Raju’s Temple Visits

Temples within Chennai City

Listed below are many of the ancient temples within Chennai city that have great legendary significances. A few popular modern day temples are also listed alongside. This is a dynamic list and will be constantly updated with more information.

Note: A collection of geographical maps of temple is available here. Unlike the static map, these maps can be zoomed to the street level. This works best with the Firefox browser.

Last updated on: March 20, 2009.

Broadway (Parry’s Corner/ Flower Bazaar)

Sri Chenna Malleeswarar Temple and Sri Kesava Perumal Temple

The temple is located between DevarajaMudali street on the east, NSC Bose Road on the North, Nainiappa Naicken street on the west and Rasappa Chetty street on the South.

This is one of the three temples that were popular even before the arrival of the British. This Shiva-Vaishnav twin temple was initially located near St George fort but the British demolished it to expand their army. Due to the public outcry, the temple was then shifted to the Devaraja Mudali street. In the process, the Vigraha of this Perumal temple got mixed up with the 4 idols of the Thiruneermalai Perumal temple and the idol of Thiruneermalai temple was brought here by a mistaken identity but remains here since then. There will always be a good fragrance of jasmine at the Malleeswarar temple. All the 63 Nayanmars are present in a separate shrine.

More details on the temple here

Sri Kandaswamy Temple or Kandakottam Sri Muthukumara Swamy Temple

This temple is located at the Rasappa Chetty Street.

When Mari Chettiar and Kandappa Achari were going to Thirupporur Murugan temple by walk, they rested at a place and a dream came to both of them simultaneously that there is a Murugan idol below the earth there. The idol was unearthed, brought here and a temple was built during 1670s. The main deity here is Thirupporur Kandaswamy and the Urchava idol is Muthukumara Swamy. Inside the temple, the ‘Saravana Poihai’ temple tank is present and surprisingly the water is at the same level as when the temple was built many hundred years ago, in spite of being located in the city’s densest commercial place.

Sri Ekambareswarar Temple

This 500 year old temple is located at the Thangasalai street (Mint street), Parktown and is one of the three temples that were popular even before the arrival of the British. A big, beautiful and well maintained temple with a temple tank (with water as well). In almost all the (ancient) temple tanks in this area, it is quite heartening to see water in spite of being in the densest commercial place. JJ’s water harvesting has paid off??.

The temple is considered equivalent to Kanchi Ekambareswarar temple, one of Pancha bootha sthalangal representing land. Lingams of all the other Panchabootha sthalams (Kalahasthi, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvanaikaval and Chidambaram) and all the 63 Nayanmars are also present. There are 300 years old Ashwatha Tree and Kallala tree and there is a lingam shrine under the Ashwatha tree, the speciality of which being that people can do pooja to the lingam themselves. In a single sculpture, Panchamuha Vinayahar is on one side and Murugar is on the other side with a five headed Snake. The Navagraha shrine here is considered one of the most sacred shrines in the city.

Pancha Bootha Sthalams:

There are Pancha boodha sthalam equivalents in Chennai at the heart of the city which are considered very powerful and they are:

1) Kalahasthi temple at Pavalakara (Coral Merchant) street, near Mallikeswarar temple, Mannady representing Air

2) Arunachaleswara temple near Lakshmi Amman Koil stop in Thiruvotriyur bus route representing Fire. There is one more Arunachaleswarar temple at the end of Palliappan street (George town).

3) Gangadareswarar Temple, Purasawalkam representing Water

4) Chidambaranatha (Nataraja) temple near Choolai Post office representing Sky and

5) Ekambareswara Koil at Mint representing Earth

Note: Thanks to Mrs Prasanna Rajagopalan for the information

Chinnakadai Sri Mariamman or Renuka Parameswari Temple

Located at the NSC Bose road in the Mint street junction at Sowcarpet, the highlights of this tiny temple being:

• More than 200 years old, artistically done temple
• In the sanctum sanctorum, the goddess is present in two forms – as Seethala Devi in full human form and as Renuka Parameswari with her whole body below the earth and only the head above the earth.
• Kasi Viswanathar in linga form along with Kasi Visalakshi is also present
• Camphor burns always in front of the temple – It is believed that the Goddess gives dharshan in the form of light (deepam). It is believed that lighting camphor in front of the temple for Rs 5.25 during the Brahma Muhurtham (4:30 AM to 5:30 AM) will get one’s wish fulfilled within 11 days.
• The steps to the ambal shrine are very powerful since the Goddess was initially present here and later shifted backwards to accommodate more crowd.
• During Fridays, the temple will be kept open till 12 midnight
• Worshipped by Vallalar and Vivekanandhar
• Hanging a garland of a lemon with 7 green chillies at house entrance after the pooja here will remove all the dhrishties and bad vibrations.

Bairahi Madam Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple

This beautiful and cleanly maintained temple is located at the NSC Bose road, near the Waltax road and Kumarakottam. Thirupathi Venkatesa perumal appeared in the dream of a devotee to build a temple here so that he can be present here for him in order to avoid the difficulty of coming all the way to Thirupathi. It will be surprising for the South Indians to see the Perumal in a strange (but beautiful) dressing . The highlight of the temple being that three important Perumals – Sriranganathar, Venkatesa Perumal and Kanchi Varadharaja Perumal – are all present here. Also Lakshmi Narasimhar, Puri Jagannathar, Kannabiran and Varahamoorthy are present. Here also a clean temple tank with water as well (in the month of Jan).

Kumarakottam Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple

Located at the NSC Bose Road, the Subramanyar here was worshipped by Sage Agasthiar. Though this is a Murugan temple, Lord Shiva as Arunachaleswarar with Abitha Kuchalambal and

Sarabeswarar are also present. The Rahuhala (4:30 PM to 6:00PM) Sarabeswara Pooja during every Sunday is very special here.

Sri Venugopala Krishna Swamy Temple

Located at Pavalakara Street, Muthialupet, 1 km north of Broadway bus stand, this is a many hundred years old temple and is the only ancient Krishnan temple within Chennai city. Srinivasa Perumal and Ramar shrines are also present. Thirumazhisai Azhwar stayed here for many years and has done Mangalasasanam.

Sri Marahathambal Sametha Sri Mallikeswarar Temple

Located at the Lingi Chetty Street of Seethakathi Nagar, the temple is 700 years old. Once this temple was completely buried under the ground and the temple Kalasam just showed up during a digging. On further digging, the complete temple came into light and now the temple is present 2 meters below the ground level. When the temple was uncovered, fresh jasmine flowers were found on the Shivalingam and so the deity is called Mallikeswarar. Goddess is considered to bless devotees with boons. The temple Gopuram is very artistic and attracts foreigners. All the Navagrahas are present with their respective vahanas. Aswametha and Neem tree are grown together as a single tree. During the first Sunday of Chithirai month, 63 Nayanmars festival is being conducted in a big way, during which many Thevara groups sing Thevarams together as in the famous Thyagaraja Aradhanai at Thiruvaiyaru.

Sri Kalikambal Temple

The temple is located at Thambu Chetty Street. Chennai city was once called Chennamman Kuppam in the name of Goddess Chennaman and later Chenna pattinam. The Kali of the erstwhile Chennamman Kuppam is today’s Kalikambal. The temple was once located inside the St George fort and later shifted here during the British regime. The temple has the sanctity of the two Pancha bootha Sthalams – Kanchipuram and Thiruvannamalai.

At the foot of the Goddess is present the Arthameru installed by Aadhi Shankarar. Kamadeswarar is present in a separate shrine. Many sages Vyasar, Parasar, Agasthiar, Ankiresar, Pulasthiar and Varunan and Celestial Gods Indhran, Guberan and Viwaakarma worshipped Kalikambal. It is said that Guberan got all his wealth only after worshipping Kalikambal here

Chathrabathi Sivaji worshipped Kalikambal in 1677. Bharathiar used to worship Kalikambal while working in Suthesamithran magazine and his verse ‘Yathumahi Ninral Kali’ was sung on Kalikambal only. The famous TMS’s song ‘Ullam Uruhuthaiya’ was sung for the first time here only, in 1952 by Sri Andavan Pichai.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘ Nimmadhi Tharum Sannidhi Part 1‘ book.

Sri Kachaleeswarar Temple

The temple was built in 1720s and is located at Aranmanaikaran street. Thalavai Chettiar used to go to Kancheepuram to worship the Kachabeswarar there and on one such trip, he was held up due to heavy rain. But on return, he found all his works were completed properly and so he built this temple. The main deity is Shivalingam present on a 5 tier base, the bottom most being Mahavishnu as Tortoise (Kachabam). Mahavishnu worshipped Shiva in the form of Tortoise during the churning of Parkadal (Milky Ocean). Behind the lingam is present the Sadhasivam idol – Shiva with five heads in human form (make sure you have a dharshan of Him by requesting a Deepa Aradhanai since He is not visible normally). The Somaskanda moorthy here is said to as sacred as that of Thiruvannamalai. Polla pillaiyar, created without using sharp tools, is seen here. 63 Nayanmars are present in a beautiful exclusive mandapam.

Sri Vasavi Kanniha Parameswari Temple

Located at the Aadhiappa Naickan street this temple has a rich legend. The legend has it that along with Kanniha Parameswari, Vaisya couples from 102 Gothrams took firebath and attained salvation. The names of these 102 couples have been inscribed in the temple. Vasavi Kanniha Parameswari’s janma sthalam is Benukonda which is about 400 kms from Chennai but one can worship the same Goddess here at Chennai.

Sri Kasi Viswanathar Temple

This 200 years old temple is present in the George Town Mint street.

Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple

This 250 years old temple is present in the George Town Palliappan street

Sri Kalatheeswarar Temple at Mannady

This temple is located near Mallikeswarar Temple at Pavalakara (Coral merchant) street.

Sri Angallamman Temple at Choolai

This is a very popular, ancient and very big temple. There is a big temple tank as well. The Goddess is very powerful and people throng the temple on auspicious occasions and during mid-night poojas on Amavasai. Recently the temple is given a new look with the constructions of Gopuram.

Triplicane

Sri Parthasarathy Temple

This is one of the 108 Divya desams. The name of the place came from the term – Allikkeni, meaning the temple tank of Alli flowers called Kairavinisaras. Per Legend, Thiruvengadamudayan gave dharshan as Krishnan to Chola king Sumathirajan per his request and so the deity is called Venkatakrishnan and the vigraha was installed by Attreya maharishi. The main deity is in the form of charioteer and so has a big moustache and the whole family of Krishnar – consort Rukmani, elder brother Balaramar, younger brother Satyaki, son Pradhyumna and grandson Anirudha are present in main shrine which can not be seen anywhere else. Since Krishnar promised not to take any weapons in His hands during the Mahabharatha war, He is seen here with Sangu only (without the Chakra). The Utsava vigraham bears scars supposed to be from the arrows of Bheeshmar, when he was the charioteer to Arjuna in the Mahabharatha war.

