Santana Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Mugappair, Chennai

Santana Srinivasa Perumal Temple, located in the Mogappair area, is one of the important temples of Chennai city.

There should have been a small temple earlier. Even though the current temple structure is not old, it is believed that the icon of the temple's presiding deity Santana Srinivasa Perumal (a name given to Lord Vishnu) is 650 years old. 

It is traditionally believed that the childless couple would get parenthood with the blessings of this deity. The word "Santana" in the name of the God indicates child. The area was named as "Maha Peru," meaning "boon of a child". In due course, the people started mispronouncing the area as Mogappair.

The current structure is renovated at the beginning of the 21st century. Except for the main deity - Srinivasa Perumal, all other icons in this temple are new. The temple is well-maintained and looks neat and tidy. 

The sanctum enshrines the gigantic image of Lord Santana Srinivasa Perumal (Vishnu) in the standing posture. He is 9.5 feet high. This seems to be a replica of the famous Balaji of Tirumala; however, it is taller than that Balaji. Garuda is found facing toward the sanctum.

There is a Raja gopuram (temple tower) at the doorway. The sub-shrines of  Sarva Shakti Ganapati and Veera Anjaneya are also there.

The circum ambulatory path (corridor) has a shrine for the Goddess named "Santana Lakshmi". Similar to any other South Indian Vishnu temple, Lakshmi is in the sitting posture, and she looks gorgeous. The utsava icon of Lakshmi is also found in the same shrine.

There is a separate shrine where the stone and metal images of beautiful Andal are found.

Ayyappa and Navagraha are also found in this temple. It is rare to find all these deities in a South Indian Vishnu temple.

Whether you need a boon for a child or not, this temple is worth visiting.

Happy travelling.

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