Shiva Temples of Chennai and Surroundings

1. VISWANADHAR TEMPLE This temple is near the Meenambakkam railway station. This temple was worshipped by Mathsya Perumal. Theertham of this temple is Mathsya Theertham. This was a stone temple. Since this temple was worshipped by Mathsya Perumal this place was came to be known as Meenambakkam (Mathsya - fish). Perumal happened to kill unnecessary sea animals in his First Avatar (Mathsya Avatar). Therefore he was caught by the curse (dosha) of Killing innocent animals. To get rid of this curse he installed and worshipped this Shiva here. He stayed here and created a theertham and worshipped Shiva for a certain period of time. In early days Shiva was called as Machaeswarar. Later the temple was destroyed and when a small temple was built Shiva was named as Viswanadhar. 

1. THANTHONDREESWARAR TEMPLE This Linga is found in the road near actor Thiru Rajinikanth's house. This Linga was found when a house was to be constructed in that area. They placed the Linga under a Peepal tree. As the tree grew it covered the Linga and only the head of the Baana is visible. The Linga is small with round Aavudaiyar. During the early British period a Britisher found this Linga and Nandhi and arranged to construct a small temple for the deities. Later the temple got dilapidated and the Linga got submerged under the ground. Now it is found inside the Peepal tree.

1. KAILASANADHAR TEMPLE This temple is found in School Road in Chetpet inside Kutlai Amman temple. The name Kattalai has been changed to Kutlai Colloquially. This temple is a brick temple. The Aavudaiyar is round in shape. There are desections on the Linga. This temple was big such that the details of Vishakandeeswarar temple was found here. Now the Linga is placed in the Kutlai Amman temple. This Linga was found near this temple and no one was aware of the importance and the history of the Linga. But they have placed it in this Amman temple for worship. Pradhoshas are being conducted in this temple.  This temple is one of the 247 Shiva temples along the banks of the river Coovam.  These details are obtained from the Priest of this temple around 25 years back. 2. VISHAKANDEESWARAR TEMPLE This temple is found in Sathyamurthy Salai in Chetpet inside the campus of Karumariyamman temple. This Linga was found near the waters. Now it has been installed in the Karumariyamman ...

1. VELLEESWARAR TEMPLE This temple was a brick temple and even now it is a brick temple after renovation. Shiva has a round Aavudaiyar. The place is now Karpagam Avenue. In ancient days this place was called as Velliyur. This temple was worshipped by Sage Sukracharya (Sukra means Velli). Therefore the name of Shiva was called as Velliyur and Velleewarar respectively. There were many temple along the Adayaru river. There were some inscriptions on the walls of the temple. This temple was destroyed during the Battle of Adayar. Now a new temple has been built for Shiva and many new deities have been installed in this temple. 2. VAITHEESWARAR TEMPLE This temple was worshipped by Sevvai (Mars). Once Sevvai was affected by a disease whose nature was unknown by any Pysician of the Vaala Loka. Sevvai was adviced to install and worship Shiva along the Adayar river because the place was considered as Auspicious. Sevvai did so and got his disease cured. Because of this incident Shiva wa...

1. THIRISOOLANADHAR TEMPLE Distance: 19kms from Egmore Railway station Shiva: Thirisoolanadhar Amman: Thiripurasundhari Brahma was very proud that he was the creator of the whole universe. He treated the Devas with disrespect.When Lord Shiva came to know about this he showed his powers and therefore Brahma's powers were blocked. He was not able to create anything. Brahma understood that he had lost his powers due to Shiva's anger and therefore he went to the Boologa to perform Shiva pooja as a remedy for his mistake. He visited many Shiva temples on his journey.   One of such temples visited by Brahma is Thirisoolanadhar temple. The Shiva in Thirisoolam is called Thirisoolanadhar. The small hill on which this temple is situated is called Thirisoolamalai. Since Brahma worshipped this Shiva he is also called Brahmapureeswarar. This small hill was full of trees like a forest (Suram is a place which is a mixture of hill and forest). Therefore Shiva was also called...