The special significance of the temple being that the perumals of the 5 divya desams – Thirupathi Venkatesa Perumal, Srirangam Ranganathar, Kancheepuram Varadarajar, Ahobilam Narasimhar and Ayodhi Ramar – are present in separate shrines. As a rarity there are two dwajasthambams one for Sri Parathasarathy and the other for Sri Narasimhar. Also during Brahmosthavams, the temple car will run twice.

Ramanujar’s father AasuriKesavacharyar conducted an yagna here and got Ramanujar as his son. Thyagarajar, Muthuswamy Dhikshithar and Bharathiar lived here. ‘Bharathiar Illam’ is very nearby and all Bharathiar songs on Krishnar are based only on this deity. Viveknandhar also visited this temple.

More details on the temple here

Sri Thiruvetteeswaran Temple

This temple at Thiruvetteeswaranpet (part of Triplicane) is a 500 years old temple. When the forest in this area was cleared off to expand the Nawab’s Chepak palace, the axe fell on a Shivalinga by mistake and blood oozed out. This temple was then built. Kasi Viswanathar and Visalakshi are also present.

Mylapore

Sapthasthana Temples of Shiva:

There are seven Sapthasthana (Saptha meaning seven) temples for Shiva in Mylapore worshipped by the Saptha rishis – Adri, Brigu, Kutsa, Vashishta, Gautama, Kasyapa and Angirasa. Originally they were all part of a single temple but in due course they have become separate temples. It is highly powerful to worship all the seven deities in a single trip.

More details on the Sapthasthana temples here

1. Kapaleeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Kasyapar, this is the most popular of the Sapthasthana temples. This is one of the 275 Thevara Padal Petra Sthalams; out of these, this is one of the 40 temples that have west facing Shiva shrines. The original temple was located near the sea but got submerged in the sea and the current temple was built around 350 years back. Parvathi Devi worshipped Shiva here in the form of Peacock. The 63 Nayanmar festival is highly popular.
2. Sri Velleeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Angeerasa, this temple is located at the South Mada street very close to the Kapaleeswarar temple. The legend has it that Asura Guru Sukracharyar worshipped Shiva here in order to regain his vision.
3. Sri Valiswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Gautama, this 2000 years old temple is located at Gopathy Narayana Chetty Street opposite to Kolavizhiamman Temple. Vali got all his powers after his tapas towards Easwaran here. Pancha lingams came out from the earth as seen in a separate shrine which is an appropriate place for meditation. There are shrines for Vinayahar, Natarajar, Goddess Sivahami, Murugar with Valli and Deivanai, Chandeeswar, Anjaneyar, Vishnu, Durgai, and Ayyappan. Navagrahas with their respective vahanas and Saneeswarar separately are present in different shrines. In the Southwest of the outer praharam, a lizard has been carved out to indicate that this is a Parihara sthalam.
4. Sri Theerthapaleeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Adri, this temple is located in the Dr.Natesan street of Krishnapet, Triplicane Mirsahib market area opposite to mosque. The temple has significance that when the seven deities of the Sapthasthana temples take bath in the sea during the Theerthavari festival in the tamil month of Masi, this deity takes the first place. Sage Agasthiar worshipped Shiva here.
5. Sri Karaneeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Vasishta, this 12^th century temple is located in the Bazaar street of Karaneeswararpet. The Shivalingam here is in square shape as seen in only Thirukkadaiyur and Kalahasthi. Since Shiva is the ‘reason’ for everything, He is called Karaneeswarar (Karanam in Tamil means reason).
6. Sri Virupaksheeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Kutsa, this is the oldest temple of Mylapore and is near Karaneeswara temple and Mundakkanni Amman temple. Sivanesan Chettiar, who built this temple, had a daughter called Poompavai and when she died, Thirugnana Sambandhar brought her back from her burnt bones. ‘Viroopam’ means ‘Contradicting the Nature’ and since Shiva’s third eye contradicts the nature, He is called Virupaksheeswarar.
7. Sri Malleeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Brigu, this temple is located near the Karaneeswara temple. This was once a forest of Jasmines and so the Easwaran here is called Malleeswarar. Prarthan, King of Ayodhya, was in tapas and conducted a Yagna here towards Shiva. Indhran tried to sabotage his tapas but could not. In praise of the intensity of his tapas, Shiva appeared before him along with his consort. Neem and Aswatha trees are grown together as a single tree.

Sri Madhava Perumal Temple

Located to the east of Sanskrit College and north of Kapaleeswarar temple it is very near the Mundakkanni amman temple. The temple is amazingly clean, aesthetically painted, well lit and very well maintained. Peyazhwar was born near this temple and worshipped Madhava Perumal daily. Also Thirumazhisai Azhwar was enlightened by Madhava Perumal. The legend has it that Goddess Sridevi was brought up in Bruhu Maharishi Ashram here and Madhava Perumal married her. The temple tank Sandhana Pushkarani here is the erstwhile pond of Bruhu Maharishi’s Ashram.

More details on the temple here

Sri Adhikesava Perumal temple

This is one of the oldest temples of Mylapore. As a contrast to the Madhava Perumal Temple, this is being maintained poorly.

Sri Vedhantha Desikar Temple

This is located very near the Adhikesava Perumal temple. Initially there was only Vedhantha Desikar shrine but later Srinivasa Perumal shrine also came in.

More details on the temple here

Sri Mundakkanni Amman Temple

Located at about half a kilometer north of Kapaleeswarar Temple and at a few hundred meters to the east of Sanskrit College, this is a very popular and powerful Amman temple. Amman is a Swayambu putru.

More details on the temple here

Sri Kolavizhiamman Temple

Located at Gopathy Narayana Chetty Street opposite to Valiswarar temple and to the east of Mundakkanni Amman Temple, this is a 1000 years old temple. It is said that a British lost his vision after photographing the Firewalk festival and regained his vision only after worshipping this Goddess.

Sri Ramakrishna Mutt Temple

Mother Sharadha Devi stayed here for a month in 1910. The specialty of the temple being that it has the combined architectural styles of Buddha, Jaina and South Indian Temples. There is a big and beautiful prayer hall where Sri Ramakrishnar’s life size marble idol is present and is being decorated very neatly and beautifully. It is a pleasure to sit there for a meditation during the evening Aarthi. The bhajans set in vibrations that can not be explained by words. It could also be an enchanting experience if one sits in the outer praharam amidst the garden (a nice sound system is there) especially with family and relatives. A beautiful place for a peaceful evening – Experience it.

Just by the side, the old temple is also present.

More details on the temple here

Sri Gnanasundara Vinayahar Temple

This is a 400 years old popular temple. Located at the junction of the St Marry’s Road and Ramakrishna Math Road, this has the following legend: The main deity here was once lying along other stones at the Dharga in Ramakrishna Math road. When Arcot Nawab was going through this route, his horse was tied to this stone but the horse got the ‘Valippu’. When the horse was untied, it came back to normalcy but when it was tied again to the stone, it got the ‘Valippu’ again. They then identified the stone as the Vinayahar idol and this temple was built.

Sri Thiruvalluvar Temple

Located very near to the Mundakkanni amman temple, this is the birthplace of Thiruvalluvar and little known even to the locals. A more than 2000 years old Iluppai tree under which Thiruvalluvar is said to have born got damaged in 1935 and the base of the tree is being protected with a cover. There is a famous incident in Thiruvalluvar-Vasuki life in which, while Vasuki was fetching water in a pot from a well, Thiruvalluvar called her and she went leaving the pot as it was but incidentally the pot remained half way as it was. This historical well can be seen here.

Ekambareswarar and Kamatchi are the main deities along with Vinayahar, Murugar, Navagrahas and Saneeswarar shrines. The Ekambareswarar shrine is considered as the birth place of Thiruvalluvar by some researchers and as the Samadhi by others.

While Thiruvalluvar is considered as the Tamil God, it is surprising that his original birth place is being maintained so poorly. What’s the point in installing a 133 feet Thiruvalluvar status at Kanyakumari keeping this place so badly? How many Tamils know that there is a temple for Thiruvalluvar right at the heart of the city? This being a temple is the only reason for this neglect by both the Dravidian parties?

Sri ApparSwamigal Temple

Located just opposite Sanskrit College

Raja Annamalaipuram

Sri Ayyappan Temple

Located at Foreshoreestate in Greenways road, near Chettinad Vidhyashram School, the temple was constructed by the Chettinad family and opened in 1982. This stone temple with the sacred 18 steps is built in the same style as the original Sabarimala Ayyappan Temple and very well maintained. Unlike Sabarimala, this temple is open throughout the year but the sacred ‘18 steps’ is opened only during the Mandala pooja as in Sabarimala and devotees can offer ‘Irumudi Kaanikkai’. During the Mandala Pooja, ‘Irumudi Neyyabishekam’ is performed to the Moolavar for 35 days and Brahmotsavam (main festival) is celebrated for 6 days.

The temple has all sub-shrines as in Sabarimala for Sri Maha Ganapathi, Sri Nagaraja, Sri Maligaipurathu Amman (Manja Matha), and other “Parivara Devatas”.

Adayar

Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple at Besant Nagar

A very popular temple located right on the beach shore. The main deity here is 7 feet high Mahavishnu with Mahalakshmi. It has shrines for all the 8 Lakshmi Goddesses and is built based on the architecture of the Uthiramerur Perumal temple. Lakshmi shrines are located in the 2 tiers of the vimanam of the main Perumal shrine and is constructed in such a way that you will not come on top of any of the deities below while going over the 2 tiers.

Location: In the main Besant Nagar M.G.Road, while going towards Elliots Beach/ Velankanni church, just before the church, take the right turn to enter the Kalakshetra Colony (there is one Kalakshetra ‘Road’ at Thiruvanmiyur which is different). Go straight upto a Police booth and then take a left turn to reach the temple.

Another popular temple ‘Arupadai Murugan’ Temple is nearby.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘Nimmadhi Tharum Sannidhi – part 2‘ book

Sri ArupadaiVeedu Murugan Temple at Besant Nagar

This new stone temple has shrines for all the six Padai veedu of Lord Muruga in the same direction as the original temples. The land for this was donated by MGR during his regime but the temple was built years later by NRI Chettiars. Popular temple and can be seen in many films and serials.

This is located near the Ashtalakshmi Temple. After entering the Kalakshetra Colony main road (Tiger Varadhachari Road), go straight till the T junction at the very end of the road and then turn left to reach the temple.

