Parthasarathi Temple
It is at Peter's Road, Triplicane. It is one of the oldest temples
in Madras, built by Pallavas in the 8th century and rebuilt by
the Vijayanagar Kings in 11th century. The literal meaning of
'Parthasarathy' is the charioteer. According to the great Indian
epic 'Mahabharata' 'Partha' meant Arjuna while sarathy is meant
as charioteer. In the epic it is said during the great battle
of Mahabharata Lord Krishna was the charioteer of Arjuna. In the
epic Arjuna or partha was a brave warrior and Lord Krishna was
a good friend, philosopher and guide to the Partha or Arjuna.
Though
the Parthasarathy temple is devoted to the various incarnations
of Lord Vishnu the main deity is 'Lord Krishna' one of the incarnation
of Lord Vishnu. Also the other exquisite feature of this Parthasarathy
temple is the colored gopuram. 'Gopuram' is said to the pyramidical
shaped temple top which is a stereotyped feature of the South
Indian temples.There are many stalls selling flowers, puja articles,
small idols, musical instruments and jewellery around the temple.
Visiting Time : Daily from 06.30 to 12.00hrs and 16.00 to 20.00hrs.
Sri Kapaleswarar Temple
This temple is situated near Kutchery Road, Mylapore. This ancient
Siva temple is a delightful introduction to Dravidian temple sculpture
and architecture. The magnificent 37 meter tall gopuram is one
of the main attractions of this temple. It is very famous for
its astonishing sculpture, which has an interesting story behind
it. It is believed that a saint known as Gnanasambandar sung and
brought a dead girl back to life.
The
goddess Parvati is believed to be the wife of Shiva according
to the Hindu religious belief. Here goddess Parvati been depicted
as peacock and she is worshipping the lingam or the idol of Lord
Shiva. We can also observe the bronze carvings of the 63-Shaivate
saints, which are carried in procession during the Aruvathumoovar
festival, which is held in March-April. In the courtyard of the
temple there is a holy Punnai tree, which is one of the oldest
trees of Chennai city. Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the
inner courtyard.
Visiting Time : Daily from 04.00 to 12.00hrs and 16.00 to 20.00hrs.
Vadapalani Temple
The Vadapalani temple is dedicated to Lord Muruga. It is at Kodambakkam.
This temple attracts a large number of devotees. The Shiva temple
at Tiruvotriyur - 12 kms north of Madras is associated with Pattinathar
( a great devotee of Lord Shiva). Innumerable legends are woven
around Sundarar.Valluvar Kottam, located at the meeting of the
Kodambakkam High road and the Village road, is one of the modern
landmarks of modern Chennai, Tamilnadu state, South India.
This
ancient temple has its origin, 125 years back and also it has
an interesting history behind it. Primarily the Muruga deity resided
in a humble thatched roof shed and the god was worshipped in the
form of a painted picture. A humble worshipper of Muruga named
as Annaswami Tambiran worshipped this painted picture of Muruga
with the help of all his limited offerings.