BHEEMAESWARAR TEMPLE Distance: 10kms from Tambaram Shiva: Bheemaeswarar Amman: Vidhyambigai Speciality: Early name of Shiva was Parameswaran.  This temple stands for Shiva Vishnu unity. The Dhamodhara Perumal sannidhi is seen in this temple.  The Chandran of this temple is made out of Chandra Gantha stone. Worshipping Chandra here relieves Dhoshas of Chandra Dhasa. The Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated very special in this temple. History: About 1300years ago this place was full of trees and very few inhabitants. A Shiva devotee named Kameswaran found this lingam submerged in the ground amidst trees. He took the Lingam out along with his villagers and laid the Lingam for worship in a small tent. A man name Viswam who lived in the village did not have children. He adopted a female Child and named it as Vasuki. Kameswaran and Vasuki fell in love with each other. Viswam was against their love. Vasuki and Kameswaran prayed to lord Sh...

RAMALINGAESWARAR TEMPLE Shiva: Ramalingaeswarar Amman: Parvadhavarthini Sthala Viruksham: Bakula tree (Magizha Maram) This temple was worshipped by Kamadhenu. Therefore the place was known as Thenupuri which is now called Teynampet. The Shiva was also known as Thenupureeswarar. Since Rama worshipped this Shiva the Lord is called as Ramalingaeswarar.  But now people commonly call this temple as Siva Subramanya Swami temple. After Sita was kidnapped by Ravana Rama came to the south in his Vana Vasa period in search of Sita.One evening Rama was very tired and wanted to take rest. He searched for a suitable place and found a place full of Bakula tree. He found a pond amidst trees. he bathed in the pond and all his tiredness was gone. He installed a Shiva linga and performed Sandhya vandhanam and Pooja. He stayed in this place for some days and started to ravel in search of Sita. Since Rama installed this Lin...

1. VENGEESWARAR TEMPLE Vadapazhani is a place in Chennai. In ancient days, Kodambaakkam and Vadapazhani were considered together as Puliyurkottam. Karkodagan the snake worshipped Shiva here in this temple and therefore this place was called Kodagambakkam or Kodalambaakkam. Lord Shiva bent the Maeru mountain here to kill the Thiripura Asuras. Kodu means hill and therefore this place would have been known as Kodambaakkam. Vyakrapaadhar reached this place and installed a linga for his worship. He stayed here and worshipped this linga along with Pathanjali. Since Pulikkaal Munivar stayed in this place it was called Puliyur, Vyakrapuri or Vaengaipuram. The Shiva worshipped by him was called Puliyurudaiyar, vyakrapureeswarar or Vengeeswarar. The story of Vaykrapaadhar is given in the reference about THIRUPULIVNAM TEMPLE. STORY OF PATHANJALI: One day, Lord Mahavishnu was praising abour Lord Shiva’s dance. Aadhiseshan was listening to this. He wished to watch the dance of Lord Sh...

1. RAVEESWARAR TEMPLE Vyaasarpaadi is a place in North Chennai. This place was known by different names such as Ravipuram, Bhaanupuram, Kadhirpuram and Thirumaalpuram also in ancient days. Let us look into the stories from the Puranas about the temple. Lord Surya’s wife Usha could not bear the immense heat of the sun God. So she created a woman from her shadow and named her as Chaya (Prathyusha) and left her in her place and left to another world. When Chaya Devi went near Lord Surya he realised that she was not his wife. Lord Surya went in search of his wife. On the way, Brahma was performing a large yaaga. Surya passed that way without noticing Brahma and the Yaaga. Brahma was angry for the disrespect by Surya. He cursed Surya to be born on Earth. As cursed by Brahma Surya was born on Earth and he grew into a man. One day, he met Naradha and asked him what should he do to get relieved from the curse. Naradha said that the time has come for Surya to go back to his world and li...

