Temples in Ch

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Within Chennai

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 listand will be constantly updated with more information.

Last updated on: March 20, 2009.

Broadway (Parrys 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 ofthe 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 templehere

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 thewater is at the same level as when the temple was built many hundred years ago, in spite of being

located in the citys 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. JJs water harvesting has paid off??.
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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 theother 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 fullhuman 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 presentCamphor burns always in front of the templeIt is believed that the Goddess givesdharshan 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 ones

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


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Worshipped by Vallalar and VivekanandharHanging a garland of a lemon with 7 green chillies at house entrance after the pooja herewill 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 tobuild 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 importantPerumalsSriranganathar, Venkatesa Perumal and Kanchi Varadharaja Perumalare 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. SrinivasaPerumal and Ramar shrines are also present. Thirumazhisai Azhwar stayed here for many yearsand 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 thistemple 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 theNavagrahas 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 isbeing conducted in a big way, during which many Thevara groups sing Thevarams together as in

the famous Thyagaraja Aradhanai at Thiruvaiyaru.

Sri Kalikambal Temple


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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 todays Kalikambal. The temple was once located inside theSt George fort and later shifted here during the British regime. The temple has the sanctity of the

two Pancha bootha SthalamsKanchipuram 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 TMSs song Ullam Uruhuthaiya was sung for the first time here

only, in 1952 by Sri Andavan Pichai.

More details in Vikatan Publications 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 builtthis 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

idolShiva 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 hereis 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 attainedsalvation. The names of these 102 couples have been inscribed in the temple. Vasavi Kanniha

Parameswaris 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
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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. TheGoddess 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 termAllikkeni,

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

Krishnarconsort Rukmani, elder brother Balaramar, younger brother Satyaki, son Pradhyumna

and grandson Anirudha are present in main shrine which can not be seen anywhere else. SinceKrishnar 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 ThirupathiVenkatesa Perumal, Srirangam Ranganathar, Kancheepuram Varadarajar, Ahobilam Narasimharand Ayodhi Ramarare 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.

Ramanujars father AasuriKesavacharyar conducted an yagna here and got Ramanujar as his son.

Thyagarajar, Muthuswamy Dhikshithar and Bharathiar lived here. Bharathiar Illam is verynearby and all Bharathiar songs on Krishnar are based only on this deity. Viveknandhar also

visited this temple.


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 Nawabs Chepak palace, the axe fell on aShivalinga by mistake and blood oozed out. This temple was then built. Kasi Viswanathar and

Visalakshi are also present.
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Mylapore

Sapthasthana Temples of Shiva:

There are seven Sapthasthana (Saptha meaning seven) temples for Shiva in Mylapore

worshipped by the Saptha rishisAdri, Brigu, Kutsa, Vashishta, Gautama, Kasyapa andAngirasa. 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 templeshere

1. Kapaleeswarar Temple Worshipped bySage Kasyapar, this is the most popular of theSapthasthana 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 theSouth 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 gotall 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 areshrines 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 aParihara sthalam.

4. Sri Theerthapaleeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Adri, this temple is located inthe 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 12th 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 Shivas third eye contradicts the nature, He is calledVirupaksheeswarar.

7. Sri Malleeswarar Temple Worshipped by Sage Brigu, this temple is located near theKaraneeswara temple. This was once a forest of Jasmines and so the Easwaran here is
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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 theintensity 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 theMundakkanni 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 thatGoddess 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

Maharishis Ashram.


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 VedhanthaDesikar shrine but later Srinivasa Perumal shrine also came in.


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 aSwayambu putru.


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 worshippingthis Goddess.

Sri Ramakrishna Mutt Temple
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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 Ramakrishnars life size marble idol is present and is beingdecorated 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 soundsystem 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.


