Aavoor Pasupatheeswaram
| Aavoor Pasupatheeswaram | |
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 Aavoor Pasupatheeswaram
Location in Tamil Nadu
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| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 10°29′N 78°41′E / 10.483°N 78.683°ECoordinates: 10°29′N 78°41′E / 10.483°N 78.683°E |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Thanjavur |
| Location | Aavoor |
| Culture | |
| Primary deity | Pasupatheeswarar (Shiva) |
| Consort | Mangalanayagi, Pangajavalli |
| Temple tank | Brahma Theertham |
| Temple tree | Arasa Maram |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Dravidian architecture |
| Number of temples | 1 |
| Inscriptions | 1 |
| History and governance | |
| Creator | Kocheng Chola |
Pasupatheeswarar Temple, Aavoor (பசுபதீசுவரர் கோயில், ஆவூர்) or Aavoor Pasupatheeswaram is a Hindu temple dedicated to Hindu god Shiva, located in the village Aavoor, located 12 km south of South Indian town, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. The temple is one of the 70 madakoil built by 2nd century Chola king, Kochengat Chola. The temple is known for the Panchabairavar, the five images of Bhairavar. The temple is reverred in the verses of Tevaram, the 7th century Tamil Saiva canon by Tirugnana Sambandar.
Pasupatheeswarar indicates God of cows. Shiva is believed to have descended for the holy cow Kamadenu that prayed to him by ablution with their milk on the Shivalingam to get relief from the curse of sage Vashista. A sculpture indicating the legend is present in the walls of the second precinct of the temple. Another legend associates the temple with the saivite saint Tirumular (6th century CE). Tirumular saw a herd of cows lamenting the death of their herdsmen. Being a siddha, he entered into the body of dead herdsman, came back alive to serve as the herdsman and sung 3000 verses in praise of Shiva. The legend is closely associated with Gomukteswarar temple at Tiruvadurai, but is also associated with other temples like Thenupuriswarar Temple at Patteswaram and Tirukogarnam near Pudukkottai.
Kochengat Chola was a Chola king and one of the 63 nayanmars (saivite saints) of saivism. He is believed to have attained spiritual rebirth of a spider that fought with an elephant in its previous birth over the worship of the Hindu god Shiva. He had red eyes during birth as he remained in his mother’s womb a little longer. His mother, looking into the babies red eyes said Kochengkannano (in Tamil ko=king, cheng=red, kan=eyes), which literally means king with red eyes and hence he was named Kochengat Cholan. After becoming a king, he followed saivism and built 70 Maadakovils, temples with elevated structure where elephants cannot reach the sanctum, in the Chola empire. The temple has an inscription (181 of 1911) dating from the 3rd year of the rule of Rajendra Chola III (1246-1279 CE) indicating grants of land to the temple.
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