Valasaravakkam Velveeswarar Temple - Chennai

Valasaravakkam, a fast growing residential area of Chennai city in South India, has an ancient temple for Lord Shiva. The temple is called as Velveeswarar temple or Agastheeswarar temple. It is believed that this temple belongs to the period of Kulothungan Chola.

Velveeswarar temple is located on the Arcot Road in Valasaravakkam area of Chennai. A very big lotus pond is found inside the temple complex. The temple is surrounded by open space in all the four directions. Moreover, as the temple doesn't have surrounding compound walls, the temple looks beautiful and spacious.

The main shrine of the temple has Velveeswarar in the form of a big Shiv Ling facing the east direction with a Nandi idol in front. There is no rajagopuram (tower) or flag staff found in this ancient temple. Adjacent to the shrine of Velveeswarar, there is another shrine with big Shiv Ling named Agastheeswarar. This shrine also faces the east direction. The temple is named after these two Shiv Lingas.

The Goddess of the temple Tripura Sundari is found in a separate shrine facing the south direction.

The prakara (corridor) surrounding these three main shrines has few small shrines and idols of other Gods and Goddesses. Lord Ganesha is found in the name of Vinai Theertha Vinayakar in a separate shrine. Lord Subramanya along with his consorts Valli and Devasena is also found in a separate shrine.

Apart from Velveeswarar and Agastheeswarar, there is another Shiv Ling found in this temple. This Shiv Linga is named as Bana Pureeswarar. Dakshinamurti, Bhairav, Hanuman, Rama-Sita-Lakshman, Navagraha, Natraj-Sivakami and Karumari are also found in small separate shrines in this temple.

The wall surrounding the shrine of Velveeswarar has the niche images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu and Brahma. Chandikeshwara is also found in his usual location. The wall surrounding the shrine of Tripura Sundari has the niche images of Brahmi, Vaishnavi and Maheswari.

Happy travelling.

Fast Facts:
Site Name: Velveeswarar aka Agastheeswarar Temple
Site Type: Temple
Location:  Valasaravakkam, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India 
Highlights: A little known Chola period temple in Chennai
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: Easily reachable from any part of the city
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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