Sri Gnanasundara Vinayahar Temple

This is a 400 years old popular temple. Located at the junction of the St Marrys Road and

Ramakrishna Math Road, this has the following legend: The main deity here was once lyingalong 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 whichThiruvalluvar 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, whileVasuki was fetching water in a pot from a well, Thiruvalluvar called her and she went leavingthe 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. Whats 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 forThiruvalluvar 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
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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 sacred18 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 IrumudiKaanikkai. 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 tiersof 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 andthen take a left turn to reach the temple.

Another popular temple Arupadai Murugan Temple is nearby.

More details in Vikatan PublicationsNimmadhi 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 filmsand 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.

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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 RBIQuarters.

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 thistemple were done through Thirupathi Devasthanam.

The official website of the temple ishere

Sri Vara Siddhi Vinayahar Temple at Besant Nagar
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Located just opposite the Besant Nagar Bus Depot, the specialty of the temple being that

Ganapathy Homam is being conducted everyday, yes, everyday.


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, thepopular Bharthnatya School at Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar. The full moon day celebration

all through the night is very special.

More details on Pamban Swamigalhere

Sri Marundeeswarar Temple at Thiruvanmiyur

Significance: One of the 275 sacred temples glorified by the Thevara hymns; 7th

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 offRamar, on his way to Lanka worshipped Shiva

Sage Brinki (in whose name Paranki Malai has come up) worshipped ShivaShiva 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
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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 10th

century during the Chola period. LordMuruga 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 theerthamsJanma nasini, Kama nasini, Papa nasini, Gyana dhayini &Moksha nasini which are from the jada mudi of Lord Shiva.

Note: There are two temple tanksone 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 wasflooded 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 templecollections 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 seeJagannathar 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.

VelacheryTambaram

Sri Dhandeeswarar Temple at Velacheri

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

Yaman does not have separate temples and the temples that remove ones death fears are only afew like Thirukkadaiyur, Thirupainjeeli near Trichy, Srivanchiyam and Thiruvaihavur apart from

the Velacheri Dhandeeswarar Temple.


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Velacheri was once called Vedasreni, the temple of Vedas, the sacred place for veda padasalas.

This was also called SathurmangalamSathur means four. All the four Vedas worshippedDhandeeswarar 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 ones death fears.


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.


Sri Venkatachalapathy Temple at Pallikaranai

A new temple for Sri Venkatachalapathy at Kamakotinagar, Pallikaranai, (opposite Balaji DentalCollege) 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 informationhere

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
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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 LordSrinivasa 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 tothe 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.


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 thecow 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 its 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, causedby 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 ofvibrations 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 isnow 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 templehereand a also traveloguehere

Siddhar temple at Madambakkam

Located very near to the Dhenupureeswarar Temple, this temple, called the Universal Shrine wasconstructed 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 Siddharsmasters of infinite enlightenment and to the Sathguru, the Universal Temple is
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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 Indias spiritual traditions, the sacred system of SriVidya and the mystical heritage of the sages of God realization.


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 somany 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 raredeities 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 ishere

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 Ammanand 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 arePradhosam, 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) SarabeshwararPooja is also performed.

Sri Adikesava Perumal Temple

Here, the granite pillars are ancient but the idols themselves, of Adikesavaperumal andAmirthavalli Thayar, are relatively new. The temple has a Deepa sthambam, which is a typical
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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 templesit has in and around.

For a travelogue to various Nanganallur temples, visitRajus Temple Visit here.

The online map of temples in and around Nanaganallur is availablehere.

Sri Varasiddhi Vinayahar Temple

Located at Nanganallur 2nd

main road, this is one of the two oldest temples along withRajarajeswari 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 ofKnowledge.

Sri Uthara Guruvayoorappan Temple

The temple in Kerala style is having Sri Guruvayoorappan very similar to the Kerala Guruvayoordeity. 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 GoddessesMahalakshmi,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

( ) as the sthalavriksham and an idol of Sankarshana is installed beneath the Peepultree 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 alsopresent in separate shrines.