More details on the temple here

Sri Anantha Padmanatha Swamy Temple at Adayar

This is located at Gandhi Nagar, Adayar. While coming from Guindy/ Saidapet, at the Adayar LB Road over bridge junction, take a left turn and the temple is located at about 100 meters from there.

This is a very beautiful and well maintained temple. The sanctum sanctorum is well illumined and the Perumal in the Anantha Sayana posture is very beautiful indeed.

Sri Rathnagreeswarar Temple at Besant Nagar

This is a popular and very active Shiva temple at Besant Nagar. In the main Besant Nagar M.G.Road, while traveling towards Elliots Beach, take a left turn immediately after the RBI Quarters.

Madhya Kailash Sri Anandha Vinayahar temple at Taramani

The temple is located exactly at the start of the IT Highway, now called Rajiv Gandhi road at the junction of Sardar Patel Road with IT Highway at Taramanii. While coming from Guindy/ Saidapet, you have to turn right at the junction immediately after the IIT over bridge.

When the Regional Labour Institute was constructed n 1970s, a Vinayahar came up as Swayambu and it was worshipped at a platform temple. Later, upon blessings and guidance from Kanchi Periyavar, this temple was built with Anandha Vinayahar as the main deity with all the Arupadai Murugans inside the Anandha Vinayahar shrine.

There are some rare shrines in this temple:

• Called Adhyantha Prabhu, a combination of Anjaneyar on the left side and Vinayahar on the right side like Arthanareeswarar. This can not be seen anywhere else.
• Adhithyan (Sun God) in a ratham with 7 horses like Konark Sun God Temple.
• Sage Suha Brahma is present as a Koshta God

The name Madhya Kaliash came from the fact that the temple is situated between North Kailash (Kasi) and South Kailash (Rameswaram) to conduct the poojas for pithrus (ancestors). Everyday after 12 noon pithru poojas are being conducted with Anandha Vinayahar as the Kartha. Parameswarar and Adhithyan shrines are present only for the Pithru poojas,

The other shrines are Abirami, Anjaneyar, Mahavishnu, and Navagrahas. All the 33 idols of this temple were done through Thirupathi Devasthanam.

The official website of the temple is here

Sri Vara Siddhi Vinayahar Temple at Besant Nagar

Located just opposite the Besant Nagar Bus Depot, the specialty of the temple being that Ganapathy Homam is being conducted everyday, yes, everyday.

More details on the temple here

Sri Periyapalayam Amman Temple at Adayar

Located just opposite Adayar Bus Depot at L.B.Road

Sri Pamban Swamigal Madam at Thiruvanmiyur

The Samadhi of Sri Pamban Swamigal is located very near to the entrance of Kalakshetra, the popular Bharthnatya School at Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar. The full moon day celebration all through the night is very special.

More details on Pamban Swamigal here

Sri Marundeeswarar Temple at Thiruvanmiyur

Significance: One of the 275 sacred temples glorified by the Thevara hymns; 7^th Century temple.

Main deity: Swayambu linga known as Marundeeswarar with Goddess Thripura Sundari in separate shrines.

Location: In close proximity to the Thiruvanmiyur Bus Depot at the start of the ECR.

Names of the main deity:

• Sage Valmiki worshipped Shiva and hence called Vanmeeki nadhar.
• Kamadenu worshipped and so He is known as Palvanna nadhar.
• Sage Agasthiyar worshipped and was preached the science of Oushadha muligi (herbs). So He is called as Oushadeeswarar and Marundeeswarar.
• Devas worshipped and so He is known as Vedapureeswarar

Legend:

• Since Sage Valmiki (vanmiki) worshipped here, the place is called Thiruvanmiyur
• Lord Shiva gave dharshan to Markandeyar under the Vanni Tree
• Moon God got his curse cleared off
• Ramar, on his way to Lanka worshipped Shiva
• Sage Brinki (in whose name Paranki Malai has come up) worshipped Shiva
• Shiva danced before Sage Valmiki during Panguni full moon day
• Lord Marundeeswarar taught Sage Agasthiar on the science of Herbs

Temple: The main deity is a Swayambu lingam about 1 foot high and is present in a slightly slanting position. Kamadehnu worshipped the lingam here and the foot marks of Kamadhenu can be seen at the lingam. Srichakra is there in front of Goddess. No Navagrahas are present since the Navagraha worship came into practice only after 10^th century during the Chola period. Lord Muruga is seen with right leg on peacock and bow in his hand. Arunagirinadhar sang thirupugazh on Murugan of this place.

Sthala Vruksham: Vanni.

Theertham: There are 5 theerthams – Janma nasini, Kama nasini, Papa nasini, Gyana dhayini & Moksha nasini which are from the jada mudi of Lord Shiva.

Note: There are two temple tanks – one outside the temple and the other inside. The one inside was cleaned and recharged with the rainwater harvesting recently by the local NGOs and so it used to have some water atleast during the rainy season but the one outside was never seen with water even during the heaviest monsoon. During the last flooding, while the Adyar river was flooded to the brim and the precious water was being let off to the sea just like that, it was pathetic to see this tank, just a km away, was completely dry without a drop of water, really. I have seen both of them, myself. To top it all, the fact remains that only 5% of the temple collections are being ploughed back to the temple renovations!!.

East Coast Road (ECR)

Shiridi Sai Baba Temple at Injambakkam

Take the left after Prathana drive-in theatre to reach the temple. It is approximately 8.5 kms from Adyar. The temple itself is very big and is in a calm, clean, breezy and peaceful place.

Puri Jagannath Temple at Kannathur

An exact replica of the Puri Jagannath Temple is located on ECR just about 100 meters before Mayajal. In the bazaar area of Kannathur, turn left (East) towards sea and go further for about 200 meters to reach the temple. For those who have not been to Puri, this is a boon to see Jagannathar in the same style as Puri at their doorstep. As a very calm locality near the sea and a neatly maintained temple this is a beautiful place to visit.

Velachery – Tambaram

Sri Dhandeeswarar Temple at Velacheri

The temple is located in the Rajbhavan-Vijayanagar Bus stand road, about half a km from the Vijayanagar Bus stand.

Yaman does not have separate temples and the temples that remove one’s death fears are only a few like Thirukkadaiyur, Thirupainjeeli near Trichy, Srivanchiyam and Thiruvaihavur apart from the Velacheri Dhandeeswarar Temple.

Velacheri was once called Vedasreni, the temple of Vedas, the sacred place for veda padasalas. This was also called Sathurmangalam – Sathur means four. All the four Vedas worshipped Dhandeeswarar here and were cleared off the dhosham that was got while being caught by the demons. It is said that Yama was in tapas here for 3000 years and got blessed. Since Lord Shiva snatched the Dhandam of Yama, the deity here is called Dhandeeswarar. The main deity is a Swayambu lingam. Worshipping here removes one’s death fears.

More details on the temple here

Yoga Narasimhar Temple at Velacheri

This temple is located very near the Dhandeeswarar temple. The Lord here is in a sitting posture facing the West which is considered rare.

More details on the temple here

Sri Venkatachalapathy Temple at Pallikaranai

A new temple for Sri Venkatachalapathy at Kamakotinagar, Pallikaranai, (opposite Balaji Dental College) on the Velachery-Tambaram Main Road. A special feature of this temple being that the beautiful main deity, Sri Lakshmi Balaji is seven feet high and has the idol of Goddess Lakshmi in the lower half.

Sri Lakshmi Narayanar Temple at Pallikaranai

This is a 800 years old Chola temple. The main deity Sri Narasimhar is seen embracing Goddess Lakshmi who is sitting at his lap.

Sri Neelavarna Perumal Temple at Nanmangalam

More than 1200 years old Pallava temple for Sri Sridevi Bhudevi Samedha Sri Neelavarnaperumal. More information here

Sri Oppiliappan Pattabisheka Ramar Temple at Puzhudhivakkam.

This is located at Ram Nagar (North). More informationhere

Sri Mookambigai Temple at Medavakkam

This temple is located at Medavakkam at Santhoshipuram, Anandha nagar

Sri Selliamman Temple at Keelkattalai

Selli means Younger girl and the youngest of the Saptha madhas, Chamundi is being worshipped as the Boundary God in different names in different places and Selliamman is one of them. The temple tank has been renovated beautifully with the participation of both the Government and the NGOs.

Sri Pamavathi Samedha Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple at Keelkattalai

The founder secretary of the temple had a dream for three consecutive days in which Lord Srinivasa appeared and asked him to offer 108 Salagrama garland to be obtained from the King of Nepal Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. The devotee decided to make an effort and wrote to the King of Nepal describing his dream. After three months, a parcel with 108 Salagramams arrived from the King of Nepal !!.

Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Parayana Mandali group has been chanting Vishnu Sahasranamam on Sundays for more than 450 weeks.

More details on the temple here

Sri Dhenupureeswarar temple at Madambakkam

Main deity: Swayambu linga known as Denupureeswarar & Denukambikai.

Legend: Sage Kapilar took birth as a cow due to a curse. One day, the master of the cow saw the cow pouring its milk on a small stone buried in the ground. He angrily hit the cow for having wasted its milk. Unable to bear the pain, the cow tapped it’s leg on the ground and also the stone. The stone started bleeding and later it was found to be a Shiva Linga. Lord Shiva gave dharshan to Sage Kapilar and gave salvation. Even today one can see a scar on the Shiva lingam, caused by the kick of the cow (Kapila). Another rare feature of the temple being that it houses Lord Sarabeswarar on one of the pillars in it. Arunagirinadhar sang Thirupugazh on subramanya of this place.

Temple: The lingam is one of the smallest in the world and no one is able to tell on what material this lingam is made of since it is a Swayambu. A highly powerful temple and one gets lot of vibrations here and you can see people meditating in the inner praharam most of the time. This Shiva temple, dating back to more than thousand years, was built during the reign of the Chola king, Parantaka II, also known as Sundara Chola (956-973 A.D.), father of Rajaraja Chola I. This temple was probably rebuilt with stone during the reign of Kulottunga Chola I. The temple is now under the control of Archeological Society of India. This ancient village, now called Madambakkam, was once known as Ulaguyyavanda-Chola Chaturvedimangalam.

More details on the temple here and a also travelogue here

Siddhar temple at Madambakkam

Located very near to the Dhenupureeswarar Temple, this temple, called the Universal Shrine was constructed as instructed by the Sathguru Seshadhri Swamihal of Thiruvannamalai. Dedicated to the Mother Goddess in her form as the Maha Meru as per the ancient Sri Vidya tradition, to the 18 Siddhars – masters of infinite enlightenment and to the Sathguru, the Universal Temple is today a temple of peace and solace. A unique complex the Universal Shrine is the only one of its kind in the world reflecting the depth of India’s spiritual traditions, the sacred system of Sri Vidya and the mystical heritage of the sages of God realization.

