Sri Tripurasundari Sametha Sri Marundeeswara Swami Temple, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai

Presiding Deity: Sri Marundeeswara Swamy
Presiding Goddess: Sri Tripurasundari
Stala Vruksham: Vanni Tree
Theertham:  Originally this temple had 5 Theertham out of which one in ceased to Exist. Two are in the form of Tank/Pond, other two are in the form of well..


This temple is located in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai. This Temple is just located on the start of the East Coast Road ( ECR ) in Thiruvanmiyur.

The main entrance is located in the East side which is adorned by a 7 tiered Rajagopuram, as you cross this  entrance there another 5 tiered Gopuram. Between this two Gopuram is a Mandapam which has few beautiful paintings. Towards left there is a Theertham, and towards right there is a stage for cultural activities. As you cross the second Gopuram, you could get the darshan of Lord Vigneswara and Lord Muruga. They both are facing East.

Then you enter the Somaskanda Mandam and the God is called as Sri Thyagaraja Swami.  After worshipping the Sri Thyagaraja Swami we enter the main shrine where Lord Marundeeswara swami is Located. Lord is facing West. The Shrine is well maintained. The inner praharam has shrines of Sri Ganapathy along with the  4 Saivate saints ( Appar, Sundarar, Manickkavasagar and Thirugnanasambandar), Gajalakshmi, Sri Subramanyar, Urchava Murthies, Sri Natarajar, 108 Shiva Lingams, Kedarishwarar, Ramanatheswarar, Sundareswarar, Arunachaleswarar, The Sixty three saivate saints. The Kosta has Sri Durga, Brahma, Dakshinamurthy, Vinayagar.

After having darshan of Sri Marundeeswara Swami,  one can enter the shrine of Goddess Sri Tripurasundari. Goddess is facing south. As i entered the shrine i could feel the mothers grace in full.

Legends:

1. Sage Vasishtha's celestial cow after being cursed , did penance here to get rid of the curse.
2. Sage Valmiki, the narrator of Srimad Ramayana, did penance here, and the town is named after him, Thiru (Sri) +Vanmi(Valmik) + Oor( Place) = Thiruvanmiyur
3. Lord Shiva Shared the Secret Knowledge of the herbal medicine to Sage Agasthya hence the Name Marundeeswara.

Temple Timings:

From morning 6:00 AM to 12 PM and 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM

 

Sri Karpagambal Sametha Sri Kapaaleeshwara Swamy Temple, Mylapore, Chennai

Presiding Deity: Sri Kapaaleshwara Swamy
Presiding Goddesses: Sri Karpagambal
Stala Vriksham: Punnai Maram

This temple is located in heart of Chennai , the Mylapore.  The goddess Devi Parvati worshipped Lord Shiva in the Form of a Peahen.  Hence the place got its name Mayil(Peahen)- Puram ( Place) = Mayilapuram which later became to be known as Mylapore.

This temple complex is of prinstine beauty, the complex consist of a Temple Tank, The Temple , The Festival Mandapam.

The Temple has its main entrance on the east which has tower facade/ Gopuram. The Gopuram boasts various idols which are very beautiful. As you enter the temple from the east main entrance one can have the darshan of Lord Sri Ganesha in the form of Nardhana Vinayagar. Lord Ganesha is here in dancing form.

As you start from  Ganesha Shrine towards the main shrine, one can have darshan of Lord Annamalaiyar and Sri Unnamalai Amman. As you further walk towards the sanctum one can visit the Temple of Sri Singaravelavan,  Lord Murugan in his Six Faced Form with his consorts Sri Valli and Sri Deivanai.  Infront of Lord Singaravelavan Temple, one can find a shrine dedicated to Sri Arunagirinathar.

As you pass the Sri Nandi the Temple management has made a queue which will take you to the Shirne of Shri Karpagambal, The Presiding Goddess. The devi's name translates to the one who continuously grants boons to the devotees. There are lot of songs and strotras sung in praise of Devi Sri Karpagambal.

After having darshan of Sri Karpagambal the queue takes you to the Shiva shrine ,  Lord Kapaleeshwara. You can see Sri Durga , Sri Brahma , Lingothbavar, Dakshina moorthy, Selva vinayagar in the most a of the sanctum. The praharam of Lord Kapaleeshwara also houses Palliyarai, 63 nayanmars , bairavar, veerabhadra and few other gods. 

The Legends:

1. Sri parvathi performing penance in the form of a peahen .

2. Thiru Gnanasambandar bring back a girl to life from the ash pot . 

3. Birth place of Sri Vayilar Nayanar, who is one of the 63 nayanmars.

The temple is well connected by Road,rail, and Chennai has an international airport.

This is one of the Seven Shiva Temples of Mylapore

The temple timings :

5 am to 12 pm 

4:30 pm to 9:00 pm