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

Sri Ayyappan Temple
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Located at 3rd

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 housein 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 andlater 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 ispresent 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 isbelieved to be more ancient than 8th 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 thePerumals hand which was one of the findings when the temple was unearthed. Praying by

touching the Chakra is believed to get ones prayers answered. The Anjaneyarhere 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 isthe 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 Thillaiganganagarpoint.


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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 aperiod 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 theculvert 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 PublicationsAalaya Dharisanambook and alsohere

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 anancient Lingam in the tank as Ardhanareeswarar. Since then the temple was functioning inthatched 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 theArdhanareeswarar 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
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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 diggingup 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 Vinayagaris 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 withtwo 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 12th

Century temple by the Viyayanagar empire near the railway station. It is said thatinitially 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 SarpaDosham 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 facingnorth (Gubera corner) is considered very special. A clean temple tank is also present within thetemple 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 fromT.Nagar bus stand. This is a 400 years old beautiful temple and has been renovated recently.


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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 visitedfrequently 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


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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 withoutthese.

Swarnapuriswar temple at 8th

Avenue

Karumari Thripurasundari (Varaprasadhi) with 2 Srinivasars and 2 Durgas. Hanumanonce had one lakh Vadamala.

Sarvapriya Ganapathy at 7th

AvenueMallegashwarer near Ashok Pillar

Kasi Viswanathar with GothandaRamar and Sathya Narayana Perumal at Ashok Pilar

Ayyappan Temple

Sri Chandramoulishwarar

Pidari Amman temple

Kalikambal templeShiva Vishnu temple

Bala murugan templeVarasiddhi Vinayakar temple

Mogappair / Koyamped

Twin Temples of KoyampedSri 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 Ramas twin sons Lava and Kucha were brought up in Valmikis 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 doPradhosha 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 hisconsorts Sridevi and Boodevi. The main deity is being decorated differently on every Saturday.


Sri Santhana Srinivasar Temple at Mogappair


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This 650 years old temple is very powerful to give the boon of a child (santhanam) which is

called Mahapperu in tamil and thats how the place became Mugappair. The main deitySanthana 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 AgastheeswararSri Prasanna Venkatesa PerumalSri 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 onecorner 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 Tigers 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.


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


Sri Vengiswarar temple at Vadapalani
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A small ancient temple just opposite Vadaplani Murugan temple (i.e. acorss the Arcot street).

One cant miss the Rajagopuram built by Cholas from the 100 feet road as you enter Vadaplanisignal junction.

Sri Ayyappan temple at Mahalingapuram

Built in 1974, this is the 2nd

of the Ayyappa temples built in the city.


Valasaravakkam

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhanswamy temple

This is a small but ancient temple

Sri Agastheeswarar Temple

This is a 12th Century Chola temple

Vanagaram

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

Chinthathiripet

Shiva and Perumal Temples

One of the oldest temples, considered belongs to 7th

Century this is a twin temple of Lord Shiva

and Vishnu in adjacent complexes. The names of the deities confirm the puranic nature of thetemple. Lord Shiva is Aadhipureeswarar with Goddess Thirupurasundari. Lord Vishnu isAadhikesava 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 lanebehind Dasaprakash. The main deity is a beautiful and big lingam. Thirunavukkarasar has sungon 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


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Varadarajar templePurasaiwalkam

Sri Gangadeswarar Temple

The temple is about 2000 years old. Once King Baheeradhan ridiculed Sage Naradhar and got hiscurse. To get off from the curse he worshipped 1008 Shivalingams. When he searched a proper

place for his 1008th

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 waterstarved, 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 Vasagarpreached under this tree.

Added by Mrs Prasanna Rajagopalan: Sage Bageeratha sage is believed to have done penanceand 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 in1850.