1. EKAMBARAESWARAR TEMPLE The Ekaambaraeswarar temple is near the Flower Bazaar or the China Bazaar. The temple is near the Kandhakoattam Murugar temple. The Rajagopuram is big with artistic work.           When King Thondaimaan ruled the State this place was called Idaiyaarpaalayam of the Chennarkuppam {now Parrys corner}. Since Yadhavas lived here this place was called Idaiyarpaalayam. A devotee who lived here regularly visited Kanchipuram Ekambaraeswarar temple. One day he could not go to Kachipuram. He then decided to build a temple for Ekambaraeswarar here so that people here could worship here instead of goimg to Kanchipuram as transportation was not easy those days. The temple which he built with great effort is this temple. This temple is now termed as Park town Ekaambaraeswarar temple.       The name of the Moolavar is Ekambaraeswarar and that of Ambaal is Kaamakshi. In the Koshta we find Vinayaka, Dhakshinamurthy, Vishnu, Br...

1. PARASURAMA LINGAESWARAR TEMPLE Distance: 4kms from Egmore Railway Station Shiva: Parasuramalingaeswarar Amman: Parvadhambigai This temple is situated in Ayanpuram (Ayanavaram). Ayan means Brahma. Since Brahma stayed and worshipped Shiva here this place was known as Ayanpuram. Brahma is seated on the Lotus which has been arosen from the Navel of Mahavishnu. One day Mahavishnu found the lotus shaking. He understood that it was because of the pride the Brahma had as he was the creator of all species of the universe and nobody else knew that art. To make Brahma realise his mistake Mahavishnu cursed him to lose all his powers and made the art of creation to get erased from his mind. Brahma found that he could not create anything anymore. He repented for his mistake and asked Mahavishnu a solution to this. Mahavishnu said that he had to go to Boologam and search for a place where he finds a Shiva Linga which is a Suyambhu and the place full of trees and flowers (ga...

1. THIRUMULANADHAR TEMPLE Puzhal is 18kms from Chennai. In the Chola period, Puzhal was called Raja Sundhari Nalloor. We come to know that the Raja Sundhari was Rajaendra Chola’s daughter-in-law from the inscriptions found in the Thirumoolanaadhar temple in Puzhal. The thirupani of Thirumoolanaadhar temple was don’t by the Pallavas and Cholas. This found from the inscriptions found on the steps of the Maha Mandapa. As years went by the temple lost its maintenance. Raasa Naarayanan Sambhuvarayan the first renovated this temple and the Kumbabishekam was done in the year 1341 AD. As years went by the temple was damaged and it was found amidst trees and Shrubs. When a Devi Ubashakar Ramdas Swamigal came to puzhal 20 years back he saw the condition of this temple and took steps to renovate the temple. We find many carvings in the temple. The Karuvarai vimanam is devakota vimanam.  The koshta deities such as Vinayaka, Dhakshinamurthy, Vishnu, Brahma and Durgai have all been con...

1. KASI VISWANADHAR TEMPLE St. Thomas mount is also called as Parangimalai. Since Sage Bringi stayed and performed thavam here this place was earlier called Bringi malai and now called Parangimalai.  STORY OF SAGE BRINGI: Sage Bringi always worshipped Shiva. One day Shiva appeared before him in the form of Arthanaadheeswarar. Sage Bringi did not want to worship Parvathi. So he took the form of a bee and went in between Shiva and Parvathi and came round only Shiva. Parvathi got angry and cursed him that he will lose all the power (Shakthi) his body has possessed and he became like a Skeleton. He pleaded to Shiva saying that how could he worship him thereafter. Lord Shiva gave him a third leg to make him stand up. Sage bringi realised his mistake and pleaded Shiva to appear before him along with Uma. After worshipping Shiva and Uma who appeared before him as he had wished, he got back his strength and his original form.   VISWANAADHAR TEMPLE We can find ...

