Pasupatheeswarar Temple, Thiruvelichai, Kanchipuram
Pasupatheeswarar
Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva located at Thiruvelichai Village,
Chennai suburb near Pudupakkam in Kanchipuram District of Tamilnadu. The temple
is around 3 km from the Pudupakkam Anjaneyar Temple (inside the road opposite
to the temple). Pudupakkam is in the Kelambakkam-Vandalur Road on the
Kelambakkam side (around 3 km from the Kelambakkam bus stop).
Presiding
Deity is called as Pasupatheeswarar and Mother Shakti as Simha
Priya. The route from Kelambakkam – Vandalur High Road to this temple is
secluded and except for 23 factories, nothing else is found on the road. Public
transport is not available and the villagers are residing little away from the
temple. Due to these reasons the temple remains little known to the outside
world.
History
Pasupatheeswarar
temple is actually a private temple. Originally, it was built for the purpose
of private worship for a saint called Gnanacheri Gnanigal. During 17th
- 18th centuries, there was an Advaita philosopher, Carnatic
composer and a saint named Sadashiva Brahmendra. During that period, he was
very popular in the region of the current Tamilnadu state. It is believed that
in the earlier births, he was born as Dattatreya, Ugra Pandya, Aanaya Nayanar,
Vilvamangala Swamigal and Abirami Bhattar. In the later part of his life,
Swamiji became a Mouna Guru and never spoke. It is believed that Swamiji took
rebirth in the 20th century in Tamilnadu.
He
started a religious organization called Gnanacheri in 1979 CE and hence the
devotees called him as Gnanacheri Gnanigal. Pasupatheeswarar temple is built in
Gnanacheri. The temple dedicated to Shiva and the shrines dedicated to
Varadaraja Perumal, Anjaneya and Prathyangira Devi all were built for private
worship for Swamiji. The kumbhabhishekam of the temple took place in 1999 CE.
The
Temple
The
temple is situated in a huge complex. It can be divided into multiple sections.
Pasupatheeswarar Shrine:
The east
facing sanctum enshrines Shiv Linga called as Pasupatheeswarar. At the entrance
of the shrine, small idols of Ganesha and Kartikeya are found. In Maha Mandapam,
there are two shrines which face the southern direction. In one shrine, the
Goddess Simha Priya is found. Another shrine enshrines the small Utsava idols
of Natarajar and Shivakami. The flag staff, Bali peetham and Nandi Mandapam are
found facing towards the sanctum.
The
Pasupatheeswarar shrine is the main section of the east facing temple, which
has five tiered tower (Raja gopuram). Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhava,
Brahma and Vishnu Durga are found as the niche images around the walls of the
sanctum. Chandikeshwarar sub shrine is found in its usual location. In the
prakara, the sub shrines of Ganesha and Murugan with his two consorts are
situated. Dattatreya, Adigalar, Surya, Chandra, Bhairava and Navagraha are some
of the other deities found in this section of the temple. A small stucco idol
of Hanuman in tall pillar is also situated.
Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Shrine:
In the prakara
of Pasupatheeswarar shrine, a separate east facing shrine along with a front
side mandapam is found for Varadaraja Perumal. Varadaraja Perumal is found
along with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi in the main shrine. There is a
small north facing sub shrine for the Goddess Kanaga Valli and two small sub
shrines of Garuda and Hanuman facing towards Varadaraja are all situated in the
mandapam. The wall behind the shrine has the niche image of Krishna playing
flute.
Viswaroopa Anjaneya Shrine:
There is
a separate section of the temple which enshrines a big idol of Hanuman called
as Viswaroopa Anjaneya. Opposite to this shrine, there is a shrine where Ram,
Sita and Lakshman are found.
Prathyangira Shrine:
Near the
temple tower, there is a north facing shrine for Prathyangira Devi (the Goddess
with the lion face). In the prakara, there are paintings of ferocious Goddesses
are found.
Gnanacheri Gnanigal Samadhi:
Outside
the temple tower, there is a huge open space. In a corner, the Samadhi of Gnanacheri
Gnanigal is found under the holy Vilva tree. A Shiva Linga idol is installed
above the Samadhi.
Other Deities:
In a
corner in the prakara of Pasupatheeswarar shrine, a group of idols are situated
in a single shrine. The list of idols that are found here include Pandurangan
and Ragumayee, Pasupatheeswarar (Shiva Linga) and Simha Priya, Sundara
Varadaraja Perumal with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi, Durga, Murugan with Valli and
Devasena and Siddhi Vinayakar.
Importantly,
near this shrine, two idols are kept separately under the trees. One is Lord
Buddha and the other idol is Jesus Christ. Probably, no other Hindu temple
enshrines Christ. To depict that Gnanacheri Gnanigal did not differentiate the religions,
the idols of Buddha and Jesus are kept in this temple.
Connectivity
Pudupakkam
is a small village located in Kelambakkam – Vandalur High Road in the outskirts
of Chennai city in South India. Anjaneya temple, which is located in this
village, has gained popularity in the recent past (around 3 km from the
Kelambakkam bus stop). This Temple is located near Pudupakkam Anjaneyar Temple.
You have to take the road opposite to the road where Pudupakkam Anjaneyar
temple is located and travel for 3 kms to reach Velichal temple.
References
