Oppiliappan Pattabhisheka Ram Temple - Chennai

There is a temple in the Madippakam locality in Chennai, where there are two main shrines dedicated to Pattabhisheka Rama and Oppilliappan. It is rare to find Lord Rama in the Pattabhisheka (coronation) posture. Let us explore this temple in this article.

The east-facing temple has five tiered Raja gopura. Both the main shrines face the east direction.

In the shrine that faces the Rajagopram entrance, Oppiliappan, along with Bhoo Devi and Markandeya, are enshrined. All these icons are the replica of Oppiliappan temple. Oppiliappan is in the standing posture. Bhoo Devi and Markandeya are seated facing each other near the feet of Oppiliappan. Garuda's sub-shrine and the flagstaff are found in the direction opposite this main shrine.

In the Oppiliappan shrine, the bronze idols of Vennai Thazhi Krishna (a rare icon of Krishna with butter in his hand), Sudarshana, Yoga Murti, and Oppiliappan-Bhoo Devi are found.

The main shrine on the true right side of Oppiliappan shrine enshrines Pattabhisheka Rama. Rama is found seated with his consort Sita to his left side. Lakshmana is seen standing behind the couple. He holds the bow in his arm. Vibhishana on the right side of Rama and Sugreeva on the left side of Sita are found facing towards the couple. Both of them are waving chamara (fan). The two extreme corners have Bharata and Shatrughana. Both of them are in Anjali mudra. Bhakta Anjaneya is found near the feet of Rama. Thus, all these images together depict the royal coronation scene.

The processional icons of Kotanda Rama with Sita and Lakshman and another small set of similar icons are also found in the shrine of Pattabhisheka Rama. Opposite this shrine, Bhakta Anjaneya's sub-shrine is located. Behind that, there is Tumbikkai Alwar (Ganesha) in a niche.

In the prakara, there are two shrines found. Sudarshana with Narasimha on his back is enshrined in the first shrine. The next shrine has a few bronze images, such as Ramanuja, Viswaksena, Lakshmi Hayagreeva and Narasimha, under the hood of Adi Sesha.

The temple was constructed in 1987 with Pattabhisheka Rama as the presiding deity. In 1992, the Sudarshana shrine was erected. In 2003, the temple was further extended with another main shrine for Oppiliappan.

The temple is located on Srinivasa Road in North Ram Nagar in Madippakkam.

Happy travelling. 

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