Kalahasteeswarar Temple, George Town, Chennai
Kalatheeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple
dedicated to Lord Shiva located in George Town area of Chennai, the capital of the South
Indian state of Tamil
Nadu. Presiding Deity is called as Kalahasteeswarar and
Mother is called as Gnanaprasanambikai. The Temple is situated at Pavalakara
(Coral merchant) Street in Mannady close to Mallikeswarar Temple.
The temple is considered equivalent to Kalahasthi
Kalahasteeswarar Temple, Andhra Pradesh. This Temple is considered as one of
the Pancha Bootha Sthalams of Chennai. This Temple represents Air Element. The
Pancha Boodha Sthalam equivalents in Chennai are located at the heart of the
city in the Flower Bazaar / Sowcarpet area. They are:
1) Sri Kalatheeswarar Temple at Pavalakara (Coral
Merchant) street, Mannady representing Air,
2) Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple at Annapillai street
representing Fire,
3) Sri Gangadareswarar Temple, Purasaiwakam representing
Water,
4) Sri Chidambaranatha (Nataraja) Temple near Choolai
Post office representing Sky,
5) Sri Ekambareswarar Temple at Mint representing Earth.
The
Temple
The temple is facing east with an entrance arch. Dwajasthambam,
Palipeedam and Nandhi in a mandapam can be found facing the sanctum. Presiding
Deity is called as Kalahasteeswarar. Stucco Dwarapalakas can be found at the
entrance of the sanctum. Vinayagar, Dhakshinamoorthy, Vishnu (in place of Lingothbavar),
Brahma and Durgai are the Koshta Deities located on the walls around the
sanctum.
Mother is called as Gnanaprasanambikai. The idol of the
goddess is stunningly beautiful. All the idols including Kalahasteeswarar and
Gnanaprasanambikai are very small in this temple. There are also shrines for
Ayyappa, Manjanamata, Chandikeswara, Shivalinga, Lord Subramanya along with his
consorts Valli and Devasena, Ganesha, and Navagraha in the Temple premises.
There is an inscription dated 21-1-1926 by Naga Siva
Chidambaram Chettiyar son of Subraya Chettiyar about the donation given for
conducting the functions from the income of a house and go down after
deducting the tax to be paid to Govt. and maintenance charges.
Temple
Opening Time
The Temple remains open from 07.00 AM to 11.00 AM and 05.00
PM to 08.00 PM.
Connectivity
Kalatheeswarar Temple is located at Coral Merchant
Street in George Town Area of Chennai. The
Temple is located at about 200 meters from Thambu Chetty Street Bus Stop, 1 Km
from Royapuram Railway Station, 1 Km from Mannady Metro Station, 3 Kms from Basin
Bridge Railway Junction, 4 Kms from Chennai Central Railway Station, 6 Kms from
Egmore Railway Station, 14 Kms from Koyambedu Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus and
22 Kms from Chennai Airport. The Temple is located close to the Mannady Metro Station.
You can proceed on foot to this Temple from the station. From other parts of
the city, you can take a Cabs, Auto Rickshaw, Bus, Local Trains and Metro
Trains to reach the Temple.
Location