DHENUPUREESWARATEMPLE, MADAMPAKKAM, TAMBARAM CORPORATION, CHENGELPETTU DISTRICT-TAMILNADU
Introduction Dhenupureeswarar Temple is a Shiva temple located in Madambakkam, a suburb of Chennai, underTambaram Corporation, Chengelpettu District, Tamilnadu. Temple is about 1000 years old. Temple is situated about 9 Kmsfrom Tambaram Railway station. Dhenupureeswarar is the local name for the Hindudeity Shiva. I am having my residenceat Madampakkam, the temple is about a KM from my residence. Legend Dhenupureeswarar got his name because he gave moksha to a cow.Sage Kapila is said to have been reborn as a cow for his sin of havingimproperly worshiped a Shiva lingam using his left hand. One day a cowherd noticed that a cow from his herd, wasregularly pouring its own milk on a particular spot in the grazing land. Thatcow was indeed Kapila Maharishi. Looking at the milk getting wasted, the shepherd,hit the cow. Unable to withstand the cow pain it kicked the ground and ranaway. At the very spot where it kicked the ground, blood started to ooze out ofthe ground. The shepherd got scared and brought the rest of thevillagers. At that very place Lord Shiva appeared to them and said that thereis a Swayambu Lingam at the place and the blood oozed out was from the lingam,as it was hurt when the cow kicked. That is why, till date the Shiva Lingam here has a small cut on it. At the very moment Kapila Maharishi attained moksham(holiness) and the villagers and the king decided to build a temple here. Legend has it that the king had a dream of this occurrence atthis site and had the temple built to commemorate it. It is an interesting storyof how the temple was discovered from its ruins at a later date. One of theBhaktas approached Maha Periyava Sri Chandra SekarendraSaraswathi Swamigal and sought His blessings for his new built homeat Selaiyur. Maha Periyava blessed him, and told him that there is an old Sivatemple lying in ruins at a nearby village called Madambakkam. In those days, even Selaiyur was a distant suburb, and no onehad heard of Madambakkam, even in Selaiyur. The Bhakta gathered some more men,and went in search of the temple. They cleared the bushes near the agricultural fields, and found anastounding temple in Chola architecture. They renovated it,performed Kumbabhishekam, and commenced daily pujas. The temple is now attracting thousands of people fromnearby locations. My note- This legend is new to me. So I made a googlesearch and search findings are given below:- Yes, it is largely correctthat the Dhenupureeswarar Temple in Madambakkam was found in a state of neglect,overgrown with bushes, and subsequently recovered and renovated, according tolocal accounts and, specifically, the narrative regarding its modernrehabilitation. Here are the details ofthe story behind the temple's recovery: Discovery from Ruins: Years ago, the ancient temple wasreportedly in ruins and abandoned. The story goes that a devotee living inSelaiyur sought the blessings of Maha Periyava (Sri Chandra SekarendraSaraswathi Swamigal of Kanchi Mutt) for a new house. The Guidance: Maha Periyava is said to have told the devoteethat there was an old Shiva temple in ruins nearby (Madambakkam) and directedhim to find it. At that time, Madambakkam was not well-known even to residentsof nearby Selaiyur. Recovery: The devotee, along with others, went in search ofthe temple, found it hidden under bushes near agricultural fields, and clearedthe area. Renovation & Protection: Following this, the temple wasrenovated, Kumbabhishekam was performed, and regular pujas resumed. The templeis now maintained as a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI). Temple History: Origin: Built during the 10th Century CE by the Chola KingParantaka Chola II (also known as Sundara Chola). The temple was built between 956 and 973 CE during the reignof the Chola king, Parantaka Chola II, father ofRaja Raja Chola I, who constructed the famous Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur. But only the sanctum sanctorum was built by him. TheLord Shiva here is called Dhenupureeswarar (Dhenu + Puri + Ishwarar). It’s aSanskrit terminology which means, the Lord Shiva who was showered by a cow. Later on the Pandya Kings built theshrine for his consort, Goddess Dhenukambal, and also the southernentrance and the Mandapam. Much later, during the Pallava Reign in this region,the Maha Mandapam was built. The main sanctum, like some other Chola temples in and aroundChennai, is apsidal in shape (Sanskrit: gajaprishta vimana) (also described asshaped like the back of a sleeping elephant), unlike most Hindu shrines, whichare square or rectangular. The temple is thought to have been consolidated with stonesduring the reign of Kulothunga Chola I. Well-preserved Chola sculptures and carved pillar bases arepresent in and around both sanctums. A number of fine inscriptions and sculptures dating to theVijayanagara Empire are also preserved. Architecture: The temple belongs to the Chozha period and faces east asalready wrote with an unfinished Rajagpouram(Mottai Gopuram). Dwajasthambam, Balipeedam and Nandhi mandapam areat front It features a unique Gaja Prishta Vimana (the roof of the sanctum isshaped like the back of a sleeping elephant). Specialty: The Shiva Lingam is a Swayambhu (self-manifested)Lingam. While the story of the devotee from Selaiyur recovering thetemple is a widely accepted account of its modern revival, the temple itself has existed sincethe Chola period and underwent various renovations over centuries. The temple has only one entrance in the east, unlike the 4 entrances in 4directions seen in most temples. Also, this temple has no