More details on the temple here

Selaiyur

Selaiyur is 2.5 Kms from Tambaram Railway station and could be reached by any MTC bus which starts from East Tambaram. The original name of Selaiyur is Silaiyur – the place with so many Silais or idols, and there is a temple at every corner, some of them surprisingly ancient.

Sri Skandhashramam

This temple is located at Mahalakshmi Nagar, Rajakilpakkam, Selaiyur. Built by Sathguru Srimad Shanthananda Swamigal who hails from the Avadhoota tradition of Saints, this temple pays a living tribute to the glory of Hinduism. Enshrined in this temple are the icons of rare deities including that of Kamala Siddhi Vinayakar, Panchamukha Heramba Ganapathy, Dattatreya, Panchamukha Hanuman, Saneeswarar, Ayyapan, Ashtadasabhuja Durga Parameswari, Srimath Sadguru Shantananda Swamigal, Lord Sarabeswara (form of Shiva), Goddess Prathyankira, Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, Swaminathaswamy (Skanda), Sudarshanachakathalwar, Sahasralingam (1008 lingams) and Sri Chakra Poorna Maha Meru all in magnificent stature

The official website is here

Sri Abirami Amman udanurai Amirdhagadeswarar temple

This temple is over 250 years old. This is considered as “Chennaiyin Thirukadaiyur” (Thirukadaiyur is a famous temple town near Mayiladuthurai which is considered to be the apt place for conducting Shastiabthapoorthi (60th Birthday). The main deities are Abhirami Amman and Amirthakadeswarar. According to the priest, there are 14 Ambal (Devi) temples in Selaiyur. In this particular temple, the idols were found during some digging. The Nandhi in this temple faces the Goddess, as she is in “Siva Shathi Bagam”. The central courtyard is occupied by a mandapam in which the 16 Aishwaryams or Lakshmis are depicted. Temple Tank named “Abirami Pushkarani” was renovated recently and figurines of holy rivers of India installed around it. Some of the poojas and festivals are – Pradhosam, “Pushpanjali” during new moon day of Tamizh month Aadi, Navarathiri, Thirukalyana Utsavam during Panguni Uthiram, Vaigasi Visagam. Every Sunday during Rahukalam (14:30 hrs to 18:00 hrs) Sarabeshwarar Pooja is also performed.

Sri Adikesava Perumal Temple

Here, the granite pillars are ancient but the idols themselves, of Adikesavaperumal and Amirthavalli Thayar, are relatively new. The temple has a ‘Deepa sthambam’, which is a typical feature of a village temple as opposed to a town temple. There is also a palanquin dated 1094, indicating that the temple is nearly 1,000 years old.

Nanganallur

Nanganallur can be called as the Chinna Kanchipuram of Chennai due to the numerous temples it has in and around.

For a travelogue to various Nanganallur temples, visit ‘Raju’s Temple Visit’ here.

The online map of temples in and around Nanaganallur is available here.

Sri Varasiddhi Vinayahar Temple

Located at Nanganallur 2^nd main road, this is one of the two oldest temples along with Rajarajeswari Temple. Kanchi Maha Periyavar used to stay only here whenever he comes to Nanganallur.

Sri Lakshmi Hayagreevar Temple

This is one of the very few Hayagreevear temples of Tamilnadu. Hayagreevar is the God of Knowledge.

Sri Uthara Guruvayoorappan Temple

The temple in Kerala style is having Sri Guruvayoorappan very similar to the Kerala Guruvayoor deity. Bhagavathi amman is present in a separate shrine and She is a feast to the eyes. Goddess Bhagavathi is ‘Deepa Swaroopam’ and represents the Trinity of Goddesses – Mahalakshmi, Saraswati and Durga. There are shrines for Sri Dharmasastha, Sri Prasanna Vinayaka and the Navagrahas. There is also a separate shrine for Lord Venkateswara. There is a huge Peepul tree (அரச மரம்) as the sthalavriksham and an idol of Sankarshana is installed beneath the Peepul tree in a separate enclosure.

Sri Ragavendhra Temple

This Mithrika brindhavan of Sri Raghavendhra is located very near to the Anjaneyar temple.

Sri Anjaneyar Temple

This is the landmark and the most popular temple of Nanganallur. Anjaneyar here is of 32 feet high sculpted out of a monolithic stone. Sri Vinayagar, Sri Ramar and Sri Krishnar are also present in separate shrines.

Complete information about the temple in the official website of the temple here.

Sri Ayyappan Temple

Located at 3^rd main road, Ram Nagar. The deity came from Sabaraimala itself and the Melsanthi (head priest) of the Sabarimala temple in 1991 is the head priest here.

Sri Rajarajeswari/Sri Lakshmi Sametha Sathyanarayana Perumal Temple

This very powerful, beautiful and popular twin temple unfortunately is located in a typical house in a narrow street at ThillaiGanga Nagar. If you go by car, better park it in main road and do a little walk.

Because of the presence of Raja Rajeswari temple, this place was called Nangai Nallur once and later became Nanganallur. It is said that the main deity here came up from a Homa kundam. The devotees should go around the temple only in anti-clockwise direction. There are 16 steps to this temple and each signifies a special meaning.

Sri Sathyanarayana Perumal temple is also located within the Rajarajeswari temple. Those who are unable to do Sathyanarayana Pooja at home can participate in the pooja here to get the benefit of doing the Sathyanarayana pooja. Sri Lakshmi normally seen by the side of Perumal is present here at the chest of Perumal who is in a standing posture facing west. Navagrahas, normally not seen in Perumal temples are seen here in a straight line which is unique. Panchamuga anjaneyar is also present here.

Sri Navaneetha Krishnan Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple (Old)

Lord Nrasimhar is seen here in the santha roopam along with Goddess Lakshmi. Many hundred years ago, this temple was hidden under the ground and some pooja items of the temple showed up first. Upon further digging, the complete temple showed up. With the findings, this is believed to be more ancient than 8^th century. The deities present here are Sri Ranganathar at South, Sri Krishnan at North and Lakshmi Narasimhar at East. There is a Prayer Chakra at the Perumal’s hand which was one of the findings when the temple was unearthed. Praying by touching the Chakra is believed to get one’s prayers answered. The Anjaneyar here is seen always with butter alankaram.

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple (New)

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar on the first floor of the temple in 24th Street of Thillaiganga nagar is the recent addition to the list of temples in Nanganallur. The Lord blesses here with His Consort, in santha roopam under the umbrella of the five headed snake. Lord Dhanvandhri is in a separate shrine here.

Sri Devi Karumari Amman temple

This is just the adjoining temple to the Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar temple (new). Lord Srinivasar (Balaji) gives beautiful dharshan in a separate shrine at the entrance itself. The temple faces the new highway laid recently for connecting Velacheri with the GST road at the Thillaiganganagar point.

Sri Pandurangan temple

Located in Adambakkam the main deity Pandurangan along with Rahumayee is very beautiful indeed. The Abang mela during the end of January is highly popular.

Sri Nandheeswarar Temple at Adambakkam

Location: Very near to the Parangimalai station

Specials: Very ancient temple, Pradhisha Pooja

Main deity: Nandeeswarar with Arunthava Nayaki in separate shrines.

Legend: Lord Shiva gave dharshan to Sage Bringi as Nandhi and so the deity is called Nandheeswarar. Since Sage Bringi stayed at the hill nearby, it was called Bringimalai and over a period got changed to Parangimalai.During the British period it got hijacked completely by Christians and called St Thomas mount wiping out all traces of Sage Bringi

Temple: Pradosha pooja is very special here and a cow comes around during the Pradhoshams even today. There will be lot of cows roaming around here. Cow represents Avudai and Bull represents Nandhi. Thiruvotriyur Avudaiamman temple and this had connections as per the culvert found in Thiruvotriyur temple. There are other deities like Sundara Vinakar, Naga devata, Vishnu, Bairavar, Chandran, Dakshina moorthy, Brahma, Durgai, Chandeeswarar & Navagraha.

Sthala vruksham: Nagalinga.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘Aalaya Dharisanam’ book and also here

Sri Ardhanareeswarar and Sri Ashtabhuja Durgai Temples

It is located near the Pazhavanthangal railway station in the 4th Main Road in a very busy market area. In the 1960s, the Paramacharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam discovered this ancient temple when he was performing a morning puja at the abandoned temple tank here. He spotted an ancient Lingam in the tank as “Ardhanareeswarar”. Since then the temple was functioning in thatched sheds and the Kumbaabhezam took place in March 2004. This temple is also a “Kethu sthalam”.

A life-size idol of Sri Ashtabhuja Shanthi Durga, said to be bigger than that of ancient Patteeswaram temple near Kumbakonam is installed in a separate shrine just at the rear of the Ardhanareeswarar temple. The well sculpted durga is a please to the eyes of the devotees and is well known as sarvabhishta pala nayaki.

Sri Sarvamangalambikai sametha Sri Dharmalingeswarar Temple

Semponkoil Dhanmeesar (Dharmalingeswar temple) in south Nanganallur is an ancient temple of Pallava times that dates back about 1000 years. The temple was unearthed during the digging up for a house construction.

The principal deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Dhanmeesar and there is a separate shrine for Goddess. The Navagrahas, Bairvar and Anjaneyar are seen in the inner prakaram and Vinayagar is enshrined in the outer prakaram.

Saidapet

Sri Karaneeswarar Temple

This temple is located next to the railway station. This temple has a 7-storied Rajagopuram with two prakarams. The main deity is Lord Karaneeswara and Goddess Swarnaambikai. This temple has a beautiful tank.

Sri Prasanna Venkata Narasimha Perumal Temple

This is a 12^th Century temple by the Viyayanagar empire near the railway station. It is said that initially Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal alone was incarnated in the sanctum sanctorum with SriDevi and BooDevi and Narasimha Perumal was incarnated later and hence Perumal was named as Sri Prasanna Venkata Narasimha Perumal. Sri Parthasarthy Swamy of Triplicane visits this temple yearly once. There is Adhisesha near the Azhwar shrine to eliminate the ‘Sarpa Dosham’ of the worshippers. Alarmelu Mangai Thayar shrine is present facing east.

