Aadhipureeswarar Temple, Chintadripet, Chennai
Aadhipureeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to
Lord Shiva located at Chintadripet, a well-known locality in Chennai City
in Tamil Nadu. Presiding Deity is called as Aadhipureeswarar and Mother is
called as Thiripura Sundari. The Temple is situated on the banks of River
Coovum. This Temple along with Aadhi Kesava Perumal Temple are considered as
Company Shrines of Chennai City.
Etymology
Chinna - Thari - Pettai (i.e. the hand operated weaving
machine in Tamil is called as Thari and Chinna means small) was changed to
Chintadripet.
History
The Chintadripet area was planned and developed as an
area for weavers by the then rulers of India, East India Company, in 1734. It
was developed by Dubash Audiyappa Naicken when George Morton Pitt was the
Governor. He started building the twin temples of Aadhipureeswarar and Aadhi
Kesava Perumal in Chintadripet in 1740s. This is to motivate weavers to get
residence around these two temples. These temples were built at a cost of 18000
pagodas.
The Temple
The temple is facing east with and entrance arch. A 4
pillar mandapam is situated before the entrance arch. Deepa Sthambam,
Balipeedam, Dwajastambam and Nandhi can be found in in front of the sanctum
facing the Lord. The sanctum sanctorum was constructed with sanctum,
Arthamandapam and Mahamandapam which forms the inner prakaram. Presiding Deity
is called as Aadhipureeswarar. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of big
Linga and he is facing east.
The Sanctum is guarded by Dwarapalakas on either side. Also,
the idols of Sundara Valampuri Vinayaka and Murugan are
found in the entrance of the main shrine. Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Brahma
and Durga are the Koshta Idols, located around the sanctum walls. Mother is
called as Thiripura Sundari. She is housed in a separate shrine, located in the
inner prakaram. She is facing south. There is a Deepa Sthambam and Lion vehicle
in front of her shrine.
There are shrines for Somaskanthar (Uthsavar), bronze utsava deities,
Navagrahas, Prakara Ganapathy, Naalvar, Surya, 63 Nayanmars, Lakshmi, Nagas, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Cheraman, bronze
idol of Arumugam, Lord Murugan with his consorts Valli & Devasena, Shankaracharya, Palani
Andavar, Bhairava, Agastya, Valluvar, Chidambaram Swamigal, Ramalinga,
Kachiappa, Kumaraguruparar, Thayumanavar, Chandikeswarar, Navagrahas and
Nataraja in the inner prakaram.
There are shrines for Dharma Sastha along with his
consorts Poorna & Pushkala, Guru Dakshinamurthy and Nagas in the outer
prakaram. There are Shiva Lingas under Bodhi Tree in the outer prakaram. Mummalpedu
Rathinaswamy Chettiyar Mandapam is found in the outer prakaram. There is an inscription
dated to 1860 in Theertha Vari Mandapam mentioning about the construction of
Mandapam by one Parthasarathy, son of Venkataswami Naicker. A tank common to
both the temples is found outside the temple.
Temple Opening Time
The temple remains open from 07.00 AM to 11.30 AM and
05.00 PM to 08.30 PM.
Contact
Aadhipureeswarar Kesava Perumal Temple,
Chintadripet,
Chennai – 600 002
Mobile: +91 98403 37834
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 200 meters from
Chintadripet Market Bus Stop, 200 meters from Chintadripet Potti Kadai Bus
Stop, 1 Km from Chintadripet Railway Station, 1 Km from Egmore Railway Station,
1.5 Kms from Egmore Metro Station, 3.5 Kms from Chennai Central Metro Station,
4 Kms from Chennai Central Railway Station, 11 Kms from Koyambedu Chennai
Mofussil Bus Terminus and 19 Kms from Chennai Airport. The Temple is adjacent
to the Aadhi Kesava Perumal Temple, off Arunachalam Road, on Nainiappan Street,
at Chintadripet. Chintadripet is well connected to the rest of Chennai by Bus
and Train facilities.
Location
References