Temple Visits of Parantharami Mani

         Balasubramanya Swami  Temple,  Vannia Teynampet.  A Sivan temple changed into a  Murugan Temple.  This more 400 year old temple was originally  a Sivan Temple  and the presiding  deity  is Ramalingeswarar  and Amman here  is called  Parvadhavarthini. The road abetting  the  temple  is called Ramalingeswarar  Sannidhi street which reminds of the  old temple.  All the  temple donation  properties are in the  name of  Ramalingeswarar.  The  Murugan Sannidhi Valli Deva Sena Sameda Balasubramanyar was built  55 years ago along with Rajagopuram in the  year 1965. From then on the  temple is called Balasubraswami  Temple.  Moolavar Balasubramanyar is a small  statue with his hands on the hips and is called  Adhikara Murugan. Ramalingeswarar and Parvadhavarthini Amman are having separate Sannidhi  along with  Vinayagar facing  East.. There are separate shrines for Navagraham and Saneeswarar.  Lord Nataraja in his cosmic dance pose with Sivakami is in a separate shrine. It is

     Agathiyar  Temple,  T.Nagar. This temple on Raja Street is around  60 years old.    The  unique feature of this temple is that it has separate  shrines for almost  all Gods you name.  As per the  temple  Bhattar  the  place where the temple is situated was originally a house owned  by Sundara  Mudaliyar. He had his Pooja room in the  place where  Siva lingam is now consecrated.  The house was also a place  where  Agasthiyar Nadi Joshyam was told. Even now a lot of Nadi Manuscripts are kept in the  temple and worshipped during  Saraswathi Pooja.  Sage Agasthiya  Mamuni blesses the  devoties with his wife  Lopamudra a unique one.  The  presiding deity of the  temple is Siva in big Linga form a little below floor level. Siva is also in Kalyana Kolam as Sundara Vannibeswarar with his consort Sundara  Vadivambigai.  As you enter the temple from North gopuram the  shrine of Nityananda  Ganapathi with his consorts  Siddhi and Buddhi can be seen.  The sannidhi outer circumbula

     Adikesava Perumal  Temple, Mylapore.  This  temple is situated near Chithirai  Kulam on the  western part of Mylapore. Legend of the  temple says that it has been in existence from  Dwapara  Yugam and constructed by Suryakula King Sumanagan  and renovated during Pallava  period. It is the  Avatharasthalam of Mudhal  Alwar Peyyalwar  who is believed to have been born  in a Lily flower in a well called Mani  Kairaveni in the  garden  of Adikesava  Perumal  temple.  The present  structure  of  the  temple  cannot  be  more than  300  year old and no antiquity  like inscriptions are available in the  temple. The  Kalyana mandapam of the temple was constructed in 1938 by Varadarajulu Naidu. The  presiding  deity of the temple is Adikesavar in standing posture  facing  East and Utsavar with  consorts Sreedevi and Bhoodevi.  Peyalwar sannidhi is inside the  Ardhamandapam  facing south along with sannidhi for Ramar facing  and blessing Vibhishana.  The unique feature of thi

 Bhoomeeshwarar Temple, Marakanam:        This thousand year old Temple is situated in Marakanam  a little more than 100kms from  Madras abetting  the  East  Coast  Road  on the  junction of  ECR and Marakanam - Tindivanam  Road. The  temple is supposed to have been built during the  reign of Raja Raja Cholan.  There are plenty of inscriptions on the  walls outside the  inner sanctorum of the temple  mentioning about the gift of  money  for lighting of the  temple lamp and also gift of salt  pans to the temple. The  presiding  deity  is Bhoomeeshwarar in a big Linga form facing  East. Amman  here is called Girijambigai in a separate Sannidhi with a Nandi  in the front  unusual for a Amman  Sannidhi. There are separate niches for Brahma in the  North, Vishnu in the West and Dakshinamoorthi in the  South on the  outer walls of Ardha  mandapam.  On the South west corner of the Verandah  there are beautiful bronze statues of Somaskandar and Tani Amman with exquisite workma