Saidapet Subramanya Swamy Temple

This 400 years old temple is present near the Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple

Mambalam/ T.Nagar

Sri Kothandaramar Temple at West Mambalam

Located to the left of the Madley Road subway while going from T.Nagar bus stand, this 150 years old temple has the main deity as Pattabiramar with Seetha devi at his left lap in Pattibhisheka kolam.  Kothandaramar is also installed later just behind the Pattibesheha Ramar. So, just in one shrine, you can worship both Pattibesheha Ramar and the Kothanda Ramar.  Also Ranganathar, Thayar Ranganayaki, Yoha Narasimhar, Sanjeeva Paravatha Anjaneyar are having separate shrines. Anjaneyar is having Sanjeeva Parvatha hill in his right hand and his facing north (Gubera corner) is considered very special. A clean temple tank is also present within the temple campus.

Sri Kasi Viswanathar and Kasi Visalakshi Temple at West Mambalam

The temple is located at the end of the Madley road bridge on the  right side while going from T.Nagar bus stand. This is a 400 years old beautiful temple and has been renovated recently.

Sankara Mutt is present next to the Kasi Viswananathar temple

Mambalam Sathyanarayana Temple

Situated in the Srinivasa Street near Ayodhya Mandapam, West Mambalam, the main deity of the temple is Sri Mahalakshmi Sametha Sri Sathya Narayana Perumal.

The other deities present in this temple are: Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal, Thaayaar,

Lakshmi Narasimhar, Anjaneyar, Sudharsana Azhwar, Ramar, Lakshmanar and Seetha.

This temple is very famous and is often referred to as “Maabila Kshetram”. Every Pournami, Sathya Narayana Poojai is being performed. Whenever the Jeeyar Swamigal or Srimad Andavan Swamigal comes to Mambalam, they pay a visit to this Kshetram.

Temples around Mambalam Sathyanarayana Temple:

Srinivasar Temple

Periyanjanaeyar Temple

Madi Srinivasar Temple

Vallabaganapathy Temple

Murugashramam

Kali Bari Temple

Thronged by Bengalis, this is a replica of the famed Kalighata Temple in Calcutta.

T.Nagar

• Muppathamman Koil
• Shiva Vishnu temple

Agsthiar temple near Pondy Bazaar:

A very ancient temple and the lingam is well below the ground level. This temple is visited frequently by Amitab Bhachan. It seems he visted this temple during the time when he was seriously injured in the ‘Koolie’ movie shooting. Since then it seems he is a regulat visitor.

Ashok Nagar

Sri Anjaneyar Temple

The temple is very popular and the deity is about 20 feet high and is seen either in Vennai kappu or Sandhana kappu almost on all the days. I am not sure whether he is seen on any day without these.

• Swarnapuriswar temple at 8^th Avenue
• Karumari Thripurasundari (Varaprasadhi) with 2 Srinivasars and 2 Durgas. Hanuman once had one lakh Vadamala.
• Sarvapriya Ganapathy at 7^th Avenue
• Mallegashwarer near Ashok Pillar
• Kasi Viswanathar with GothandaRamar and Sathya Narayana Perumal at Ashok Pilar

• Ayyappan Temple
• Sri Chandramoulishwarar
• Pidari Amman temple
• Kalikambal temple
• Shiva Vishnu temple
• Bala murugan temple
• Varasiddhi Vinayakar temple

Mogappair / Koyamped

Twin Temples of Koyamped – Sri Kurungaleeswarar Temple and Sri Vaikundavasa Perumal Temple

A perfect example of Shiva-Vaishnav unison, both these temples are located adjacent to each other and very near to the Koyampedu Bus Terminus. Both have legendary connection to the Ramayan.

Sri Kurungaleeswarar Temple: This is also called Kusalavapuriswarar temple. The legend has it that Rama’s twin sons Lava and Kucha were brought up in Valmiki’s Ashram here. They fought with Lakshman and won over him without knowing the identity, over the Ashwametha horse sent by Ramar. They got the Gothrahathi dhosha due to this and the Sage advises them to do Pradhosha pooja for Shiva. The moolavar in this temple is a Swaymbu lingam of palm size, as formed by the kids. Pradhosha dharshan here is considered equivalent to 1000 pradhosha dharshans. There is also a Sarabeswarar shrine and the Rahuhala (4:30 PM to 6:00PM) Puja every Sunday is very special. Due to this, the Sunday Pradhosham sees heavy crowd.

Sri Vaikundavasa Perumal Temple: Lava and Kucha worshipped the Perumal here. Generally Vaikundavasar will be seen in a sitting pose but here He is seen in a standing pose with his consorts Sridevi and Boodevi. The main deity is being decorated differently on every Saturday.

More details on the temple here

Sri Santhana Srinivasar Temple at Mogappair

This 650 years old temple is very powerful to give the boon of a child (santhanam) which is called ‘Mahapperu’ in tamil and that’s how the place became Mugappair. The main deity Santhana Srinivasar is 9.5 feet high. Couples praying for child take the Santhana Srinivasar vigraham in their lap as part of their prayer. Thulaparam is also being done. Poojas are taking place throughout the day till the Ekantha Seva in the night as in Thirumala

• Kanaka Durga temple
• Thiruvalleswar temple

Nungambakam

Sri Agastheeswarar – Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal – Sri Asalathamman Temples

This trio of temples is at about 2 kms from Nungambakkam railway station. King Bommarajan who ruled this place once, got Sula disease and prayed to Perumal. He guided him to take bath in the Agastheeswarar temple tank and worship Shiva here. He did the same and got his disease cured. Goddess Akilandeswari has a separate shrine here next only to Thiruvanaikkaval. At one corner of the temple tank is present the Swayambu amman Asalathamman. Nearby, the Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal temple is also present. Anajaneyar, present in a separate shrine is considered very powerful.

Kodambakkam

Sri Vyakrapureeswarar Temple

Sage Vyakrapathar got his name because his legs were like Tiger’s – Vyakram means Tiger. He worshipped Lord Shiva here and so the Easwaran is called Vyakrapureeswarar. The place was called Puliyur for the same reason (Puli means Tiger). Knowing the importance of the place, Pallavas constructed a fort here and made this as their capital.

More details on the temple here

Sri Bharadwajeswarar Temple

About 500 years old temple. Vali worshipped Easwaran here and later Sage Bharadwajar worshipped.

Sri Murugan temple at Vadapalani

Located centrally between Vyakrapureeswarar Temple and Bharadwajeswarar Temple, this temple is about 100 years old and is a very popular one

More details on the temple here

Sri Vengiswarar temple at Vadapalani

A small ancient temple just opposite Vadaplani Murugan temple (i.e. acorss the Arcot street). One can’t miss the Rajagopuram built by Cholas from the 100 feet road as you enter Vadaplani signal junction.

Sri Ayyappan temple at Mahalingapuram

Built in 1974, this is the 2^nd of the Ayyappa temples built in the city.

More details on the temple here

Valasaravakkam

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhanswamy temple

This is a small but ancient temple

Sri Agastheeswarar Temple

This is a 12^th Century Chola temple

Vanagaram

Srinivasar temple with a small and beautiful Lakshmi Narasimha statue. This temple is just opposite to TVS-CVAT school on the main road itself

Chinthathiripet

Shiva and Perumal Temples

One of the oldest temples, considered belongs to 7^th Century this is a twin temple of Lord Shiva and Vishnu in adjacent complexes. The names of the deities confirm the puranic nature of the temple. Lord Shiva is Aadhipureeswarar with Goddess Thirupurasundari. Lord Vishnu is Aadhikesava Perumal with Goddess Aadhilakshmi. Vinayagar is Aadhi Vinayahar.

Egmore

Arthanariswarar temple

It will be difficult to find out this temple in the midst of bustling Egmore. It is in a narrow lane behind Dasaprakash. The main deity is a beautiful and big lingam. Thirunavukkarasar has sung on this temple and it is supposed to be 1300 years old going by that. He has mentioned Egmore as ‘Elum oor’, a place of awakening.

Kilpauk

• Srinivasar Perumal temple at temple street
• Varadarajar temple

Purasaiwalkam

Sri Gangadeswarar Temple

The temple is about 2000 years old. Once King Baheeradhan ridiculed Sage Naradhar and got his curse. To get off from the curse he worshipped 1008 Shivalingams. When he searched a proper place for his 1008^th Shivalinga pooja, a holy voice pointed to this place. The place where he kept the Ganaga water kamandalam is the temple well. Even if the whole Chennai becomes water starved, this well serves water. Within the temple tank there were 7 wells but all but this specific one had been already covered up since they went dry.

When the temple tank dried up, as is the case with many city temples, the authorities, instead of taking effort to refill the tank through proper rain water harvesting, got the brilliant idea (as usual) to completely close the tank and make it as a park. When they were pumping out water from the tank, they were unable to control the water inflow from one particular well (thank God). They thought it was the underground drainage water but on tests it was found to be pure water that came from the side of the sanctum sanctorum. In the Southeast corner of the temple, there is a rare Kurundai tree which can not be seen in any other temple. It is said that Manicka Vasagar preached under this tree.

Added by Mrs Prasanna Rajagopalan: Sage Bageeratha sage is believed to have done penance and brought Ganga to the earth at this place. Hence Lord shiva is known as Gangadeeswarar and Goddess is known as Pankajakshi. This temple is mentioned in Thevaram by Sundarar. He has not visited Purasai but has sung on the lord as vaipu thalam (singing without visiting the temple).

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

This is located at Vellala street off Purasawalkam High Road. Originally there was a Bhajan Temple here with a small stone idol which can be seen even today in the main shrine. The Bhajan Temple was built more than 300 years ago and the present temple came into existence in 1850.

More details on the temple here

Ponniamman Koil at Millers Road / Flowers road junction Purasawalkam

Ponniamman is   believed to be something like a “kaaval deivam” of Purasai.  Legend says that in those days, the place around Millers road and Flowers road etc used to be full of fields. Goddess graces everyone with her beautiful smile.

Sri Parasuramalingeswarar Temple at Ayyanavaram

This is a 1000 years old temple. Prasuramar, a form of Mahavishnu, killed his mother at the behest of his father. In order to clear off his sin due to this, he worshipped Shiva here. Brahma, called Ayan, took bath in this temple tank and worshipped Shiva and that’s why the place is called Ayanpuram and later Ayyanavaram.

Sri Kasi Viswanathar Temple at Ayyanavaram

Built in 1804, this temple was built as per the dream of two Gujarathi women who brought a lingam from Kasi. There is a Kasi Viswanathar Temple tank.

Guindy-Tambaram

Padahacheri Swamy Shiva Temple

Very ancient shiva temple near Guindy railway station; to the side of Anna salai bridge; Renovated by Kumbakonam Padahacheri Swamigal.

Shiradi Saibaba temple is at 50 feet from here.

Pallavaram Thirumaneeswarar Temple

This Shiva temple has a pretty big lingam.

