Sree Ramarajya - The Land of Temples

His front face and the posture of his two lower arms make us believe that he is Venkatachalapati. But he has three heads. The left side of the head depicts Varaha, and the right one represents Narasimha. He has ten arms. The weapons in some of these hands resemble the weapons of Rama, Parasurama, Vamana, Kalki and Hanuman. The forehead depicts Buddha, and the crown above the head depicts Krishna. Behind his head Chandra and Surya Prabhas. His left part of the body is Shakti, the middle part is Kurma, and the lower part is Matsya. Shiva Linga is found in his abdomen, and he stands on a lotus similar to Brahma.

Who is he? He is Poorana Brahmam, a combination of multiple deities. The gigantic sculpture with unique features is found in the main temple in Balaji Gardens in Kelambakkam. Balaji Gardens is a vast area where Sushil Hari School is located. 

Termed as "Rama Rajya" or "Land of Temples", the multi-acre land has many temples. Although the authority that manages this place claims that there are 49 temples in this enclosure, not all are technically temples. Some of them are just stucco images of deities. In this highly well-maintained place, we can literally find almost all Gods that we can think of. Well-laid roads, neatly maintained parks, tall trees, varieties of flowering plants, shrines with exciting designs of structures, and calm surrounding makes us feel peaceful and serene for sure.

Like Kanchipuram, a sculpture of "Athi Varadar" made of the fig tree is found here. After Poorana Brahmam shrine, this is the most famous temple in this gardens. The temples of Shirdi Sai Baba and Ganapati made of Athi tree are located next door.

A temple built in Odisha style enshrines a tall image of Durga with eight arms. The large sculptures of Anjaneya, Bhairava, Lakshmi Narasimha, and Sahasra Lingam are attractive. An exact replica of Pillayarpatti Ganesha is another sought-after temple on this site.

Various colorful images depicting Krishna Leela and Puranic events related to Kartikeya are interesting. There are a few other temples that resemble the original popular pilgrim centers, such as Vittala Panduranga, Tiruchendur Murugan and Palani Murugan.

There are also shrines of other religions such as Jainism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.

For the people of Chennai, this would be an ideal weekend gateway.

Happy travelling.