Thirumullaivayil Pachai Amman Temple - Chennai, South India

Thirumullaivayal is a small village located between Ambattur and Avadi in the norther side of Chennai city, the gateway to South India. Thirumullaivayal has three main temples. Pachaiamman temple is one of those popular temples of Thirumullaivayal.

Pachaiamman temple is a typical village temple where you cannot find stone idols but only stucco images. As per the legend, the goddess Parvati playfully closed the eyes of Lord Shiva, and due to Shiva's curse she came down to earth. She wanted to regain her status as wife of Shiva and hence wanted to do penance at Thirumullaivayal (Veeramapuri). As thousands of devotees gathered to get darshan of the goddess, there was a huge dust covered the entire city of Veeramapuri. Veeramapuri's king Surapoaman sent his brother along with six warriors to drive away the goddess. However, he got stuck with Pachaiamman's beauty and told his brother about the same. Surapoaman was impressed with the beauty of Pachaiamman and proposed for marriage. This enraged the goddess. She took the form of Kali and mounted on a roaring lion. She was accompanied by Sapta Rishis (saints) who took the form of warriors. All of them killed Surapoaman and his soldiers.

Thirumullaivayal Pachaiamman Temple is a typical South Indian village temple. The sanctum enshrines the big green colored stucco idol of the goddess. Adjacent to Pachaiamman, the idols of Gangai Amman and Vengi Amman are also found. Vengi Amman and Gangai Amman are popular village goddesses of Tamil Nadu state. Facing the shrine, Gouthama Rishi is found in the form of a warrior. The big open space in front of the main shrine has very big stucco idols of the remaining six saints - Vashistha, Narad, Vishwamitra, Bharadhvaja, Agastya, Kasyapa and Jamadagni. All these saints are in the warrior forms holding various weapons. Opposite to Agastya, there are big statues of horses found.

Thirumullaivayal Pachaiamman Temple also houses the shrines of Shiv Linga named Mannatheeswarar who is found along with Eswari, Ganapati and Tiruneelkantar. The three utsav idols of Gangaiamman, Vengiamman and Pachaiamman are found in a separate shrine. Behind the  sanctum, Dakshinamurti is found. Varahi idol is too found in this temple. There is a shrine for Kaththayee, who is found holding a child.

Happy travelling.

Fast Facts:
Site Name: Pachai Amman Temple
Site Type: Hindu Temple
Location: Thirumullaivayil, near Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India 
Highlights: One of the famous village temples in Chennai region; gigantic idols of Sapta Rishis - very rare to find
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: Chennai is easily reachable by road, train, and flight; Thirumullaivayil is located in the northern side of the city, which is easily reachable by road
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

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