Perumal Temple Thiruneermalai

Special: One of 108 Divya desams; considered as mukthi sthala

Location: In the Guindy-Tambaram GST Road, take the road opposite Pond’s factory (towards West) at Pallavaram and go further for about 3-4 kms to reach the temple.

Main deity: Vishnu in 4 different forms together in one divya desam

Legend: Sage Valmiki, after completing the Ramayana, visited the hillock top temple and came down and prayed Rama. Ranganathar and Ranganayaki, whom he saw gave dharshan at the base temple as Rama and Seetha; Adhisesha as Lakshman; Sanku, Chakra as Bharatha, Sathrugna; Garuda as Hanuman and Viswakarma as Sugreeva

Temple: This place is a small hill surrounded by green fields all around and there are two temples one at the hillock top with 108 steps and the other at the base. When Thirumangai Azhwar visited the place, this hill was surrounded by water and so is the name of the place ‘Thiruneermalai’. The hillock top temple has Ranganatha swamy and Ranganayaki thayar ‘Kidantha’ (lying) posture in the front shrine and as we go around we see Thiruvikrama perumal in ‘Nadantha’ (walking) posture known as ‘Ulagalandha Perumal’, and third deity Santha Narasimhar in ‘Iruntha’ (sitting) posture. The base temple has Kalyana Ramar as the main deity in the name of Neervannan in ‘Ninra’ (standing) posture.

Theertham:Ksheera, Karunya, Siddha & Swarna pushkarani together as big pond, known as Manikarnika.

Thrisulanadhar temple at Trisulam

Main deity: Swayambu lingam known as Thrisulanadhar with Goddess Thripura Sundari in separate shrines

Location: In the GST Road towards Tambaram, after the Trisulam railway station, take the road to the left immediately after it, just opposite the Airport. After crossing the stone quarries, at about 1.5 km from the GST road, this ancient Shiva temple can be located.

Legend: Brahma, after affected by the curse of Shiva, worshipped Shiva at various places and this is one such place. It is believed that Brahma’s four faces are present as four hills around chanting the four Vedas.

Temple: This place is one of the Chathurvethi Mangalams and was called Vanavan Madhevi Chathurvethi Mangalam. The temple was built by Klothunga Cholan I. The name Tirisoolam came from Thiruchuram, churam meaning a place of hills and forests. The ambal shrine was damaged during the invasion by the muslims and foreigners and so a new Ambal idol was installed. While thinking of dumping the old idol, it was instructed in the dream of an archahar to install the old idol along with the main deity and so was done.

Theertham: Brahma teertham

Note: Visited frequently by Sri Sri RaviShankar, founder of Art of Living. Whenever he visits Chennai, he drives to this temple straight from the Airport if his scheule allows.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘Aalaya Dharisanam’ book and ‘Nimmadhi Tharum Sannidhi – Part 2′ book. The Tamil audio Podcast is available here.

Sri Kumaran Kundram Temple at Chrompet

This is a Murugan temple on a small hill with about 100 steps and is located within the Chrompet town. From city, while going towards Tambaram take the left side (East) of the Chrompet road over bridge and take the first left at the end of the bridge and go further for about half a km to reach the temple.

Sri Rama Anjaneya and Sri Vaidyanatha Swamy Twin Temple

This twin temple of Shaiva Sri Vaidyanatha Swamy temple and Vaishnav Sri Rama Anjaneyar temple is on the GST Road itself at Tambaram sanatorium. While going from Guindy, it is on the right side of the GST road, just before National Sidhdha Unit.and in the Ramanjeya Premise. A private trust temple and so very cleanly and beautifully maintained. A wonderful  serene atmosphere.

Vinayakar,Murugar, Vishnu Durgai, Thaiyal Nayagi,Dakshina Murthy, Navagrahas are in the Vaidyanatha swamy premises

Anjaneyar, Mahalakshmi Thayar, Sri Chakrathalwar,Sri Narasimar, Sri Andal
are in the Sri Rama anjaneyar premises. Anjaneyar is very powerful. devotees used to tie dry coconuts praying for the fulfilment of prayers of marriage, examination, health etc. Visited by all madathipathis.

Guindy – Poonamalle

Sri Kothandaramar Temple at Nandambakkam

This temple for Lord Rama is one of the oldest in the city and is in the street just opposite the Trade Centre. According to legend, Lord Rama on his way to Lanka, offered homage to Sage Bhringi, who was doing penance on a hill named after him (Bhringimalai is now called Parankimalai). Sage Bhringi requested Lord Rama to stay with him. A garden was laid near the hill where Lord Rama spent his time, which came to be known as Nandavanam and later Nandambakkam.

The descendants of Vijayanagara rulers constructed this temple for Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, around 750 years ago, in the place where Lord Rama stayed. The original idols that the sage worshipped were installed in this temple. Shrines for Lord Srinivasa of Tirumala, Goddess Alarmelmangai Thayar, Nandavana Kannan, Ananda Anjaneyar, Azhwars and Acharyas were later installed and the temple became a big complex.

The special features of this temple are that it faces south and Sita is found sitting on Rama’s lap. The temple is also called `Then Thirupathi of Thondai Mandalam’. An eternal lamp burns in the Vasantha mandapam with 288 ghee lamps around it. The Ananda Anjaneyar is 7 feet high and is beautiful.

More details on the temple here

Note: Sage Bringu did tapas at the hill nearby and so it was called Bringumalai and now as Parankimalai. British took over the hill during their period, named it as St Thomas Mount and built many churches around, completely wiping out the traces of the ancient places of Sage Bringu. Today it is completely hijacked by Christians.

Sri Ramalingeswarar Temple at Nandambakkam

This ancient Shiva temple is located very near to the Ramar temple. Ramar worshipped this lingam during his stay here.

Sri Ramanadeswarar Temple at Porur

This is a being considered as a Guru (Jupiter) sthalam for Navagraha worship. This temple is located in the Eswaran Koil Street near the Porur main junction. Ramar worshipped Shiva here and the lingam present as Guru, is huge and beautiful. This is also called as ‘Uthara Rameswaram’. The alternate to this Gurusthalam, is the Shiva Temple at Kundrathur.

Sri Varadharaja Perumal temple at Poonamalle

Poovirundavalli, more popularly known in its corrupted form as Poonamallee, the birth place of Thirukatchi Nambi Azhwar, a staunch devotee of Varadaraja Perumal. The name Poonamallee is attributed to the fact that the area around was full of jasmine (jasmine means ‘ Malli” in Tamil). In Sanskrit, the place was called Pushpakavalli. Pushpam’ means flower and Valli denotes Goddess. There is a legend that Goddess Lakshmi rose from jasmine flower and gave darashan to Thirukatchi Nambi Azhwar. It is also said the Azhwar worshipped God Varadaraja, deity at Kanchi with the jasmine flowers plucked from here. This place was also called ‘Lakshmipuram’ and ‘Ulagu Vuyya Konda Cholapuram’.

The main deity of this 10^th century temple near the Poonamalle bus stand is Lord Varadaraja Perumal with His Consort, Pushpakavalli Thayar. It is also known as Arulaperumal. Moved by the prayers of Thirukatchi Nambi Azhwar, Sri Varadarajaswami, Sri Venkatesaperumal and Sri Ranganathar gave dharshan to him simultaneously at this place. There is also a shrine for Thirukatchi Nambi Azhwar. There is a strong belief that the sun God and Mars (Angarga) worshipped the Lord of this temple. Every year during February – March between the 21st and 25th at 6.00 AM, the sun’s rays fall on the face of the Lord of this temple. Like His counterpart at the Kanchi Varadaraja temple, the Perumal here also faces west.

Sri Thaiyal Nayagi udanurai Vaitheeswaran Temple at Poonamalle

This is being considered as the Sevvai (Angaraka – Mars) sthalam for the Navagraha worship. The temple is lavish, big and well maintained. Here the temple has a separate Sevvai Padam (legs) and a statue of the Sthala Vruksha Thaazhi Palm tree and also 3 Chakrams which were established by the Adi Shankara (Sri Chakram, Subramania Chakram and Shanmuga Chakram) near the Subramania Swami shrine. The front mandapam near the Shiva Shrine has beautiful carvings on the roof. The South entrance has some interesting sculptures on either side. The main deity is known as ‘Theera Vinai Theertha Perumal’.

Kundrathur/ Mangadu

Sri Agastheeswarar temple at Pozhichalur

This is being considered as the Sani (Saturn) sthalam for the Navagraha worship. The main deity is Agastheeswarar with His consort Anandavalli Thayar. The temple has a separate Sani shrine and called as ‘Vada Thirunallaru’. This is also a renowned Nadi Pariharashthalam and people around say that foreigners and north Indians throng the temple to do parihaara for their dhosha if informed through Naadi Josyam!

The temple is of 12th century architecture. It is said that the Shivalingam appeared when the native Mudaliars ploughed the land.

Sri Amirthambihai sametha Sri Argeeswarar Temple at Pammal

This is a 11^th century temple at Pammal

Sri Murugan Temple at Kundrathur

Kundrathur is in the middle of Porur, Poonamalee and Pallavaram.

This is a small hill temple for Lord Subramaniar with His two consorts built by King Klothunga Chola – II. Legend has it that Lord Subramaniar stayed in the hill on an auspicious day during His travel from Thirupporur to Thiruthani. This place is also known as ‘South Thanigai’ since Lord Subramaniar is sitting in the direction of north facing Thanigai and this is the only Murugan temple in Tamilnadu where the God is facing north. The other specialty being that Lord Subramaniar can be seen with only one Goddess at a time though He is present with both of His consorts.

Sri Thiru-Uraga Perumal Temple at Kundrathur

In the road towards the Murugan temple, this temple is located just about 100 meters before the Murugan temple.

The main deity, Thiru-Uraga Perumal, is seven feet tall and the thayar, Thiruvirundhavalli Thayar are usually very well decorated. The deities’ decorations very clearly demonstrate the devotion of the Bhattacharyars towards their Master. It is sure that anybody passing through the road will automatically be attracted inside with the little and beautiful glimpse of the deity from the road.

The remains of a pillared mandapam spoke of a grand edifice built probably during Klothunga or Karikala Chozhan’s period. The inscriptions found inside the temple indicate that this was well patronized during the reign of the Vijayanagar dynasty also. A very recent inscription was interesting. It recorded verses on the deity that had appeared in the dreams of a local Tamil teacher which when recited gave the area copious rain!

Sri Nageswarar Temple at Kundrathur  (Chennai Navagraha

Sthalam  – Raghu)

This is considered as the Raagu sthalam for the Navagraha worship and was built by the descendents of Sekkizhaar (who wrote Periya Puranam). Here the Nagabharanam around the linga is supposed to be the Rahu for worship. This place is also called as Vada Thirunageswaram. The temple and its tank are clean and well maintained.

