Kanda Kottam, Chennai

Can you name some of the important temples of Kartikeya, a.k.a. Murugan, in and around Chennai?

Vadapalani Andavan Temple - Good! Then?

Tiruporur Temple - Very good! What next?

Arupadai Veedu Temple in Besant Nagar - Not bad! What else?

If your answer is nothing else, you are missing out on a historical temple in the original Madras (Chennai). It is Kanda Swamy Temple, also called Kanda Kottam Muthukumara Swamy Temple. Kanchipuram has a Kumara Kottak and our Chennai has a Kanda Kottam. 

History:

Chettiar is a wealthy merchant community in South India. Beri Chettiar is a sub-division of this community. In the 17th century CE, a person Vellore Mari Chettiar by name, who hailed from the Beri Chettiar community, lived in the current George Town, which was a prominent part of then Madras. He was serving as a merchant under the British East India Company. 

 

Chettiar was a staunch devotee of Subramanya. He and his friend Kandappa Achari (from the Vishwakarma community) visited Murugan temple located at Tirupporur on the Kritikai day of every month. One day, when they were resting under a neem tree on their way to that temple, they accidentally discovered an icon of Murugan buried under a snake hole. 

 

Both of them felt very happy. They took that icon along with them and installed it in a site where there was a Pillaiyar temple originally (Rasappa Chetty Street in the Park Town area). It happened in the year 1673 CE. Chettiar had to pawn the jewels of his wife to construct the temple. Fortunately, he did not have to spend to purchase the land, as it was gifted by Muthiyalu Naicken. 

In 1780 CE, the Chettiar community renovated the small temple. In 1860 CE, it was extended and converted into a stone temple. In 1869 CE, Vaiyapuri Chettiar donated Rs. 66,000 and a chariot. In 1880 CE, Narayana Chettiar and Akkampettai Govinda Chettiar bought the land near the temple and donated it to the temple, where Vasanta Mandap was built later. In 1901 CE, Kali Ratna Chettiar donated Rs. 50,000 to this temple. This fund was utilized to raise the Raja gopuram.

As there was a Pillayar temple originally on the site, I believe the original temple predates the British period.

The famous saint and poet Ramalinga Adigalar, who lived in the 19th century CE, visited this temple daily. 

Temple Layout:

The historical temple is located in a congested lane named Rasappa Chetti Street. The layout of the temple is complex. It should be noted that initially, it was a small temple and in the last 350 years, it was extended and renovated multiple times. 

I would divide the temple into five sections for the purpose of this article:

1. The core section of the temple that encloses the sanctum and other shrines
2. Prakara around the core section of the temple
3. Vasanta Mandapa
4. The shrine of Muthukumara Swami processional (Utsava) deity
5. Temple tank and the surrounding shrines

Core Section:

The temple is facing the north direction and it is adorned with a small tower.

The sanctum is not standing alone in this temple. A few equally big shrines are found along with the sanctum in an enclosure, which is referred to as the core section in this article.

The core section has two entrances, one facing east and the other facing north.

If any devotee wants to get darshan from the road, he can get the darshan of Ganesha and not the temple's presiding deity. Because the shrine of Ganesha faces toward the main entrance of the temple and not the sanctum.

The east-facing sanctum is in the middle of the core section. The small icon of Kanda Swami with Valli and Devasena on either side is found in the shrine. A small elephant vahana is found facing toward the sanctum. Outside the core section of the temple, the flag staff, bali peetha and peacock vahana are found facing toward the direction of the shrine. 

 

There are two shrines on either side of the sanctum, which enshrine Valli and Devasena. 

In the core section, the sub-shrines of Ganesha, Utsava Muthukumara Swami with his consorts, Meenakshi, Sundareshwara Shiva Linga, and the Utsava images of Shanmukha with his consorts are also found. The icons of Surya and Veera Bahu are also located in this section.

The pillars in the temple's core section have many interesting sculptures. Some of them include Kartikeya with four arms holding a bow and arrow, Five headed and ten-armed Ganesha seated on a lion, Shanmukha sitting on a peacock, and Skanda stylishly seated on a peacock.

Prakara:

The prakara around the core section of the temple enshrines a few tiny-sized sub-shrines and many idols without enclosure.

Near the gopura, the sub-shrines of Bhairava and Veera Bhadra are found on either side. The icons of Chidambaram Swamigal, Dandapani Swamigal, Pamban Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigalar are all found near the flagstaff. All these small icons are later additions.

The icon of Idumban and a tiny sub-shrine for Arunagiri Nathar are also found near the east-facing entrance. The icon of Kadamban is located at the north-facing door.

The wall around the core section of the temple unusually has many Koshta icons. They include Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma Shasta (Kartikeya in the form of Brahma), Vishnu Durga, another Ganesha, Naga Skanda, Lakshmi and Kukkuta Dhwaja (Chevar Kodiyon, which means Skanda who has a rooster in his flag).

It should be noted that some of the forms, such as Kukkuta Dhwaja, Naga Skanda and Brahma Shasta, are rare forms of Kartikeya.

The icons of Mari Chettiar and Kandappa Achari, the temple's founders, Ganesha's icons, and a few important Nayanmars are also found. Chandikeshwara is found near the niche icon of Durga.

The sub-shrines of Nataraja - Shivakami and Somaskanda are also in the prakara. 

Vasanta Mandapa:

The extended area of the temple is called Vasanta Mandapa. There is a big hall called Kandan Kalai Arangam located here. The temple-related functions and celebrations are held here.

Muthukumara Swamy Shrine:

This temple, called Kanda Swamy temple, also has another name, Muthukumara Swamy temple. The temple obtained this name due to the attractive and big metal utsava (mobile) image of Muthukumara Swamy. This section of the temple is found behind the core section. Muthukumara Swamy has six heads and has his two consorts on either side.

In front of this shrine is a mandapa full of pillars with interesting sculptures.

Temple Tank:

The holy tank is called Saravana Poigai. It is located within the temple complex. It is one of the very few temple tanks which has water and is well maintained. Big stucco idols of various deities are found on the banks of the tank. Peacocks and Cocks roam around this area.

Near the temple tank, Navagrahas are found. A small shrine for Ganesha-Siddhi-Buddhi is found nearby. The images of Surya and Chandikeshwara are located within the premises of this shrine. Next to the shrine of Ganesha, the sub-shrine of Vishwanatha Shiva Linga and Vishalakshi is located.

The shrine of Gnana Dandayudhapani is found on the other side of the tank. Near this shrine, as later additions, the icons of Variyar, Tirukatchi Nambigal and Nataraja are located.

Happy travelling.

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