       Nandiswarar  Temple,  Nandivaram, Guduvancherry. This temple  is situated in Nandivaram,  Guduvancherry half km from Guduvancherry bus stand  on the left side of  GST Road 35 km from  Madras. It is a Pallava era temple built in 8th  century and a Thevara padal petra sthalam. But no antiquity in the  form of Inscriptions  is available which perhaps might have been lost over the years due to  renovations. The  main deity is Nandiswarar in a big Linga form attractive with  Ganesha and Muruga on both sides of  main Sannidhi. Ambal Soundara Nayagi is around  4 feet in height with  Simmam and Bali Peetam in front of her. Around the walls of  Sivan Sannidhi there are Koshta Idols of Dakshinamoorthy, Durga,  Brahma, Maha Vishnu, Ganapathy and Chandikeshwar.  The legend of the temple says that Lord Shiva after taking the Alakala Visham danced here with his Nandi and gave darshan to  Devas and hence called Nandiswarar. A old statue of Nandi is kept below the sthala virusham Nagal

      Siddi Buddi Sameda  Karpaga Vinayaga Temple, R.A.Puram.  This  temple situated on 2nd cross  Street  comparatively has a history of less than 60 years.  It is  said  that the  Senior  Sankaracharya   while on a padayatra in Madras in the  year 1957 stayed in this place  and requested his disciples to construct a temple for  Vinayagar. The  temple was constructed by the efforts made by Avibakthammal wife of  Idaiyathimangalam Vaidhyanatha  Iyer and Kumbabhishekam was done on 12/6/1960. After that at least four  renovations have been done and extensions made. The  main deity is Karpaga Vinayagar with his consorts and there are niches for Guruvayoorappan, Durga, Anjaneyar,  Subramanyar, Sridevi Bhoodevi  sameda Lakshmi Narayanan,  Dakshinamoorthy.  There are separate shrines  for Sivan and Goddess  Thirupurasundari. The  temple is kept neat and clean with  a hall  for  conducting religious  and cutural programmes. It is maintained  by R A.Puram Bhaktha  Jana  Sabha.

       Yoga Narasimhar Sannadhi of Parthasarathy  Temple. This  is a separate  shrine facing West with separate Kodi Maram and Bali  Petam.  Until the turn of 19th century this was given to  Vadakalai Iyengars by East  India Company in view of the dispute on the  Sampradayam of worship  with  Thengalai  Iyengars. Moolavar  Yoga Narasimhar is in meditation and has been mentioned  by Thirumangai Alwar as "  Thellia  Singathi  Thevai  Tiruvallikeni  Kandene" in his Pasuram. The  street  outside has been  named  Thellia Singa Perumal  Koil Street  in the  name of  Utsavar.  The  shrine was renovated  in 1908 extensively with  granite stones by Parthasarathy  Iyengar.  The  26 pillared  mandapam outside the Sannadhi has been constructed in the  year 1912 by Raghavaiah  Chetty  charities along with public subscriptions at a  cost of  Rs.12000 .  Separate Brahmotsavam are held for  Yoga Narasimhar every year. The  Gopuram on the  west side  along with  main gopuram was ren

          This 190 year old temple is situated on Veeraraghava  Mudali  Street  (Big Street ) Triplicane, a stone throw away  from  Pycrofts Road junction. It is a unique temple in the  sense that it has no Dwajasthambam,  Prakaram and Rajagopuram. It is a private  temple not under the control  of HRCE but owned by Chinakavaram Mudaliyar clan. The  temple was intially  consecrated around  1827 by Muthiah Mudaliyar.  His grandson Chinakavaram  Solayappa Mudaliyar was the  trustee from  1881-1911 followed by his son Thatulinga Mudaliyar  from 1911-1954. They have to fight a bitter  battle in the  courts  with  HRCE at various  stages to have the rights over the  temple. As you enter the  temple the main Sannidhi of Pillaiyar  facing  East can be seen. There is a small enclosure having the Navagrahams on the  left hand side. There is also  a Sannidhi of Valli  Devasena  Sameda  Subramanyar at the  back of Pillaiyar  Sannidhi. That constitues this small  temple frequented by huge  num

