Kandaswamy Temple, Georgetown – The Temple
The historical temple is
located in a congested lane named Rasappa Chetti Street. The layout of the
temple is complex. It should be noted that originally it was a small temple and
in the last 350 years, it was extended and renovated multiple times. The Temple
is spread over eight acres. The entrance to the temple is crowned with a five-tiered
Rajagopuram (temple tower) and there is a tank within the temple premises.
At the entrance of the temple,
there is a hall called Parivedan Mandapam. On either side of the mandapam, you
can see the beautiful sculpted image of Vezhmugathu Vinayakar in both sitting
and standing positions. At the front of the Artha Mandapam (portico) the tall
Dwajasthambam (flag pole) reaches up to the sky. The temple is facing the north
direction and it is adorned with a small tower. The sanctum is not standing
alone in this temple. There are few equally big shrines found along with the
sanctum in an enclosure. This is the core section of the Temple.
The core section has two
entrances, one facing the east direction and the other facing the north
direction. If any devotee wants to get darshan from the road, he can get the
darshan of Ganesha and not the presiding deity of the temple. Because, the shrine
of Ganesha is facing towards the main entrance of the temple and not the
sanctum. The east facing sanctum is in the middle of the core section.
The small idol of Kanda
Swami is found in the sanctum. This is the same image that was brought
from Thiruporur. It is two feet high and the images of his two consorts, Valli
and Deivayanai are placed on either side of Kandaswamy. The jewelry adorning
the images of Muruga/Skanda are beautiful and superbly designed. A small
elephant vahanam is found facing towards the sanctum.
Outside the core section of
the temple, the flag staff, bali peetha and peacock vahanam are found facing
towards the direction of the sanctum. There are two shrines on either side of
the sanctum, which enshrine Valli and Devasena. In the core section,
the sub shrines of Ganesha, Utsav Muthukumara Swami with his consorts,
Meenakshi, Sundareshwara Shiva Linga and the Utsava idols of Shanmukha with his
consorts are also found. The idols of Surya and Veera Bahu are also located in
this section.
The pillars in the core
section of the temple has a lot of interesting sculptures. Some of them
include Kartikeya with four arms holding bow and arrow, five headed
and ten armed Ganesh seated on lion, Shanmukha seated on peacock and Skanda
stylishly seated on peacock. The prakara around the core section of the temple
enshrines few minor shrines and a lot of idols without enclosure. Near the
gopura, the sub-shrines of Bhairava and Veera Bhadra are found on either side.
The idols of Chidambaram Swamigal, Dhandapani Swamigal, Pampan Swamigal and
Ramalinga Adigalar are all found near the flag staff. All these small idols are
later additions.
The idol of Idumban and a very
small sub shrine for Arunagiri Nathar are also found near the east facing
entrance. The idol of Kadambam is found at the north facing entrance. The wall
around the core section of the temple unusually has many Koshta idols. They
include Ganesh, Dhakshinamoorthi, Vishnu, Brahma Shasta (Kartikeya in the form
of Brahma), Vishnu Durga, another Ganesha, Naga Skanda, Lakshmi
and Kukkuta Dwaja (Chevar Kodiyon, which means Skanda who has rooster
in his flag).
It should be noted that some
of the forms such as Kukkuta Dhwaja, Naga Skanda and Brahma Shasta are rare
forms of Kartikeya. The idols of Mari Chettiar and Kandappa Achari, the
founders of the temple, along with the idols of Ganesha and few important
Nayanmars are also found. Chandikeswara is found near the niche idol of Durga. The
shrines of Nataraja & Shivakami and Somaskanda are also located in the
prakara. The extended area of the temple is called as Vasantha Mandapam.
There is a big hall called Kandan Kalai Arangam located here. The temple
related functions and celebrations are held here.
This temple is also called as
Muthukumara Swamy temple. The temple obtained this name due to the attractive
and big metal Utsava idol of Muthukumara Swamy. This section of the temple is
found behind the core section. Muthukumara Swamy has six heads and he has his
two consorts on his either sides. In front of this shrine, there is a
mandapam full of pillars with interesting sculptures.
The holy tank is called as
Saravana Poigai. It is located within the temple complex. It is one of the very
few temple tanks which has water and is well maintained. Big stucco idols of
various deities are found on the banks of the tank. Peacocks and Cocks roam
around this area. Near the temple tank, Navagrahas are found. A small shrine
for Ganesha with his consorts Siddhi and Buddhi is found nearby.
The idols of Surya and Chandikeswara
are located within the premises of this shrine. Next to the shrine of Ganesha,
the sub-shrine of Vishwanatha Shiv Linga and Vishalakshi is located. The shrine
of Gnana Dhandayuthapani is found on the other side of the tank. Near this
shrine, as later additions, the idols of Variyar, Tirukkatchi Nambikal and
Nataraja are located.