Sri Tapas Kamakshi Amman temple at Mangadu

Location: Near Poonamalle

Special: A highly popular Amman temple; Kamakshi amman penanced here and got married to Shiva at Kanchipuram.

Legend: Once Parvathi Devi closed the eyes of Shiva for fun which resulted in total darkness of the whole universe. Shiva was displeased by her act and she had to come down to earth and do penance to join Shiva once again. Here She penanced standing on tip of Her left leg on fire and so She is known as Tapas Kamakshi. Shiva while coming to give dharshan to Her, met Sukracharyar on way and He asked Kamakshi to end her penance and go to Kancheepuram (Kamakshi came to Kanchi, made a Shiva linga of mud and started her pooja once again. She was then married to Shiva at Kanchipuram where She is known as Kalyana kamakshi). While going in an anxiety, she did not put down the Yagna fire and so all the living beings around were suffering due to the heat generated. When Aadhi Shankarar was passing through, he installed a SriChakram called Arthameru made of 8 herbs and reduced the heat. Still people feared with the Kamakshi idol in penance and so the later Sankaracharyas shifted this idol to the side of the temple and installed another Kamakshi in Santha roopam, called Aadhi Kamakshi, with Sugarcane stick in one hand and Parrot in the other.

Temple: In front of the main deity, there is a tortoise shaped bottom with a 16 petal lotus flower three steps above it, on which the highly powerful Sri Chakra Yantra is installed. It has 43 corners representing 43 Devathas. The main deity takes the Abhisheham and only Kumkum archanai is being done for the Artha meru Sri Chakram since it is made of herbs.

The official website of the temple is here

Sri Velleeswarar Temple at Mangadu – (Chennai Navagraha

Sthalam  – Sukran)

This is considered as the Sukra (Venus) Sthala for the Navagraha worship. It is said that Sukra worshipped the lingam here and it is believed that those who have eye ailments will get cured by worshipping this lord.

The Shivalinga (Velleeswarar) is huge in size and was worshipped by Sage Bargava and Goddess Parvathi in penance seen at Maangadu Amman temple. Vishnu who solemnized the marriage of Shiva-Parvathi also has a temple nearby. Vishnu carries the jewels for the marriage in his hands!. Subramanya swamy, made of single stone, is seen with devayani and Ganesha is seen with mango in his hand.

All the three temples (Velleeswarar, Maangadu Amman and Vishnu) are near to each other.

Sri Vaikunda Perumal temple at Mangadu

This temple is situated near Sri Kamakshiamman Temple and Sri Vaikunda Perumal here is in sitting pose with Sridevi and Boodevi. Lord Vishnu solemnized the marriage of Shiva-Parvathi and He carries the jewels for the marriage in His hands! All these three temples – Velleeswarar, Maangadu Amman and Lord Vishnu have legend connection and also very near to each other.

Sri Thirumeyneeswarar Shiva temple at Kovur (Chennai Navagraha Sthalam  – Budhan)

The main deity is Sri Sundareswarar with Goddess Soundarambihai. This is being considered as the Budhan (Mercury) Sthalam for the Navagraha worship. The entrance is picturesque with an array of houses and tall Asoka Trees on either side. This temple has the unique Maha Vilvam as its Sthala Vruksham which has bunch of 27 leaves in one single stalk!!!. Saint Thyagaraja’s Pancha Rathna Keerthanas on Lord Rama is very popular and he rarely sang in praise of other Gods. This is the place where he sang the Panchartana keerthanas on Shiva and is called Kovur Pancharathnam.

Contact:  S.Thyagaraja Gurukkal, 97899 24095

Sri Neelakandeswarar temple at Gerukambakkam (Chennai Navagraha Sthalam  – Kethu)

This is being considered as the Kethu sthalam for the Navagraha worship. It is located in the Kovur – Kundrathur Road.

At the left hand of the entrance we can see a separate Snake idol being worshipped as the Kethu shrine. The Amman strikes your sight and attracts your attention as it is facing the entrance. So, big, majestic and beautiful! is this Aadhi Kamakshi Amman. Only those who see it can believe it!!

Sri Agastheeswarar Temple at Kozhapakkam/ Kolapakkam (Chennai Navagraha Sthalam  – Suryan)

The temple lies in the Manappakkam-Gerugambakkam (Kundrathur) road.

This is being considered as the Surya (sun) sthalam for the Navagraha worship. The unique feature is that the three main deities – The Sun God, Bairava Idol and the Shivalingam are to be seen through Salaram (window) all at the same time. The landscape and garden around this temple is maintained excellently. A beautiful water pond is in front of the temple.

Tambaram

Sri Bheemeswarar temple at Mudichur

This temple came frequently in ‘MettiOli’ serial. Considered very powerful in getting marriage related wishes granted.

Sri Somanatheeswarar temple at Somangalam

Location: Somangalam is 6 kms from Kishkinta beyond Sairam Engineering College. It can also be reached via the Kundrathur – Padappai road also.

Significance: This is considered as the Chandra (Moon) sthalam for the Navagraha worship.

Legend: Once Moon God was cursed by King Dakshan and lost his beauty. Distressed by this, Soman penanced here towards Lord Siva and regained his lost charm. Another legend says that Nandhi was cursed to look the opposite side, as it got over-confident and thought that he was better than the Lord Himself on winning a war against invaders!! Sources say that a sage named Somanathar attained Jeeva Samadhi at the feet of Lord Nandhikeswarar, who is believed to have guarded Lord Soman (Moon) against any disturbances while doing penance.

Temple: This ancient tempe was built by the Chola king, Kulothunga, in 1073 A.D., This has Somanatheeswarar as the main deity with the Chandra adorning Shiva. This temple also has an unique statue of Brahma Subramaniar – Subramania who did the work of Brahma when Brahma was put behind bars by Subrahmania himself!!.

Worship Benefits: It is a general belief that those who worship Lord Somanatheeswarar are blessed with timely marriage, progeny, peaceful and healthy life.

More details in Raju’s Temple Visits travelogue

Manimangalam

Manimangalam is 20 km to the east of Sriperumbudur. It finds a place in the history of Tamil Nadu as the place where Narasimha Varma Pallava defeated the Chalukyas in the 7th century A.D. This fact is mentioned in the copper plates discovered at Kooram. Kalki has written about the Manimangalam battle in his book ‘Sivagamiyin Sabatham’. He describes how Mahendra Varma Pallava was injured in the battle at Manimangalam, and how his son Narasimha Varma Pallava and his trusted lieutenant Paranjoti vanquished Pulikesin’s army.

Sri Rajagopalar Temple

Manimangalam is the birthplace of Sri Ramanuja. The presiding deity at this ancient temple is Sri Rajagopalar, who is seen in a standing posture facing east, with His consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi. There is a separate shrine for Senkamalavalli Thayar. A peculiarity of the deity here is that He holds the conch in His right hand and the Sudarsana Chakram in His left hand.

Other ancient temples nearby:

• Kailasanathar temple built by Rajendra chola 1200 years agoMessage from Mr. S BALASUBRAMANIAN (kailayanathar@gmail.com):

  “Some good hearted people have started a trust and taken up the task of renovating this temple. Balalayam was constructed and consecrated on 20.01.2008 and the present state of affairs of the above temple is shown in the website: http://kailayanathar.googlepages.com/

  Please publish these details and help us in getting donation for the temple”

• Dharmeshvarar – Vedhavalli temple maintained by ASIMore details in Raju’s Temple Visits travelogue
• Vaikuntanathar temple as old as the Rajagopala temple
• Srinivasa Perumal temple at Padappai

Sri Veeratteswar temple at Keezh Padappai

Thirunavukkarasar is believed to have visited this place

Sri Kamatchi Ambal sametha Sri Thazhuva Kozhuntheeswarar Temple at Mel Padappai

Legend: Moon god got his cursed cleared off; Sambandhar believed to have visited this place.

Temple: Nandhivarma Pallavan constructed 108 Shiva temples around Kanchipurm and did Kumbabhisheham on the same day. This is one of those temples. There is a Sarabeswarar shrine and Sunday Rahuhala pooja is special here. Worship Benefits: Blessed with good marriage

Aadhi Karaneeswarar Shiva Temple at Peerkankaranai

Lakshmi Gubera temple near vandalur

This temple is located In the Vandalur-Kelambakkam road, after Tagore Engineering College at Rathinamangalam.

More details of the temple here

Koyampedu – Poonamalle

Sri Yetteeswarar temple at Ayanampakkam

The temple is located near Vanagaram / Thiruverkadu and there is an easy approach from Vanagaram new bridge.

Lord Brahma worshipped Shiva at this temple with Goddess Saraswathi. Since the Yedu (palm leaf) was presented to Shiva, the deity is known as Yetteeswarar (Thaleswar). Temple gives good education, wealth etc.,

Sri Karumariamman Temple at Thiruverkadu

This is a very popular temple. Since there was a Velvalankadu (forest) in this area, this is called Thiruverkadu. Also this is the place where Lord Muruga got his ‘Vel’ from Parasakthi to destroy Suran and so is called Velkadu or Thiruverkadu. Trimoorthies worshipped Parasakthi here and she is known as Karumari. Ka represents Brahma, Ru represents Rudhara (Shiva) and Ma represents Vishnu.

More details on the temple here

Sri Balambihai sametha Vedapureeswarar Temple at Thiruverkadu

Significance: One of the 275 sacred temples glorified by the Thevara hymns; 2000 years old ancient temple; birth place of Moorka Nayanar; Poison has no effect in Thiruverkadu.

Location: Thiruverkadu is 7kms from poondamalli and the temple is about 1 km from the popular Karumariamman temple. The place is also known as Veda vedaranyam.

Main deity: Swayambu lingam known as Vedapureeswarar with Goddess Balambikai

Legend: Agasthiar got the Shiva-Parvathi Thirukailaya marriage dharshan here. In the sanctum sanctorum, behind the main deity, the marriage scene has been painted in the wall. Lord Subramanyar acquired his Vel from Parasakthi to defeat Suran, hence the name Verkadu (Vel Kadu became Verkadu). After the Soorasamharam, Murugar came here and created the ‘Velayutha Theertham’ with his Vel. Arunagiri nadhar sang Thirupugazh on Lord Muruga.

Theertham: Velayutha Theertham, Veda teertham.

Sthala vruksham: velvela tree.

