Two Headed Hanuman - Unamancheri Kodanda Rama Temple

Hanuman with five heads is common in the name Pancha Mukha Anjaneya. Have you ever seen Hanuman with two heads? I found one such lesser-known temple in a small village called Unamancheri. It is located around 13 km from Tambaram in the outskirts of Chennai city of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is easily reachable via Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road.

As per the legend, a physically challenged king visited the Rama temple of this village, and he got rid of his limp with the blessing of the deity. Hence, the village is called Unamancheri (the Tamil word Unam refers to limp here).

Kodanda Ram Temple of Unamancheri was built by Achyuta Raya, the brother of the famous Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar Kingdom, in the 16th century CE.

The temple has a beautiful vimana, which is painted in vibrant colors in the name of renovation. The curse of getting poorly renovated in the modern days could not wholly spoil the temple's beauty. The sculptures on the pillars of Maha Mandapa and Mukha Mandapa still look interesting and beautiful.

The small east-facing temple enshrines Ram and all his three brothers in the sanctum. Although it is not rare, finding all four brothers together in a single shrine is not common. Ram is found in the form of Kodanda Ram. Ram has Sita on his right side and his brother Lakshman on his true left side. Bharat and Shatrughna are found in either corner with their hands folded and placed towards their chest (namaskar posture).

In the sanctum, Hanuman is also found. He is found at a corner and faces Rama. Interestingly, he has two heads. While his front-side head faces his deity, his backside head faces the devotees.

Two sets of bronze icons of Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman are found in the sanctum. One set is tiny in size, similar to what we generally have in the pooja rooms of our homes. The other set of bronze icons is bigger. They are very beautiful. In fact, I would say that this is the best bronze idol of Ram that I have ever seen in and around Chennai.

In Maha Mandapa, the stone, as well as bronze images of Ramanuja, Desikar, Kulashekhara Alwar, Nammalvar and Vishvak Sena, are found. In addition, the bronze idols of Srinivasa-Sri Devi-Bhoo Devi are also kept in this mandap. They were brought from Tirupati a few years ago.

Garuda is found facing toward the sanctum. There is no flag staff; instead, deepa stambha is found. The Mukha Mandap has a few interesting images, including the Vijayanagara symbol of standing sword and boar. Stone inscriptions are found on the exterior walls of the temple. I heard that the temple administration is in possession of some copper plate inscriptions of the Vijayanagara period.

A newly built south-facing Hanuman shrine is found outside the main temple.

The village is a remote village and the temple is located in a very peaceful location. A big pond with full of water is situated at the backside. In one direction, the entire area is full of paddy fields with distant hills as the backdrop. The location has scenic beauty, for sure.

Happy travelling.