Kumara Kottam Murugan Temple - Chennai
Black Town or George Town of Chennai city was formed by the British. Some prominent temples of this locality, built during the Colonial era, are elaborately captured in the Madras-related history books and other sources. However, not all the old temples are covered in those books. One such temple, neglected by historians, is Shiva Subramanya Temple. Let me discuss this temple in this article.
Shiva Subramanya Temple is located on NSC Bose Road in the Sowcarpet area. (Exact location is the junction of NSC Bose Road and Kalathi Pillayar Street). It is also called Kumara Kottam. (There is a famous Kumara Kottam temple in Kanchipuram). People even refer to this temple as Vani Subramanya temple.
The current structure is completely renovated. Based on other iconographic features, the temple is believed to have been built in the 18th or 19th century CE. The devotees believe that the temple is ancient, though. The legend states that the sage Agastya visited the holy site.
The temple has two entrances, one in the east and the other in the south. The south entrance is considered the main entrance. Both entrances have towers with interesting stucco images.
The sanctum is east-facing. It enshrines Shiva Subramanya along with his two consorts, Valli and Deivayanai. Instead of his regular vaahana of the peacock, an elephant is found as Subramanya's vaahana. Besides the peacock is also found outside the enclosure near the flagstaff.
The enclosure which houses the sanctum also has a few other important shrines. Ganesha, Aruchaleswara Linga, Valli and Deivayanai (Devasena) are found in separate east-facing shrines. All these shrines are located on either side of the sanctum. Abithakujambal is found in the south-facing shrine.
Valli, found in the separate shrine, has four arms, whereas Devasena, the daughter of Devraj Indra, has only two arms. (Ideally, it should be the other way around. Valli, the human, is seen with four arms, whereas Devasena, the daughter of Indra, is seen with two arms. I could not find the reason for this depiction, though.)
The icons of Nalvar, Nava veeras, and Agastya are also found in the enclosure with all the main shrines. At the entrance, the images of Dhanvantri and Pamban Swamigal are situated. The other end of the gate is adorned by Bhairava and Dwara Ganesha.
The inner entrance of the south tower has the icons of Arunagirinathar and Veerabhadra.
Shiva Subramanya Temple is located on NSC Bose Road in the Sowcarpet area. (Exact location is the junction of NSC Bose Road and Kalathi Pillayar Street). It is also called Kumara Kottam. (There is a famous Kumara Kottam temple in Kanchipuram). People even refer to this temple as Vani Subramanya temple. The current structure is completely renovated. Based on other iconographic features, the temple is believed to have been built in the 18th or 19th century CE. The devotees believe that the temple is ancient, though. The legend states that the sage Agastya visited the holy site.
The temple has two entrances, one in the east and the other in the south. The south entrance is considered the main entrance. Both entrances have towers with interesting stucco images.
The sanctum is east-facing. It enshrines Shiva Subramanya along with his two consorts, Valli and Deivayanai. Instead of his regular vaahana of the peacock, an elephant is found as Subramanya's vaahana. Besides the peacock is also found outside the enclosure near the flagstaff.
Valli, found in the separate shrine, has four arms, whereas Devasena, the daughter of Devraj Indra, has only two arms. (Ideally, it should be the other way around. Valli, the human, is seen with four arms, whereas Devasena, the daughter of Indra, is seen with two arms. I could not find the reason for this depiction, though.)
The icons of Nalvar, Nava veeras, and Agastya are also found in the enclosure with all the main shrines. At the entrance, the images of Dhanvantri and Pamban Swamigal are situated. The other end of the gate is adorned by Bhairava and Dwara Ganesha.
The inner entrance of the south tower has the icons of Arunagirinathar and Veerabhadra.
The prakara has a lot of sub-shrines and niche images.
The sub-shrines that are found in the temple include:
- Valampuri Vinayaka
- Ganesha
- Chandikeshwara
- Navagraha
- Palani Andavan with Idumban and Kadamban at the entrance
- Shanmukha-Valli-Devasena (utsav/metal)
- Nataraja-Shivakami
The niche images that are found in the temple include:
- Bala Vinayaka
- Naga Skanda
- Bala Murugan
- Narayani
- Vishnu
- Brahma
- Durga
- Dakshinamurti
The pillars all over the temple have fascinating and unique images such as Matsya Samhara Murti, Ganesha holding conch and discus, Heramba Ganapati, Sadashiva Murti with Brahma and Vishnu, Vishnu emerging out of Shiva Linga and Sharbeshwara.
Happy travelling.
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