Must Explore Temple Trail of Chennai
Posted on October 4, 2020 by Ghoomophiro
One of the reasons why each one of us craves to visit Chennai at least once in our lifetime is the trail of temples. The city is popular for the ancient temples that have survived all the adversities of nature and still stand erect. These can truly be termed as the guardians as well as custodians of the rich past and legacy of Chennai. These amazing temples are spread across the city and each one of these has its own history to boast and each one of these stands elegantly in the glow of their architectural marvels. In one or the other way, by following the oldest temple rituals that are conducted in these temples, they tend to carry forward the ancient history and legacy.
Temple trail
Having read a lot of the temples of Chennai, we (Ghoomophiro sisters) also planned a trip to Chennai and decided to utilize most of our time exploring these beautiful temples. One thing that we would like to mention here is that even if you are not that devoted to the religious aspect of visiting the temples, still these temples deserve your time because of a lot of things that are hidden within them about our ancestors and more because they have a lot to reveal to us. History, unlike ever before, especially to people who share the same interests as we (Ghoomophiro sisters) do seem to be very exciting here. There are four major ancient temples that you must visit in Chennai and the best time to begin exploration is 6.30 am. it is not at all necessary to do the entire trail in a single go. However, we would like to mention that doing the same is possible if you hire a cab for the entire day. This saves a lot of time, especially if you have less time at your disposal.
1. Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore
We (Ghoomophiro Sisters) decided to begin our trail with Kapaleeshwarar Temple which is one of the most visited temples in the city. It finds a beautiful location in the Mylapore area and is basically an ancient shrine that is glorified via the Tamil hymns of Tirugnanasambandar dating back to 7th century CE. Paravati, the wife of Lord Shiva is worshiped here. Lord Shiva is the residing deity at this amazing temple. The lord is worshiped in the form of a Peacock named Mylai in Tamil.
History
Originally, Kapaleeshwarar Temple found the location on the shore quite close to the location where it is currently located. It was the destruction caused by the Portuguese that resulted in this shift. The current structure of the temples found its origin back in the 15th Century.
Best time to visit
The temple is open in the morning from 6.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and in the evening at 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. The most appropriate time to visit the temple is early morning, the first instance when the gates are opened for the public. However, it is totally a personal choice. Early morning, there are mostly devout localities visiting the temple implying less crowd and less eagerness which further means that you have ample time to explore the temple in peace and calm.
Special occasional perks
Early morning visits also leave you with an opportunity to attend the typical Tamil marriage ceremony during early hours though you might not be allowed to click pictures of the same. This site is not guaranteed but depends on your luck. We were lucky enough to witness one.
2. Parthasarathy Temple, Tiruvallikeni
This is the oldest temple in Chennai built in the 8th Century dedicated to Lord Krishna. The second temple that we visited was the Parthasarathy temple. This temple is currently undergoing some restoration work because of which the major section of gopuram is somehow in current times covered restricting the sight of the temple. Somehow, out of all the temples on the list, this is one of the strictest temples on our list. you have to be extra careful while taking pictures also as certain areas of the temple might not be open for being clicked and on doing so you might get scolded. Again, there are weddings that take place in the temple but as already said not necessarily every day.
Best time to visit
Again, early morning visit to the temple is the best for the same obvious reasons as listed above. The temple is open in the morning from 5.50 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and in the evening from 4.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m, so you ought to ensure that you do not land there in between these timings. As we visited it after already visiting another temple, so we missed the morning glory but no worries, we enjoyed our visit.
3. Marundeeswarar Temple, Thiruvanmiyur
The third temple in our list was Marundeeswarar Temple, again one of the most amazing temples. Unlike the previous one, the atmosphere here is not that strict and hopefully, no one scolds you at taking the pictures also. This particular temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is spread across 1 acre having enough open spaces. There are two separate entrances to the temple, one is from the East Coast Road and the second is from West Tank Street. The two entries are adorned by five-tiered gopuram. There is a holy water tank that is located on West Tank Street. The side entrance has a beautiful hallway offering amazing fresco work on the ceiling. The ample open spaces facilitate taking some rest prior to heading to the next one in the list.
Best time to visit
The temple is open from 5.00 A.M in the morning to 12.00 P.M at the noon and then in the evening from 4.00 P.M to 9.00 P.M. Again if you are covering just one temple a day, we would recommend visiting it in the morning. If not, then visit it in the evening when the gates reopen for again the same obvious reasons as mentioned above. However, in the evening the temple remains to be more crowded.
4. Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvottiyur
Tiruvottiyur is one of the oldest parts of the Chennai and Thyagaraja Temple there also dates back to the 7th Century. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has a very interesting legend associated with it. Brahmā in the Hindu religion is considered to be the god of creation and is known to create all the gods and demons, a complete contradiction to one another. Here you will find a wishing tree of gods, named, makizha tree which over the time gained the title of being a sacred tree of this temple. There are some factors that differentiate this temple from other temples on the list. This temple is comparatively huge. Unlike other temples, the floor of this temple not paved with stones, it is ideally the sand as well as the mud because of which the walking around the temple becomes a bit difficult.
Best time to visit
You can visit the temple any hour of the day, there is no restriction but the early morning clause still goes well. if you are planning to cover all the four temples in one day then go in for covering this one in the evening.
We (Ghoomophiro sisters) had less time at our disposal so we decided to complete the entire trail in one day. However, it can get really exhausting at times. We would recommend you wear really comfortable clothes that cover most of your body because at times in temples it really gets embarrassing especially in front of elderlies who do not adore short western dresses. We are not asking you to change your preferences for others who don’t even matter to you but there is no harm modifying your preference if it saves you from some issues.
