founded in 1910 with 18 galleries spanning archaeology, bronzes, sculpture, geology and anthropology, housing the former princely state's art collection.

16.7 km · ~28 min by cab · straight line
V
Vijaya Raghunatha Thondaman Palace (Pudukkottai Palace)
Place
heritageVijaya Raghunatha Thondaman Palace (Pudukkottai Palace)

The palace of the Thondaiman rulers of the former princely state of Pudukkottai, built in 1930 by Raja Rajagopala Thondaiman, the last monarch, in an Indo-Saracenic Dravidian style. It today houses the District Collector's office. It is the surviving royal landmark of the town's heritage core, whose planned layout was itself an early example of formal town planning in the region.

16.9 km · ~28 min by cab · straight line
templeKokarneswarar Temple, Thirukokarnam

A Pallava rock-cut Shiva temple carved around the mid-7th century by Mahendravarman I, with goddess Brihadambal as the tutelary deity of the Tondaiman kings of Pudukkottai.

17.0 km · ~28 min by cab · straight line
heritageArangulanathar Temple (Haratheertheeswarar)

A Shiva temple where the deity is worshipped as Arangulanathar with his consort Brahadambal (Periyanayaki). It is a Vaippu Sthalam praised in the Tevaram hymns of Sambandar and is traditionally linked to the Sangam-era Chola king Karikala. The temple has a large hundred-pillar hall, and a superb Nataraja bronze from here is now displayed at the National Museum, New Delhi.

18.1 km · ~30 min by cab · straight line
A
Andar Madam Jain Cavern, Tenimalai
Place
heritageAndar Madam Jain Cavern, Tenimalai

A natural cavern known as Andar-madam on Tenimalai hill, used by Jain ascetics, bearing a Tirthankara relief figure carved on a large boulder. Two early inscriptions survive, one below the image and another on a nearby boulder. It is part of the dense scatter of Jain vestiges that made Pudukkottai a major Jain centre for over a millennium.

20.3 km · ~34 min by cab · straight line
caveSittanavasal Cave (Arivar Koil)

A 2nd-century Jain rock-cut cave temple famed for its Pandya-era fresco murals of a lotus pond, dancers and animals, regarded as second only to Ajanta among Indian cave paintings.

23.3 km · ~39 min by cab · straight line
heritageEzhadippattam Jain Beds, Sittanavasal

A natural cavern on the Sittanavasal hill with polished rock beds and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions used by Jain ascetics, part of a Sramana pilgrimage centre active from the 1st century BCE to the 9th century CE.

24.4 km · ~41 min by cab · straight line
N
Nei Nandeeswarar Temple
Place
heritageNei Nandeeswarar Temple

A roughly thousand-year-old Shiva temple near Ponnamaravathi whose presiding deity is Chockalingeswarar with goddess Meenakshi. It is famous for its granite Nandi, called Nei Nandhi (Ghee Bull), which is anointed with ghee during Pradosham, with the melted ghee collected in a nearby well. Locally the Nandi is regarded as a sibling of the great Nandi at Thanjavur's Brihadeeswarar temple.

25.9 km · ~43 min by cab · straight line
A
Aranthangi Fort
Place
heritageAranthangi Fort

A ruined fort built by the Tondaiman chieftains who ruled the area as feudatories under the Vijayanagara and Pandya kingdoms around the 16th-17th century. Its most distinctive feature is that the outer ramparts were built largely of mud rather than stone or brick. Little of the interior survives, but the earthen walls make it an unusual example of regional fort construction.

28.4 km · ~47 min by cab · straight line

All 5 places to visit in Thirumayam →

On the map

Where Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam is

Good to know

Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam — frequently asked

When is the best time to visit Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam?

October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.

What are the entry fee and timings at Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam?

Entry: Covered by the fort/ASI ticket — confirm on site. Timings: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, closed Fridays.

How do I reach Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam?

Base yourself in Thirumayam or nearby in Pudukkottai, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel. If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.

How much time do I need for Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam?

About an hour.

What else is near Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam?

Nearby you can pair Sathyamurthi Perumal Temple, Thirumayam (70 m), Thirumayam Fort (120 m), Kattubava Pallivasal (Kattubava Mosque) (8.4 km), Government Museum, Pudukkottai (16.7 km).

Read before you go

Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam guides, stories & itineraries

We have not published a story about Sathyagirisvarar Rock-Cut Cave Temple, Thirumayam itself yet. These cover Thirumayam and the wider district, with separate journeys between stops.

Around Thirumayam

These guides explore Thirumayam and the surrounding area. Choose a visit that fits your interests, allowing separately for travel between stops.

Tamil Nadu-wide guides & itineraries

Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Tamil Nadu.

See all 17 Pudukkottai guides & stories →

Image credits

Photographs: R.K.Lakshmi (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.