The city of Kattumannargudi with the two temples of Shiva and Vishnu was a creation of Parantaka I (907 - 954) himself. The principal deity of this Shiva temple is called Anantisvarasvami. The original temple dates back to the reign of Parantaka I (940 CE) but the present fabric of the temple dates to Aditya II's time (960-965 CE). For example, the decorative carving on the wall pilasters indicates a date late in Parantaka's reign or post-Parantaka. The temple is preserved almost intact with only a few modifications. A feature particular to this temple that hasn't been seen before or never repeated afterwards is the introduction of a decorative motif of goose (hamsa) pairs above the basal block (homa) of the pilasters. References: S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1971, p.72-78 and Meister and Dhaky, 1963, pp.178-179.