Chennai is an interesting city. It is cosmopolitan
yet retains the typical old world charm. There are parts of the city where disco
lights and party beats rule the scene, and right next door the strains of the
veena would sing sweetly, and the fragrance of fresh filter coffee surround the
air!
Mylapore is one of the oldest localities of Chennai.
It is where art and culture find home amidst the chaos and din. There are many
classical art classes held in and around Mylapore. It is a very colourful place
too, with small lanes that sell everything from gold to vegetables to the
sacred thread (worn by brahmin males). Lord Kapaleeshwarar sits in the centre
of this old locality in his beautiful and ancient temple. Today, let us visit
the Lord and pay our respects to him.
Lord Kapaleeshwarar is a form of Shiva. He is named
so because of the kapali or skull
that he holds. Brahma
and Vishnu fought over Lord Shiva’s fire lingam, and in order to win the
contest, Brahma cheated. A furious Shiva plucked out the fifth head (which is
supposed to be on top of Brahma’s head), as a punishment. This left Brahma with
only four heads. Lord Shiva is said to have used this skull as a begging bowl (I
will write a detailed post on this legend later).
Image courtesy - PlaneMad via Wikimedia Commons
There are two entrances to the temple. Built in
typical Pallava architecture, the tall gopuram
and an equally huge set of gates welcome us inside. There is a large tank in
front of the west gate.
Temple tank
Image courtesy - Nsmohan via Wikimedia Commons
We enter through the east gate, after leaving our
footwear at the footwear stand. As we enter Lord Narthana Ganapathy welcomes
us. To his left is the shrine of Lord Jagadeeshwarar. Next to the Lord are the
Navagrahas. We walk ahead, with the circumambulatory path easing to our left. Lord
Annamalayar, the presiding
deity of Thiruvannamalai is installed in a shrine. Next to him, is his
consort, Unnamulayar Amman.
We continue on the path to greet Palani Andavar. The
Lord Subramanya who sits in Palani is said to have renounced the world. He stands
on top of Palani hills in only a small loin cloth, and no ornaments. To our
right is a shrine dedicated to Shringara Velavan, another form of Lord Subramanya.
Here the Lord is depicted as a handsome man, decorated in silks and jewels, and
is worshipped with his two wives Valli and Devayani.
Valli Devayani sametha Sri Shanmukhan by Raja Ravi Varma
Image courtesy - Redtigerxyz via Wikimedia Commons
To our left is the large Navarathri mandapam. It is
an open hall supported by pillars. Cultural programs are frequently held in
this hall. The day we visit, a religious group is conducting a sandalwood
grinding drive. We are told that it is a seva, and anyone can offer to grind
sandalwood paste in the large round stones that the group is carrying around. The
ground paste will be used to adorn Lord Brihadeeshwara at Tanjore. We excitedly
join in, and grind some sandalwood as our small contribution to the Lord.
Image courtesy - Sinha via Wikimedia Commons
We then continue on the path to pay our respects to
Lord Kapaleeshwarar and his consort, Devi Karpagampal. A small board says only
Hindus are permitted inside the temple. We cross the tall golden flag mast (kodimaram),
and first enter devi’s sannidhi,
which lies to the right of the Lord’s. We pay our respects to Ambal, accept the
kumkumam prasadam and proceed to
circumambulate the small enclosed shrine.
We proceed to the Lord’s sannidhi, which is fairly crowded. Kapaleeshwarar is worshipped in
a lingam as usual. We offer our prayers to the Lord and step out after
accepting the vibhuti prasadam. With the
Lord are the 63 nayanmar (Tamil
Shaivite poet saints) immortalised in stone around the shrine. Goddess Durga and
Lord Chandikeshwara are also present in the Lord’s shrine.
We are ushered out as it is almost 12.30 p.m.,
closing time. We step out, and make our way to the exit, happy to have had a
good darshan of the Lord.
Next week I shall take you to a different devalayam. Till then, stay safe, and
stay devout!
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