Vadapalani Murugan Temple, Chennai

By -

Vada Palani Andavan temple in Vadapalani is one of the most famous temples of Chennai city. 

There are six most important temples for Lord Murugan, which are known as Arupadai Veedu. One of those temples is located in a small town named Palani. As Chennai is located to the north of Palani, this temple to Palani Andavan is called 'Vada Palani Andvan temple'. (The word 'Vada' means north in the Tamil language.)

There lived a devotee of Murugan named Annaswami Tambiran. In a small hut, he had kept a picture of Murugan and used to meditate. One day, he experienced a sort of divine power entering into his body. Since then, he started getting into a trance and uttering wise words (called Arul Vakku in Tamil). Many believed that his words healed their problems. After his demise, his disciple Ramaswamy uttered Arul Vakku. During his time in the early 20th century CE, this place was developed as a temple, with the aid of public collected funds). Even today, we can find the same old picture of Murugan in the meditation hall in the temple.

The temple is very big and has entrances in all four directions. The sanctum is facing the east direction. However, the south direction entrance is prominent and is used by the people as the main entrance. The five-tiered Gopuram at this entrance is bigger than the other three towers of the temple.

The sanctum enshrines the beautiful icon of Murugan. He is in a standing posture and is 4 feet tall. There are two prakaras around the sanctum. The sanctum wall has niche images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga. 

The flagstaff and bali peetha are found facing the sanctum.

In the inner prakara, there are many small-sized icons such as Nalvar, Surya, Chandra, Chandikeshwara, Shaneeswara, Vaiyapuri Pandya, Vishwanatha Linga and Vishalakshi, Maha Lakshmi, Bhairava, Veerabhadra, Subramanya-Valli-Devasena, Naga Subramanya and Nataraja.

There are many sub-shrines situated in this temple, including Vara Siddhi Vinayaka, Chokkanathar Linga, Meenakshi, Shanmukha-Valli-Devasena, Angarak (Chevvai), Arunagirinathar, Subramanya-Valli-Devasena and Hanuman.

A massive temple tank is situated outside the temple complex.

There is a big hall in this temple where generally marriages and essential functions are arranged. Hundreds of weddings happen in this temple every year. Also, devotees sacrifice their hair by tonsuring their heads (mundan/mottai) in this temple.

Happy travelling.

Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.




Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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