More details on the temple here

Villivakkam – Avadi

Sri Agastheeswarar Temple at Villivakkam

This is a 9^th century temple spread over a 2 acre space. Sage Agasthiar got the Brammaharthi dhosham after killing the demons Villavan and Vathabi. Since the demon Villavan was killed here, this is called Villavanpakkam and later Villivakkam. Agasthiar got his dhosham cleared off by worshipping Shiva here and Shiva gave dharshan to Agasthiar on a Tuesday. One of the Navagrahas Angarahan (Mars – Tuesday) took bath in the temple tank, now called Angaraha Theertham and worshipped Shiva to clear off his dhosham. So taking a bath in the temple tank on a Tuesday is considered very sacred.

Lord Shiva, in the name Agastheeswarar is facing east and Ambal Swarnambikai is facing south.

As Ambal and Guru are facing each other directly in this Kshetra, it is said that all those girls who worship Ambal receive the grace of Guru and get married soon.

Sri Sowmya Dhamodhra Perumal Temple at Villivakkam

This is a 10^th century temple. There are very few temples dedicated to Damodaran, another name of Lord Krishna and this is one among them.

More details on the temple here

Sri Thiruvallidhayar Temple at Padi

Significance: One of the 275 sacred temples glorified by the Thevara hymns

Location: Near Padi main junction, just opposite TVS group of factories, about 200 meters from the main road.

Main deity: Thiruvalinadhar and Jagandhambal also known as Thayammai in separate shrines

Legend: The legend goes back to Mahabharatha days as Sage Bharadwaj (Dhrona’s father) had visited this temple. The name Validhayam comes from Valiyan – the black bird. Once Sage Bharadwaj took birth as a bird due to a curse and he worshipped Shiva here to clear off his curse. Legend also holds that Vinayahar got married to Kamalai and Vimalai daughter of Brahma in this place. Brahaspathi, Vishnu, Hanuman, Sugreeva, Rama, Agasthiar, Vayu, Indhra, Agni, Sun God and Moon God worshipped Shiva of this place.

Temple: This is considered as one of the Guru Parihara sthalams and Guru Bhagwan has a separate shrine here. A three tiered Rajagopuram and a Gajaprishta vimanam adorn this temple which spans an area of over an acre.

Sthala vruksham: Padiri.

Theertham: Baradwaja teertham.

More details on the temple here

Note: The legend of Sage Bhardwaj also connects to Kodambakkam Bharadwajeswarar temple, where he worshipped Lord Shiva and Thirukkazhukunram where he got the dharshan of Lord Shiva as Vedagiri.

Padavettamman temple near Lucas TVS, Padi

Guru Bhagavan temple at Ayappakkam near Ambathur

This is a new temple with a 16 foot tall Guru Bhagvan

Full moon day Amman dharshan

It is considered very sacred to worship Vadiudai Amman at Thiruvotriyur, Thiruvudai Amman at Melur and Kodiyudai Amman at Thirumullaivayal on a Friday Full moon day. All the three ammans are considered sisters and forms of Parvathi devi and they have been sculptured out form the same stone.

• From 6 AM to 12 PM one has to worship Melur Thiruvudai Amman, the form of Icha chakthi, with an offering of Yellow cloth to be blessed with wealth, fame, happiness, uprise, salvation and removal of all negativity and sorrow.
• From 12 noon to 6 PM, one has to worship Thiruvotriyur Vadivudai Amman, the form of Gnana Sakthi, with an offering of Red cloth to be blessed with Education, Knowledge and Talent
• From 6 PM to 12 midnight, one has to worship Thirumullaivayal Kodiyudai Amman, the form of Kriya Sakthi, with an offering of Green cloth to be blessed with courage, valour, activeness and success

Sri Thiruvudai Amman sametha Thirumanangeeswarar temple at Melur

The temple is located at Melur, before Ponneri/ Minjur and is more popular in the name of Thiruvudai amman. The lingam is a Swayambu lingam of sand putru and is being given a silver covering. The legend has it that a cow that was yielding milk didn’t for some time and it was found to be going to a nearby forest and raining milk over a bush regularly. On checking, a Swayambu lingam was found and this temple was built. It is rare to see Lord Brahma as seen here with moustache and beard.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘Sakthi Dharisanam’ Part II book

Sri Thiagarajar Swamy Sametha Sri Vadiudaiamman Temple

Located at Thiruvotriyur, this 1500 years old temple is one of the 275 Thevara padal petra sthalams. Since Easwaran blessed Brahma to create the world by making way for the pralaya water to recede, this place is called Thiruvotriyur (votra or vatra means receding water). Thiruvotriyur is the place of jeeva Samadhi for Pattinathar. At the behest of Lord Shiva, Sundarar married Sangili Nachiar under the Mahizha tree here. It is believed that just entering this place will remove all the hard diseases.

The main deity is a big Swayambu lingam in the form of a sand putru with Lord Vishnu on the right side and Lord Brahma on the left side. On the two days after the Karthihai full moon day, the covers for the lingams are removed and one can worship the lingam as sand putru itself. There are 27 Shiva lingams one for each star. There are also two more temples here – Pattinathar temple with a Swayambu lingam and a 600 years old Nandhikeswarar temple. Apart from various sages, Kambar, Arunagirinathar, Muthuswamy Dikshithar, Ramlingar and Maraimalai Adihal worshipped Shiva here. Thyagaraja Swamihal, an ardent devotee of Lord Rama had never sung on any other Gods especially Goddesses but here, mesmerized by the beauty of the Goddess, he had sung a verse here.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘Sakthi Dharisanam’ Part I book. The official website of the temple is here

Sri Kodi-idai-amman sametha Masilamaneeswarar Temple at (Vada) Thirumullaivayal

Significance: One of the 275 sacred temples glorified by the Thevara hymns

Location: Between Ambathur and Avadi

Main deity: Swayambu lingam known as Masilamaneeswarar with Goddess Kodi-Idai Nayaki in separate shrines

Legend: Once demons Vanan, Onaan and Kanthan were ruling the Puzhal area with Bairavar as their Protecting God at the boundary. They were doing Bairava worship with Vellerukku pillaras, Pavazha (coral) pillars and Vengala (Bell metal) door. Since he was disturbing everyone, King Thondaiman came this way to see off them. He could not succeed in his first attempt since the Bairavar was protecting the demons. On return, the legs of his elephant got entangled in the jasmine shrubs. In order to clear the way, the King cut out the plants with his sword but shocked to see blood oozing out from there. On checking, he found a Shivalingam. Saddened by his act, while he tried cut his head himself, Shiva and Parvathi gave dharshan on Rishba vahana. Also, Lord Shiva gave arranged to send Nandhi to counter the demons. Kodi-idaiamman also gave her sword to Nandhi. That’s why the Nandhi here is facing East (towards Puzhal) as a rarity. With Nandhi, the King succeeded in his second attempt, brought the Erukka pillars and installed them in front of the main shrine.

Temple: The main deity is a tall Swayambu lingam on top of square Avudaiyar and bears the scar due to the sword cut. Due to this the lingam is always covered with Sandal and never removed. During the day of Sathaya star of the tamil month Chithrai every year, old sandal covering is removed and new one is being applied. There is no abhisheham for the lingam and it is done only to the Avudaiyar (base). There is also a later installed Rasalingam, made of Mercury and Silver to which abhishehams are being done.

Theertham: Subramanya theertham and Palar river.

Sthala Vruksham: Mullai.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s ‘Sakthi Dharisanam’ Part II and also here

Other Temples at Thirumullaivayal:

• There is a famous Vaishnavi temple at Thirumullaivayal, the information on which can be found here
• Pachaiyamman temple is on the way to the Masilamaneeswarar temple, the information on which can be found here

North Chennai

Sri Kailasanathar Temple at Madhavaram

This is a 7^th century temple built by the Pallava King Nandhivarman II. Madhavaram was once called Mahathavapuram due to the tapas by Shiva and Parvathi separately and also by Sage Vyasar who wrote Mahabharatha. The main Shivalingam is made of maragatha stone with about 4.5 feet high on a 16 feet circumference base. It is very rare to see such a big lingam made of maragatha stone and it is beautiful to see the lingam glittering through the milk poured on it during the abhishehams. It is also very rare that the temple is present at the esana corner of the town. The 12 dwathasa Jyothir lingams are present here and the Nandhi is big and beautiful.

More details in Vikatan Publication’s Aalaya Dharisanam book

Amuthambihai sametha Sri Somanatheswar temple at Kolathur

Location: The temple is around 1.5kms from the Kolathur junction towards Ganga theather / Villivakkam Railway gate

Legend: Moon god was once affected by a curse and lost all his 16 vital talents. He took bath in this temple tank (called Chandra Theertham), got the dharshan of Shiva and got his curse cleared off. Soman is the name of moon god and so the deity here is called Somanatheswar. Demon Vilvalan and Vathapi were once troubling sages at a place called Vilvatharanyam (now called Villivakkam). Sage Agasthiar ate demon Vathapi in the form of a mango and killed him in his stomach itself. The place where Agasthiar killed him is called Konnur (Konnur High road) and the place where he burnt the demon (such that he can not reappear) is called Koluthur (koluthu means ‘to burn’) and now called Kolathur.

Temple: Lingam made of maragatha stone. As an example of a Shiva-Vaishnav unison, Sridevi-Boodevi sametha Amirtha raja Perumal is having a separate shrine in the outer praharam.

Worship Benefits: Out of the Navagraha gods, Moon is related to mind and so this God is believed to cure mind related diseases and problems. People not being able to come out of bad habits and people who suffer due to none of their faults will be blessed by this God.

Sri Kalyana Varadharaja Perumal Temple at Kaladipet

This 200 years old temple is present in Thiruvotriyur Highroad Kaladipet market street.

Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple at Thandayarpet

This temple was built in 1779. The main deity is Arunachaleswarar with Goddess Abitha Gujambihai.

Sri Marahathambal Sametha Sri Iraveeswarar Temple at Vyasarpadi

Since Sage Vyasar worshipped Shiva here, the place is called Vyasarpadi. Sun God stayed here for some time under the Vanni tree and worshipped Shiva after taking bath at the temple tank called Surya Theertham.

Note: A geographical map is available here showing almost all the temples listed here (and more as well). The webpage from Platial is slow and you have to be little patient.

References:

1. ‘Sirappumihu Chennai koilhal’

Book by Ganamanjari Sampathkumar

Malaiyarasi Pathippaham,

6/12, Masthan Ali Garden, S.V.Lingam Road,

Vadapalani, Chennai – 600026

Ph: 24729152/ 24732625; 94440-21661

2. Chennai Navagraha Temples by REACH Foundation. http://templesrevival.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html

Acknowldgements:

There are many Blog readers who have contributed and added many temples in this list. Some of them I remember are: Mr.N.krishnamoorthy, Ms.R.Savithri from Melbourne, Ms.Prasanna Rajagopal, Mr.K.M.Srinivasan