Mannivakkam Manneeswarar Temple

Mannivakkam is a village located 9 km from Tambaram on the southern outskirts of Chennai. There is an ancient temple for Shiva called Manneeswarar situated in this village.

It is said that this temple was built by Kulotunga Chola I towards the end of the 11th century CE. It is believed that he made 108 Shiva temples in Thondai Mandalam. Some of the other temples he built include the temples of Manimangalam, Somamangalam, and Tirumazhisai.

I personally could not find any historical record or reference that this temple is a Chola-period temple. Except for the idol of Dwara Murugan, which appears to be from the Chola period, everything else in the temple seems to be from a later period.

The temple has an inscription on the outer wall of the sanctum, which belongs to the Nayaka kings in the beginning of the 16th century CE.

A small kalyana mandap within the temple has an inscription dating to 1818 CE. The mandap was built by Pachai Ammal, the wife of Periyalingappa Mudaliar.

Kanchi Puranam talks about a river called Manniyaru which ran across this village in those days.

The village is a quiet and calm place. The east-facing temple has no tower, but few stucco images on the facade of the entrance are found. The east-facing sanctum enshrines the four feet high Shiv Linga. He is named Manneeswarar and Mrityunjeswarar. At the entrance of the Ardha Mandap, the idols of Ganesh and Kartikeya are found.

In Maha mandapa, two sub-shrines have the bronze idols of Nataraj-Sivakami, Uma-Chandrasekhar and others. The pillars of the Maha Mandap are circular in shape.

The entrance of Maha Mandapa has the ancient idols of Dwara Ganesh and Dwara Murugan. Murugan appears to be of the Chola period. He holds Vajra and Akshara Mala in his two upper arms.

Maragambikai is the Goddess. She is found in a south-facing shrine.

Nandi is also facing the eastern direction and not towards Shiv Linga. It is said that Nandi was helping the Chola king in some battles, so it is facing towards the exit. The bali peetha and the flagstaff are located near Nandi Mandapa.

An old Nandi sculpture is also found in a corner of this temple.

Surya and Chandra are found facing toward the sanctum. Navagraha and Bhairav are also found in the temple.

Kannimoola Ganapati's sub-shrine is located in the prakara.

Ganapati, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Vishnu Durga are found as the Koshta images. Chandikeshwara is found in his usual location near Brahma and Durga.

Happy travelling.