Swayambu Selva Vinayagar Temple, Shenbakkam – The
Temple
Shenbakkam
Vinayakar temple has a tank outside the temple structure and a small tower. The
main gopura is colorful with idols of many gods. Actually, the outside wall and
mandapa are recent construction with the original temple inside. This famous
temple is dedicated to Selva Vinayagar and Soma Sundareswarar. Just in front of
the Lord Meenakshi Sundareswarar shrine in an open area are the idols of Lord
Ganesha. The idols don’t have the exact carving of Lord Ganesha. But the shape
and some natural chiseling when looked close show us that they are the idols of
Lord Ganesha.
There
are 11 Vinayagars in this Temple. All are Swayambu moorthies in the form of
lingams and in the formation of ‘Om’. The 11 Vinayagars are present in the
following order: Bala Vinayagar, Nadana Vinayagar, Omkara Vinayagar, Karpaga
Vinayagar, Chinthamani Vinayagar, Selva Vinayagar (Moolavar), Mayura Vinayagar,
Mooshika Vinayagar, Vallaba Vinayagar, Siddhi-Buddhi Vinayagar and Panchamukha
Vinayagar. Bala Vinayagar is still under the ground and only the top portion is
visible.
On the
back of Selva Vinayagar, there is a mark of the wheel of the cart, which was
supposedly driven by Thukkoji. There is no roof for the main shrine to
facilitate all Sages and Celestial Gods to worship the deity. The flag post is
present within the sanctum sanctorum itself. Lord Saturn facing the main deity
is a special significance. A silver covering was made 75 years back to cover
the Selva Vinayagar fully but now it covers him only two-thirds, indicating he
is growing all the way.
Munjuru
(mouse) is the vahana of Ganesh. In this temple, in front of 11 Swayambu
Vinayaka idols, there are four mice and one elephant standing as vahanas. Aadhi
Sankarar worshipped here and installed Srichakra in the Easanya corner of the
temple. Lord Somasundareswarar in the form of lingam is present in a separate
shrine just behind the Selva Vinayagar. There are shrines for Meenakshi,
Sundareswarar and Mariamman in the temple premises besides Selva Vinayagar and
Somasundareswarar Shrines.
The
temple also houses the idols of Dakshina Murti, Nalvar, Chandikeswarar,
Viswanathar, Vishalakshi, Vishnu and Murugan with Valli-Devasena. There are a
lot of Sudhai (Stucco) idols in the temple walls depicting various forms of
Ganesha. Some of them are really rare forms such as Five faced Ganesha and
Ganesha on peacock. There is a shrine where all the metal Utsava idols are
kept. Navagraha is also found in the temple.