       Arunachaleswarar and Varadharaja Perumal Temple, George  Town.  This  temple on Palliappan  Street  was built  around  250 years  ago by Mylai Subbaraya  Mudaliyar. Mudaliyar used to visit  Thiruvannamalai for Karthigai Deepam  every year and one year he missed it. So he built Arunachaleswarar  Temple in Madras for  devotees to worship  Deepam. The  Moolavar here is Arunachaleswarar  and during  Pradosham six Pradakshanam and Six Apradakshanam of the sannidhi gives you the benefit of  doing  Aswamedha  Yagam. Ambal here is Abhithakusambal  standing  6 feet tall facing  south.  Kanchi  Sankaracharya in 1967 installed  Srichakra in Amman  sannidhi. There are shrines /niches for  Valli Devasena  samedha  Arumugar, Dakshanamurthy, Durgai,  Vilveswarar,  Mahishasura  Mardhini, and Varahi Amman. The  Ani Annamalaiyar  brought from  Kasi was first  installed  here around which temple came up. 100 years ago Mouna Guru swamigal  alias Thinnai  swamigal used to  sit opposite the

         Aranganathaswami Temple, Mulla Sahib Street, George Town, Chennai.  This  temple was intially  a Bhajanai  Koodam during the years 1845 to 1854. The beautiful statue of  Moolavar  Ranganathar in sayana kolam with  Brahma from his  Nabhikamalam with Sridevi and Bhoodevi was later installed and  worshipped as per Vaikasana Agama  rituals. This  temple has connection with  Parthasarathi  Swamy  temple  in the  sense  that a statue of  Perumal called Kaudukar was kept and worshipped with  Parthasarathi for  6 months and  installed by Kancheepuram Manavala  Ramanuja Jeeyar in the  temple.  Thayar Ranganayaki  is on the  South side of  Moolavar and Andal Sannidhi is on the North side.  There are separate shrines for  Ramar with Sita along with  shrines for Srinivasar and Varadarajar. The  Annual  Brahmotsavam is celebrated in this temple for 10 days in Panguni month. Vasantha Utsavam in Vaikasi month is celebrated in a grand manner. Navarathri Utsavam for  Ranganayaki  

        Luz Anjaneyar Temple. There are four exclusive Anjaneyar  temples in Mylapore.  The  one at Mosque Street,  Alamelumangapuram, Alwarpet and Luz Anjaneyar. The  first three are less than 40 year old where as Luz Anjaneyar is more than 200 years old. It was built around 1800 AD by Salivahana  Chettiar  community  who migrated from  Mysore in 18th  century due to harassment by Muslim  rulers there. They came and settled in Kosapettai  area of Mylapore  inhabited by Potters. They were digging the earth for a  Vinayagar  temple when they discovered the  self manifested  statue of  Anjaneyar.  A temple was built  there and Perumal Chettiar  was the first  Dharmakartha  during  1800-1830 AD. The  main  deity is facing  West and is seen as if walking towards  south. The  right hand is in " Abhaya  Mudra" and the  left hand is on the hip holding the  " Gatha". The tail is swinging above the head facing  south. There is a Utsavamoorthy of Venugopalaswamy in

     Arulmigu  Varadaraja Manavala Mamuni Temple.  This  more than  200 year old temple is situated at Varada Muthiappan Street past Godown  Street a km away  from  Pookadai  police station.  This is the only  temple where the name of  Manavala Mamuni (1370-1443)the  Thengalai Achariyar is linked with the main deity Varadaraja  Perumal.  The  main Rajagopuram is facing  West and as you  enter the temple the shrine of Anjaneyar is there in standing  posture. The  main deity Varadaraja Perumal  is in a beautiful  standing  posture with  four hands facing  East.  Utchavar is giving darshan  with  Sridevi  and Bhoodevi . Thayar here is called  Perundevi  facing East and the nine day Navarathri festival is celebrated in a grand manner in this sannidhi. Ramanujar is having separate shrine.  There are separate shrines for Yoga Narasimmar, Alwars,  Chella  pillaiyar, Venugopalan , Ramar and Aranganathar. The  Vimana of  Perumal has sculptures showing the various  Avatars of Lord Vish

