Kachaleeswarar Temple of Chennai

In Kanchipuram, there is a famous temple for Kachaleeswara. The word Kachaleeswara or Kachabeswara refers to Lord Shiva. As Vishnu took the form of a Kachab or Koorma (tortoise) and worshiped Shiva, the latter is called Kachaleswara. Similar to this temple, there is a Kachaleswara temple in Chennai. 

Let me start with the story behind the construction of this Chennai temple. In the 18th century, there lived a staunch devotee of Shiva, named Talavai Chettiar, in Chennai. He would regularly visit Kachaleeswara temple in Kanchi. Once, he could not travel due to heavy rain. Hence, he decided to build one temple in Chennai for his favorite God, Kachaleeswara. It took almost eight years for him to complete the word. In 1720 CE, the construction of Kachabeswara temple in Armenian Street was completed. This is the history of Chennai getting its own Kachaleeswara temple. 

The presiding deity of the temple, Kachaleeswarar, is portrayed with five seats – koormasanam (tortoise), ashtanagasanam (eight serpents), simhasanam (lion), yugasanam (time), and kamala vimalasanam (lotus flower). It is a unique feature of the temple.

Besides, the relief images of Sadasivamurti (Shiva with five heads) and Manonmani are found on the wall behind Shiva Linga. It is another unique feature. 

Vishnu is found as a Koorma (tortoise) at the foot of Shiva Linga. 

The goddess Soundarambikai is found in a separate shrine.

The inner prakara (corridor surrounding the main shrines) has a lot of sub-shrines for various deities such as Panchamukha Vinayaka (Ganesha with five heads) along with his consorts, Shanmukha with his consorts, Nalvar, Natraja with Sivakami, 63 nayanmars, Navagrahas in which Surya alone is found with his consorts, Somaskanda and Durga. There are icons such as Ganesha, Karthikeya, Dakshinamurti, Ganesha, Lingodbhava, Brahma, Durga, Chandikeswarar, and various forms Shaktis, Agora Veerabhadra, Bhairava, Saraswathi, Lakshmi, Varadaraja (Vishnu), and Dattatreya.

The temple's outer prakara (corridor) has shrines of Ganesha, Karthikeya with his consorts, Subramanya, Adi Shankara, Hanuman, Ayyappa, and Shasta along with his consorts.

Happy travelling.

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