Skip to main content

 VENGEESHWARAR or VYAGHARAESHWARAR TEMPLE - VADAPALANI - CHENNAI.

Across the street from the Vadapalani Murugan temple is the equally big temple of Bhagavan Shiva as VENGEESHWARAR or VYAGHARAESHWARAR, (Vengee in Tamil and Vyaghara in Sanskrit mean Tiger) so called as it was prayed to by the Sages Patanjali & Vyagharapada, who had waited in Chidambaram to witness the Cosmic Dancer Nataraja dance.
The temple has a seven tiered Rajagopuram facing east and three small gopuram on the other three sides. The Rajagopuram is flanked by Surya & Chandra I side on both sides.
Entering through this Rajagopuram, one comes on to a courtyard which has the Mukhamandapam consisting the Balipeedham, Dhwajasthambam & Nandi Mandapam with a small Nandi. This modern hall leads to an Ardhamandapam made of stone pillars which look to be incomplete. In the south side of the compound is a big Manimandapam or Bell tower.
Inside the Ardhamandapam, facing the lord is Sage Patanjali & Vyagharapada on both sides of the entrance. On the right is the shrine of the Nalvar or four Nayanar's or Shaiva saints who are part of the epigraphy of the Thevaram a tamil text on the Bhakti node from the 6th-7th century CE.
Two Dwarapalaka's flank the entrance to the Garbhgriha. In the Garbhgriha is Lord Shiva in the form of a large Shiva lingam, with a Square Avudayar or Pindika named VENGEESHWARAR facing east.
The Garbhgriha and the Vimanam are Apsidal (Thoonganai Mandapam or Gajaprishtha or shaped like the back of an elephant.
The Devakoshtha or the outer wall of the Garbhgriha is lined up with Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Bramha and Durga.
On the back of the compound behind the Garbhgriha are three shrines, Ganesha on the left, Murugan with his consort on the right and the shrine of Kasi Vishwanath & Vishalakshi on the extreme right. Circling around is a room where the Utsavabera's are kept. Kalabhairava is on the north east corner with Navagraha and Shani Shrine on the eastern side.
Post circumambulation, one comes in face to face with the shrine of the Goddess Parvati as Santhanayaki standing facing South which is a temple in itself.
The Lingam is very old and predates the Temple. The temple itself is more than a thousand years from the Chola period and in all probability was built by Kulothunga II(1133-1150 CE), who had built 108 Shivalaya's with Gajaprishtha vimana in Thondai Mandalam or Chennai area.

https://www.facebook.com/murali.natarajan.7/posts/10217827598577629

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

VAIKUNTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE OR THIRU PARAMESHWARA VINNAGARAM KANCHIPURAM

  THIRU PARAMESHWARA VINNAGARAM OR VAIKUNTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE KANCHIPURAM Thiru Parameswara (The greatest Lord) Vinnagaram (temple) or Vaikunta Perumal Temple is a temple dedicated to Vishnu & his concert Vaikundavalli located in Kanchipuram. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple finds mention in the Divya Prabhanda the early medieval tamil literature of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one among the 108 temples dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is considered the second oldest extant temples in Kanchipuram after the Kailasanathar temple & is in a straight line facing each other, though seperated by 3.5 KMs. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallava king Nandivarman (720-796 CE), with later contributions from Chola's and Vijayanagara Kings. The temple is surrounded by a granite wall enclosing all the shrines and a pond of the temple. The outer walls of the inner praharam is full of Kalakrithis related to the lord....

KAILASANATHAR TEMPLE PART 1 - TARAMANGALAM

SRI KAILASANATHAR TEMPLE- TARAMANGALAM - SALEM DISTRICT - TAMILNADU.- PART 1 Seven tiered Rajagopuram Shaped like a chariot. Mahavishnu gave his sister Parvathi in marriage to Shiva. This process of handing over the bride, is known as "Thaaram vaththu koduppadhu" in Tamil, hence the name of the town THARAI MANGALAM now known as Tharamangalam. MAHAVISHNU giving his sister MEENAKSHI in marriage to SHIVA. In the centre of this Town is an exotic Temple of Lord Shiva as Shri Kailasanathar with his consort Sivakami Devi. One of the rarest of temples with a treasure of exotic Sculpture and the many stories attached with them. ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL U NKNOWN TEMPLES IN TAMILNADU. The first precinct on entering from the Rajagopuram. The temple had an existence before the 10th Century CE. However the same was rebuilt by the Getti Muthaliar Clan who ruled the Kongu Part of Tamilnadu from the 13th to the 17th century. The temple seems to have b...

AMRITHAGHATESHWAR TEMPLE - MELAKADAMBUR - CUDDALORE - TAMILNADU

  AmrithaGhateshwar Temple – Melakadambur – Cuddalore - Tamilnadu     ABSTRACT   The town of Kadambur or Thirukadambur was an important metropolis of the later Chola’s (848 -1279 CE) and reminds us of the historical Tamil Novel “PONNIYIN SELVAN” “Son of Ponni or River Kaveri” which talks about the early life of Arulmozhivarman or Raja Raja Chola l (947-1014CE),   by Shri kalki Krishnamurthy. The town is about 31 Km’s from Chidambaram, 6Km’s from kattumannarkoil and 7 kms from Veeranarayana lake or Veeranam lake built by Rajaditya Chola (907-955CE).The fort of Kadmabur is the place, where the Chieftains of the Cholas hatched a conspiracy to overthrow the rule of Sundara Chola and took an oath to make prince Maduranataka Chola the next King. It is here that Karikal Chola was assassinated. In this historical town is the twin temple of Amrithaghateshwarar   “God of the pot of Amritha or Nectar” in Mela kadambur known as the Indra Vimanam or Aeroplane...