     This Anjaneyar Temple in a corner of Hanumantharayan Koil  Street,  Triplicane is more than 200 years old. This street  was a Agraharam  hub of Madhawa  Brahmins 200 years ago and even now continues to  do so. The  temple was consecrated in the  year 1794 by Sri Sathyasandharu 25th pontiff of Sri Uttaradhi  Mutt.  The  main deity Mukya Prana Anjaneyar in granite stone is 19 inches tall with  folded hands in standing posture in a place 9 feet by 7 feet in dimension. It was renovated in the year 1910 during the  reign of 30th pontiff of the  Mutt. The  present structure  was constructed in  the year 2000.  Sitting in front of the  Anjaneyar  and doing meditation for a few minutes you feel rejuvenated and away from your worries.

     Mallikeswarar Temple,  Linghi  Chetty  Street,  Muthialpet.  This  more than 500 year  old temple is situated  on the  northern  side of  George Town near Mannady. The  presiding deity  of Siva facing  east is called  Mallikeswarar.  The temple is situated  6 feet below the  road level. The  legend of the  temple  says that this area was covered by a sand hill and when  it was cleared  the temple was unearthed the Lord with  Jasmine  flowers and the  Amman Maragathambal in green coloured granite  stone. The  temple was developed on this core Idols. Amman is facing south. The Rajagopuram  of the  temple  was built  by Mangadu Ellapa  Chettiar in  1923. The  16 pillared Mandapam outside  the main entrance of the  temple was built  in the  year 1897 as well as 4 pillared Ganesh temple outside  as per the  inscription etched  on one of  the  pillars by Manickam Chettiar. The  Navagraha shrine of the temple is unique in the sense all the  9 grahams are in their Vahanams

   Thirusoolanadar Temple, Thirusoolam. This  Chola era temple is situated 1km from  Thirusoolam station on the  Eastern side. This area was called by different names in the  olden days including  1. Vanavan Madhevi Chaturvedi Mangalam 2. Thiruneetru  Chozhanallur 3.Thirisooram 4.Brahmmapuri and 5. Thirusoolam.  The  temple is situated in the  centre of four  mountains representing four Vedas. The  presiding deity here is  Thirusoolanadar and is facing east. There is a statue of old Amman  beside the Lingam which was the original one but got damaged. A new statue was prepared  and kept in separate sannidhi   called Thirupurasundari  facing  South. Every  Friday Santhanakapu  Alangaram  is made for Amman. The  main sanctum of Siva is  semi circular  and the  Vimanam is Gajaprishta  as was the style in many Chola  Era temples. The  sthala virusham is Maravalli and theertham Brahmatheertham. In the  first circumbulatory path around the sanctum  there are shrines for Vinayag

        Vedapureeswarar Temple,  Tiruverkadu.  This is a famous  chola era temple  in Tiruverkadu  18km from  Chennai.  The  temple is situated 1 km away from the  main Karumariamman temple and one of the Thodainattu Siva temples. The presiding deity is Lord  Vedapureeswarar  with his consort  Balambigai. The  Moolavar here is  Siva in Lingam  form and also in Kalyana  Kolam with  Parvathi.  The  Kodi  Maram and the beautiful  Nandi  facing  Siva are a treat to see. The  Legend has it that  Sage Agasthiya who was sent to  South by Siva to set the earth wanted  to see the  celestial  wedding  and Siva gave  him dharshan in Kalyana Kolam here. This is a Padal Petra sthalam by Thirugnasambandar  and Arunagirinathar has also sung about the temple in Thirupugazh. The  temple was constructed during  Chola Era as evident  from the  scores of  inscriptions  on the  outer walls of Inner  prakaram and the  Gajaprashta Vimanam. The  temple was renovated during  Nayak  period. The