The century-old unknown shrine of Sowcarpet - Satyanarayana Temple

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Satyanarayana is a form of Vishnu, one who symbolises eternal truth. Satyanarayana Puja or Vrath is a common religious ritual worship observed across the nation from time immemorial. The puja is described in Skanda Purana. The puja, described in Skanda Purana, is carried out during full moon days or any auspicious event.

In Tamil Nadu, it is rare to find a temple dedicated to Satyanarayana. Chennai has two such rare temples. This article focuses on the century-old temple located in the Sowcarpet locality.

Seth Chotadoss, son of Hargovind Doss, belonging to the Gujarati Modh Visa Adalja community from Sojitra, established a Dharamsala (a shelter for pilgrims) in Rasappa Chetty Street on 25th May 1918. It was inaugurated by Sir S. Subramania Iyer, popularly known as "the Grand Old Man of South India". (He was the first Indian to become Chief Justice of Madras High Court). 

Within one year, on 5th February 1919, the icon of Satyanarayana was installed in the open courtyard. The century-old temple and the Paramanand Doss & Chotadoss Dharmasala had been frequented by Gujarati and North Indian pilgrims until the 1990s. 

Exactly after one hundred years, in 2019, the temple was rebuilt with a two-tiered superstructure (vimana) full of colorful stucco images. Among them, Satyanarayana flanked by Lakshmi and Narada is a notable icon.

The century-old structure has an open courtyard surrounded by multiple rooms on two floors. The sanctum enshrines a beautiful metal icon of Satyanarayana. The four-armed deity holds conch and discus in his upper arms. He is in the standing posture. 

An equally beautiful metal image of Garuda faces him in the opposite direction. The circumambulatory path has many old unusual photographs of various Vaishnavite deities.

Amidst the congested and crowded streets of Sowcarpet, it is unbelievable to find such a calm and serene shrine.

Happy travelling.












Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.


Location: Sowcarpet, Peddanaickenpet, George Town, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600001, India

Comments

  1. AnonymousWednesday, January 11, 2023

    Late Mrs. Sushila Chitale and I have done poojas inthis temple many, many years ago.80's&90's. The priest Shri Pandyaji used to do the regular ooja early morning, and he used to recite the thousand namesof the Deity .

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