1. NANDHEESWARAR TEMPLE Aadhambaakkam is a place in St. Thomas Mount near Guindy in Chennai. Sage Bringi stayed in a hilly region and worshipped lord Shiva. He performed thavam there. Lord Shiva appeared before the sage in the form of Nandhi. Since Sage Bringi stayed in that hill that place was called Bringimalai now known as Parangimalai. Since Shiva appeared in the form of Nandhi He is called Nandheeswarar. This temple was built by king Aadhani therefore that place was called Aadhambaakkam. Some say that Aadhambaakkam was a place where cows and buffalos lived in plenty. (‘Aa’ means cow) therefore this place must have been called as Aadhambaakkam. The moolavar Nandheeswarar faces east. The name of Ambaal is Aavudainaayaki. She wears Shreechakra Haaram. This is a speciality. The Koshta Sannidhis are similar to that of other temples. Chandikeswara is 4ft tall. The naagar, Raghu, Kedhu and Kaalahastheeswarar Sannidhis are found in this temple. There is no Dwajasthambam for this temp...

1. SIVAYOGANADHAR TEMPLE This temple is situated near MKB Nagar of Ambattur. The original name of this Shiva was Brahmapureeswarar. This temple was worshipped by Brahma. Since Brahma resided here and worshipped Lord Shiva this place was called as Ayanpakkam (Ayan means Brahma). Ayanpakkam has now been divided into Ayapakkam and Ayanambakkam. There were related stories connected with Ayanpuram Brahmapureeswarar (Parasuramaeswarar). This is a Suyambhu Linga which is big in size. There were many inscriptions on the walls of the ancient temples but now only the Linga was found and a small temple has been built for it. This temple is one of the Pancha Brahma Kshetras.  This temple was worshipped by Danavasura. He worshipped this Shiva for a Long period and obtained the power of Sinking any person in any ocean from any place.  Who is Danavasura? Click Here 2. PANIMUTHU LINGAESWARAR TEMPLE This temple is found inside the TNHB quarters. The older name of this Shiva ...

1. AMBALAVANAESWARAR TEMPLE This temple is located at a distance of 1km from Ambattur Bus Stand. The name of Shiva is Ambalavanaeswarar. This temple was installed and worshipped by Baheeradan. This was the Fifty First temple installed by Baheeradan. Therefore this place was called as Ambath Oar - meaning Fifty First which later changed to Ambattur. There was no Amman and Navagrahas in early days. This temple was built by the Cholas. The Vinayaka and the Chandikeswarar is very big. There were underground passages from this temple to many temple. This temple was destroyed and now recently a small temple has been built for Ambalavanar. An Amman Sannidhi has also been placed. Only the Shiva is old. All the other deities are new deities. 2. VIRUPAKSHEESWARAR TEMPLE In early days the place where the temple is situated was a dense forest. This temple was worshipped by Suriyan. There was a 4ft tall Suriyan deity in this temple. There was no Chandran, No Amman and No Navagrahas in this ...

1. PANCHAMUGA SHIVA TEMPLE Distance: 3kms from Anna Nagar Shiva: Kameswarar Amman: Kameswari The name of this place was called Magappaeru meaning birth to Children. The Shiva is seen with 5 faces namely Eesanam, Thathpurusham, Vaamadhevam, Agoram and Sathyojadham. Water continuously dips from Tara Patram on the Binustham seen on the top of the head seen as Sathyojadham. The main face of Shiva faces west. There is a Mahameru (1ft tall) before the Amman who gives Dharshan in a sitting posture with Angusam and parrot in the right hands and Paasam and Karumbu in the left hands. The Shrine of Lord Shiva has been constructed in such a way that devotees could have the Dharshan of all the 4 faces of Shiva in all the 4 directions and the 5th head on top of the face facing west. There are many other Sannidhis in this well maintained temple. This temple was worshipped by Manmadhan. Therefore Shiva was called there  Kamaeswarar. The Linga has a rund Aavudaiyar.  ...