Vadapalani Vengeeswarar Temple - Chennai, South India

By -
Vadapalani, one of the busiest neighborhoods in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is best known for the famous Vadapalani Murugan Temple. However, another significant temple, much older and larger than the Murugan Temple, stands just diagonally opposite to its street. This temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is known as Vengeeswarar Temple.

Dating back to the Chola period, Vadapalani Vengeeswarar Temple is an expansive east-facing structure adorned with a grand nine-tiered Raja Gopuram (tower). The temple has entrances on all four sides, with smaller towers marking the other three gateways.

The sanctum houses a large Shiva Linga, worshiped as Vengeeswarar. Its vimana follows the Gaja Prshtha architectural style, resembling the back of a sleeping elephant.

At the entrance of the Ardha Mandapa, an icon of Ganesha and two mid-sized ancient Dwarapalas (guardian deities) stand watch. Inside the Maha Mandapa, sculptures of the sages Vyagrapada (depicted with tiger’s legs) and Patanjali (shown with a serpent’s lower body) face Lord Shiva. It is believed that both sages worshiped Shiva in this temple, as they did in several others across South India. The deity’s name, Vengeeswarar, is derived from Vyagrapada, as "Vengai" in Tamil and "Vyagra" in Sanskrit both mean tiger.

The sanctum’s outer wall features niche images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma, and Durga, with Chandikeswara in his traditional position.

The temple's presiding goddess, Shanta Nayaki, is housed in a separate south-facing shrine near the flagstaff. Her shrine also enshrines an icon of Bhuvaneswari.

In front of the main shrine, a towering flagstaff, bali peetha, and Nandi Mandapa stand in alignment with Lord Vengeeswarar.

The temple’s prakara (corridor) includes sub-shrines for Ganesha, Subramanya with Valli and Devasena, Maha Lakshmi (distinct from the usual Gaja Lakshmi), Navagraha, Vishwanatha Lingam, and Nataraja with Sivakami.

Near the Raja Gopuram entrance, icons of Veerabhadra, Surya, Chandra, and Muneeswaran face the main shrine, while Bhairava and Shaneeswara also have dedicated shrines within the temple complex.


Happy travelling.




Location: Vadapalani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600026, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Little known Nimishamba Temple of Chennai

By -
Image
Site Name:  Nimishamba Temple Site Type:  Hindu Temple Location:   Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India Highlights:   A rare temple of Nimishamba in Chennai city Nearest Railway Station:   Chennai - well connected from the cities/towns all over India Nearest Airport:   Chennai has both national and international airports How to reach:   Easily reachable by road as this is centrally located in the city Hotel:  Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai Restaurants:  All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city Chennai is considered as the gateway to South India. The capital city of Tamil Nadu state of India has hundreds of tourist sites which include museum, British period monuments, temples, beach, etc. Let us explore a little known temple called Nimisham...
Read more

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine...
Read more

Hastinapuram Navapashanam Murugan Temple

By -
Image
Navapashanam is an amalgam of nine poisonous herbs. It is said to act as a remedy for all types of diseases. It is believed that the Siddhas knew the secret formula to prepare this medicinal potion.  The sculpture of Murugan from the famous Palani is claimed to be made of Navapashanam. Similarly, there is a lesser-known temple near Chennai, which has a Navapashanam Murugan. In Hastinapuram near Chrompet in the southern outskirts of Chennai, in a congested lane called Masjid Street, this tiny temple of Bala Murugan is situated. Murugan, made of Navapashanam, is the presiding deity.  Jalakandeeswara Linga, Meenakshi, and the Siddha who found this temple are the other Murtis found in the temple. Happy travelling.
Read more