Religious Places

Kandaswamy Temple In Chennai

Written by Sudhir Kumar

Kandaswamy Temple is located in the George Town suburbs of Chennai central. The temple lies in the vicinity of Chennai city center and is easily accessible. The Broadway bus stop is less than a kilometre away.

About Kandaswamy Temple :

The Kandaswamy Temple of Chennai is in Cheyyur, 29 kilometers from Madurantakam. You can reach the temple from Chennai either by bus, rail or road. The nearest railway station to Cheyyur is the Chenglepattu. Taxis are available from there. Private cabs and frequent buses can be availed from Madurantakam.

The village of Cheyyur was built during the regime of Veera Rajendra Chola and Kulothungan-III. Besides this settlement, these rulers constructed three temples, among which the Kandaswamy Temple of Chennai is the most well-known. There are two temples here, dedicated to Vanmikhanathar (Lord Shiva) and to Perumal or Kariya Manicka Perumal respectively.

The Kandaswamy Temple of Chennai is located in between the Shiva and the Vishnu temples. Lord Kandaswamy or Shiva is the principal deity of this temple. Besides.

 Attraction Kandaswamy Temple In Chennai :

The ancient Kandaswamy temple at Cheyur near Madurantakam, Kanchipuram district, dates back to the 11th century. From the road one can only see the Raja Gopuram with the rest of the facade being shops and shops galore; a typical metro temple one can say; indicative of the commercial milieu of the temple trustees.

The temple is built in the shape of Tamil letter “OM”. That is to say, the different ‘Sannidhis’ are situated accordingly. The temple is open in the morning and evening and attracts a large number of devotees from near and far.

The Kandaswamy Temple of Chennai attracts tourists due to the different figures standing in specific postures. This temple does not contain mere deities. Here one may also notice the image of Kazhukundran who designed an exquisite temple chariot in 1521 AD. This is put to use during the Skanda Sashti festival.

The Kandaswamy Temple at Chennai is a very sacred shrine in the vicinity of Chennai.

Features Of Kandaswamy Temple In Chennai :

According to historical records the Kandaswamy temple dates back to the 11th century A.D. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and bears some rich inscriptions of the era, that is 11th century. The temple architecture reveals the characteristic Chola style of temple building. The inscriptions on the temple structure provides some insights of the era that was dominated by the Chola kings. The shrines contained in the temple are those of Kadaswamy, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Kandaswamy temple is not the only one of its kind. Two ancient temples in Cheyur very much resemble the Kandaswamy temple. These temples, dedicated to Perumaal and Shiva Valmimakathar, dates back from the same period. The temple attracts a large audience during the celebration of Skandasashti and Parguni (annual festival).

 History Kandaswamy Temple In Chennai :

Sree Kanthaswamy Temple is located in Tiruporur which is 40 Kilometres on the way from Chennai to OldMahabalipuram. In this holy land of Tiruporur the temple of Lord Sree Kanthaswamy is located. The temple is located east facing, underneath the Pranava mountain, which is its salient aspect. This temple is 450 years old. Some 726 divine hymns has been raised invoking the blessings of the Lord Kandaswamy of this temple.

This place is also popularly known as Thondainadu. This piece of holy land has in itself the most famous Thiruporur and Thiruthani. Almost majority of the Murugan temples date to ages back. In that string, this temple was constructed in the first half of the 17th century, by Thavagnani Sree La Sree Chidambaram Swamigal. The small st of water running adjacent to this Temple was also latter enhanced to a temple tank. Thavagnani also constructed a new Mutt for performing pooja rituals to Lord Kandaswamy.

Location :

This temple is located in Chennai. The presiding deity here is Kandaswamy and urchava murthy is Muthukumaraswamy. Inside the temple, the “Saravana Poigai” temple tank is present and surprisingly the water is at the same level as when the temple was built many hundred years ago, in spite of being located in the densely populated commercial area of the city.It is believed that when Mari Chettiar and Kandappa Achari were on the way to Thirupporur Murugan Temple by walk, they rested at a place and both dreamt that there was an idol of Lord Muruga below them. The idol was unearthed, brought here and a temple was built during 1670s.

Festival :

The temple hosts the annual Temple car festival.
Thaipusam is an annual religious event celebrated by Hindus to commemorate the victory of Lord Murugan over the demon, Tarakasuran. Devotees and penitents can seen bearing kavadis and piercing their bodies with hooks and spears without seeming to cause any pain or harm, as an act of faith and atonement.

How to Reach Kandaswamy Temple :

Air : The nearest airport is at Chennai with both National and International terminals.

Rail : The nearest railway station is at Madurantakam and from the station there are regular buses to the temple.

Road : Cheyur is well connected by road with the important towns and cities within the state. There are regular buses from Chennai and Kanchipuram.

Morning :

 6 AM to 12.30 NOON

Evening :

3.30 PM to 9.00 PM

Address :

Sri Kandaswamy temple

Kancheepuram District

Thiruporur – 603110

Phone: 044 – 27446226

About the author

Sudhir Kumar

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