Gopuram (thetower over entrance) at all. Chief Deities Dhenupureeswarar's consort here is Dhenukambal. The mainbuilding of the temple, which contains the statue of Dhenupureeswara in lingaform, faces east and his consort faces south in a separate sanctum. The Shivalingam is Swayambhu Lingam or self-manifested Lingam. Moolavar is too smallwith a cow’s leg scar on the head. One of the specialties in this temple is that the sun’s rayswill fall on Moolavar from the 15th to the 30th of the Masi month. Sub deities Other shrines here are for Navagraha, Lord Ganesha, ValampuriGanesha and Mahavishu. It is one of the rare temples Perumal pooja is done byVaishanava sect and one can see stall selling Perumal prasadam by Vaishanavapriests. In the front mandapam, there are a lot of reliefs on thepillars. The importantreliefs are Sarabeswarar and Hanuman with 5 heads. Nagars are in theouter prakaram. In the inner praharam, Sri Dhenukambal Sannadhi is in a separate sanctum. Koshta murtis are , Navagrahas, Valamchuzhi Vinayagar, MahaGanapathy, SriVaradharaja Perumal with Sridevi and BhuDevi, Kabila Nathar,Annapoorani, Valli DevaSena Sri Subramanian, Natarajar, and Urchava Murtis andChandikeswarar. Other Koshta murtis are Narthana Vinayagar, MounaDhakshinamoorthy, Brahma, and Durgai. Ardhamandapam and mukha mandapam pillars with exquisitely carved images ofNayanmars, Sarabeswarar, hanuman, Shiva, Veerabhadra, Narasimha, Vamana withMabali, Umamaheswarar, Natarajar, etc,which shows the rich heritage of culture and divinity. In the outer parakaram Anjaneyar, Maha Ganapathy, ValliDevaSena Subramaniar, Sabha mandapam, Navagrahas (Adhipureeswarar is at the centre),Chandikeswarar, Vinayagar, Ragu Ketu, Bhairavar, Sarabeswarar, Viyakrabathar. Poojas Apart from two kala poojas, special poojas are conducted on Pradoshamand Maha Shivaratri days. ‘PanguniUthiram‘ is celebrated annually for three days with great pomp andincludes a float festival. In this temple poojas to the presiding deities arebeing conducted twice daily. Rahukala Pooja The temple is so famous among the locals for the Sunday Rahukala puja to sarabheswararhere. It is accompanied with playing of drums. Today Madambakkam SivanTemple of Dhenupurishwarar is one of the famous temples of Chennai, especiallybecause of the sculpture of God Sarabeswarar present here. One of the importantpillar reliefs in the entrance of the temple has the God Sarabeswarar engravedon it. Sarabheswar is a reincarnation, a form of Lord Shiva. He is quite an angry God and GodSarabeswarar Story is something! The legend goes that, when Lord Vishnureincarnated in the Narasimha Avatar, after killing Hiranya Kasipu his angerdidn't subside and he went on a destructive mode. So Lord Shiva assumed theform of Sarabeswarar to control Narasimhar. However later on Lord Vishnu againtook the form of Gandabherunda Pakshi to control Sarabeswarar. The thing is, itwas all created in the middle ages whenShaivism & Vaishnavism were trying to get the better of each other andcreated Sarabha murti and Gandabherunda. Parihara temple It was believed that those who could not go to Kalahasticould perform Pariharam at this temple also. Festivals A number of religious festivals are celebrated at the temple,including Pradosha, Panguni Uttiram and during Navarathri, devotees visit tooffer special pujas. Cultural significance The 15th century Tamil poet Arunagirinathar's work contains aline mentioning the temple. Temple Pond To the south is the temple pond called Kapila Theertham. A couple decades back thetemple has been taken under the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple andthe tank have been maintained very neat. Pond has been fully renovated withfencing on sides and clear steps to enter from south and north sides. Temple Garden The outer circumambulatory passage is only mud with grass oneither sides. It feels so good to walkon this. The feet really feel great. The garden is alsomaintained well. Thesthala vruksham is Vilva Maram. The garden are the trees in the back side ofthe temple. There are a couple of big neem trees there and the best part isthat they are the home for several owls. Archaeological Surveyof India The temple has been under the maintenance of theArchaeological Survey of India since 04-05-1996 and now is being administered by HR&CE Tamil Nadu. The temple is one of a number of sites that have beenconserved and restored under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey ofIndia. Improvements included removing the damaged thick weathering course (roofsurface) of the front mandapa and Amman Shrine and relaying with freshweathering course. The ASI states that the temple has been declared a monumentof national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites andRemains (amendment and validation) 2010 Act. The temple is a National Monuments Authority notified siteupon which construction is banned. How to reach thetemple >From Tambaram: 6.5km via Camproad, Rajakilpakkam,Kozhipannai, Madambakkam >Sivan Koil (Frequent Bus Services available) Nearest Railway Station: Tambaram (exit at Tambaram East(towards MCC)) Nearest Bus Stop: Madambakkam Sivan Koil Contact number Ph. No. of temple Priest, Manikandan Kurukkal: +91 9884932192.Ph. No. of temple Priest, Guru Kurukkal: +91 94441 23873 Temple timings 6:00AM to 12:00Noon; 4:00PM to 8:30PM Special prayers for God Sarabeswarar happen on Sundayevenings at 4:30PM. Administration The temple is under the control of the HR&CE Department. Information compiled fromwebsites and posted by R. Gopalakrishnanon 3-2-2025 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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