Ponniamman Koil at Millers Road / Flowers road junction Purasawalkam

Ponniamman is believed to be something like a kaaval deivam of Purasai. Legend says thatin 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,


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called Ayan, took bath in this temple tank and worshipped Shiva and thats 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 alingam 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 Ponds factory (towardsWest) 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 camedown and prayed Rama. Ranganathar and Ranganayaki, whom he saw gave dharshan at the basetemple 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 thayarKidantha (lying) posture in the front shrine and as we go around we see Thiruvikrama perumal

in Nadantha (walking) posture known as UlagalandhaPerumal, 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.


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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 roadto 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 Brahmas four faces are present as four hills aroundchanting 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 wasinstalled. 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 PublicationsAalaya Dharisanambook andNimmadhi TharumSannidhiPart 2book. The Tamil audio Podcast is availablehere.

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 theright side of the GST road, just before National Sidhdha Unit.and in the Ramanjeya Premise. Aprivate 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
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Anjaneyar, Mahalakshmi Thayar, Sri Chakrathalwar,Sri Narasimar, Sri Andal

are in the Sri Rama anjaneyar premises. Anjaneyar is very powerful. devotees used to tie drycoconuts praying for the fulfilment of prayers of marriage, examination, health etc. Visited by all

madathipathis.

GuindyPoonamalle

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 theTrade 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 laterNandambakkam.

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 werelater 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 Ramas lap.The temple is also called `Then Thirupathi of Thondai Mandalam. An eternal lamp burns in theVasantha mandapam with 288 ghee lamps around it. The Ananda Anjaneyar is 7 feet high and is

beautiful.


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 SageBringu. 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 hereand the lingampresent as Guru, is huge and beautiful. This is also called as Uthara

Rameswaram. The alternate to this Gurusthalam, is the Shiva Temple at Kundrathur.


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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 denotesGoddess. 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 Lakshmipuramand Ulagu Vuyya Konda Cholapuram.

The main deity of this 10th 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 forThirukatchi Nambi Azhwar. There is a strong belief that the sun God and Mars (Angarga)

worshipped the Lord of this temple. Every year during FebruaryMarch between the 21st and25th at 6.00 AM, the suns rays fall on the face ofthe Lord of this temple. Like His counterpartat 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 maindeity 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 deityis 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 peoplearound 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 11th

century temple at Pammal


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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

CholaII. Legend has it that Lord Subramaniar stayed in the hill on an auspicious day duringHis 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 Murugantemple 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 theroad 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 Chozhans 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 wasinteresting. 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 thedescendents 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.


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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 dopenance 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. Shewas 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 aSriChakram 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, withSugarcane 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 flowerthree 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 Kumkumarchanai is being done for the Artha meru Sri Chakram since it is made of herbs.

The official website of the temple ishere

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 Sukraworshipped 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 andGoddess 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 marriagein 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-Parvathiand 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
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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 ThyagarajasPancha 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

KovurKundrathur 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 deitiesThe Sun God, Bairava Idol and the Shivalingam are to beseen 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 marriagerelated 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 KundrathurPadappai 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 wasbetter than the Lord Himself on winning a war against invaders!! Sources say that a sage named


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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 SubramaniarSubramania who did the work of Brahma when Brahmawas 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 inRajus 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 centuryA.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 Pulikesins army.

Sri Rajagopalar Temple

Manimangalam is the birthplace of Sri Ramanuja. The presiding deity at this ancient temple isSri 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 ([email protected]):Some good hearted people have

started a trust and taken up the task of renovating this temple. Balalayam was constructedand 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

DharmeshvararVedhavalli temple maintained by ASIMore details inRajus Temple

Visits travelogueVaikuntanathar 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
http://shanthiraju.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/visit-to-somangalam-and-manimangalam-temples/http://shanthiraju.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/visit-to-somangalam-and-manimangalam-temples/http://shanthiraju.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/visit-to-somangalam-and-manimangalam-temples/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://kailayanathar.googlepages.com/http://kailayanathar.googlepages.com/http://shanthiraju.wordpress.com/2008/02/28

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