Pancha Bhoota Sthalam
பஞ்சபூதத் தலங்கள்
5 temples in the tradition. No text fixes an order for them, so they are a set, not a sequence — visit in whatever order suits your route.
The set
Ekambareswarar Temple
ஏகாம்பரநாதர் கோயில்
Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
The sand linga and the Kampa flood. In play, Parvati covers Shiva's three eyes, and the worlds fall into a darkness that lasts crores of human years. Shiva tells her to atone by doing penance at Kanchi, on the Kampa river,…
Jambukeswarar Temple
திருவானைக்கா ஜம்புகேஸ்வரர் கோயில்
Thiruvanaikaval, Tamil Nadu
The elephant under the jambu tree. An elephant worshipped a linga of Shiva that stood under a jambu tree, cleaning it each day with water carried in its trunk. The account takes the temple's name from the tree —…
Annamalaiyar Temple
அண்ணாமலையார் கோயில்
Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
The column of fire that became a hill. Brahma and Vishnu quarrel over which of them is supreme. A column of fire rises between them, with no visible beginning or end, and a voice declares that whoever finds either end will be…
Srikalahasti Temple
శ్రీకాళహస్తీశ్వర స్వామి ఆలయం
Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh
The spider, the serpent and the elephant. Three creatures — a spider, a serpent and an elephant — each worshipped Shiva at this place, and each died in that devotion. Shiva revived them and granted all three liberation. The town…
Thillai Nataraja Temple
தில்லை நடராஜர் கோயில்
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu
The dance contest with Kali. When Shiva came to live at Chidambaram, the place was already the abode of the goddess Kali. The two settled the matter with a dance contest. Shiva danced the tandava, his cosmic dance;…
Plan the circuit
Side by side, so you can see the season, the walking and the nearest station for each. Where we have not confirmed something, the cell says so. Always check dates and conditions before you travel — especially with elders.
Not yet confirmed for any of these temples: main months, altitude, walking and access.
- Ekambareswarar Temple
- Darshan hours
- 6:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Nearest station / airport
- Kanchipuram railway station (CJ) · Chennai International Airport (MAA)
- Jambukeswarar Temple
- Nearest station / airport
- Tiruchirappalli Junction · Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ)
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours.
- Annamalaiyar Temple
- Nearest station / airport
- Tiruvannamalai railway station · Chennai International Airport (MAA)
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours.
- Srikalahasti Temple
- Darshan hours
- 5:30 am – 9:30 pm
- Nearest station / airport
- Tirupati railway station (TPTY) · Tirupati International Airport (TIR)
- Thillai Nataraja Temple
- Darshan hours
- 6:00 am – 12:00 pm
- Nearest station / airport
- Chidambaram railway station
Where this list comes from
- Hymn: No order-fixing source exists, and none establishes the element mapping. The strongest available attestation is that each of the five temples is sung in the Tevaram and classified as a Paadal Petra Sthalam — which establishes the temples, not the grouping. en.wikipedia.org · seen 2026-09-18
A note for the curious
No order. No text, hymn or purana fixing the element-to-temple mapping could be traced either — the mapping is conventional and is concordant across every source checked, but nothing establishes it. The Tevaram attests each temple individually; it does not group them as a set of five. Lists circulate in both element-cosmology order and geographic-route order, so any numbering here would be a choice with nothing behind it.