Temple
Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a Hindu temple
dedicated to lord Shiva located in
Mylapore, Chennai in the Indian state of
Tamil Nadu. The form of Shiva's consort
Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal and is from Tamil ("Goddess of the Wish-Yielding Tree"). The temple was
built around the 7th century CE and is an
example of Dravidian architecture. [1][2]
Religion
District
Kapaleeswarar
(Shiva), Karpagambal
Location
Location
State
Country
Type
According to the Puranas, Shakti
worshipped Shiva in the form of a
peacock, giving the vernacular name Mylai ( Mayilāi) to the area that developed around
the temple – mail is Tamil for
"peacock". [3] Shiva is worshipped as
Kapaleeswarar, and is represented by the
lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as
Karpagambal. The presiding deity is
revered in the 7th-century Tamil Saiva
canonical work, the Tevaram, written by
Tamil saint poets were known as the Nayanars
and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
The temple has numerous shrines, with
those of Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal
being the most prominent. The temple
complex houses many halls. The temple
has six daily rituals at various times from
5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and four yearly
festivals on its calendar. The
Arubathimoovar festival celebrated during
the Tamil month of Panguni as part of the
ர
ேமா சவ is the most prominent
festival in the temple.
administered by the Hindu Religious and
Charitable Endowments Department of the
Legend
Image of Karpagambal and Kapaleeswarar
The temple's name is derived from the
words kapāla (head) and Īśvara an alias of
Lord, Shiva. According to the Puranas,
during the meeting of Brahma and Shiva at
top of Mount Kailash Brahma failed to show due respect to Shiva. Due to this,
Shiva plucked off one of Brahma's heads
( kapalams). In an act of penance, Brahma
came down to the site of Mylapore and
installed a Lingam to please Shiva. [5] This place is known as Sukra Puri, Veda Puri,
among many other names including
"Kailaye Mayilai and Mayilaye Kayilai
"which means this place is equal to
Kailash. Goddess Karpagambal, a form of
Shiva's consort Parvati, due to a curse became a pea-hen and did penance here
to get back her original personality. Shiva's
son Murugan received the spear (Sakthi
Vel) for the destruction of a demon from
Parvati here. Brahma had worshipped here
to get rid of his ego and get back his
power to create. The four Vedas have
worshipped here. Sukracharya worshipped
the Lord here and got back his lost eye.
Rama has worshipped here and won the
the war against Ravana and brought back Sita
from Lanka. The daughter of Sivanesa
Chettiar Angam Poompavai got lost
life due to snake bite was later resurrected
here by the powers of Thirugnana
Sambandar.[2] Vayilar Nayanar, a saiva saint, attained salvation here and in Mylapore
is also the birthplace of Thiruvalluvar who
wrote the Thirukkural. [6] In Thevaram
special mention is made about the
beautiful Madaveedhi as "Malgun Mathri
Thavazhum Maada Veedhi Mylappil Ullar".
Thiruganana Sambandar, Arunagirinathar
have sung the glory of Karpagambal,
Singara Velar. The 10-day festival during
March / April is a treat to watch and
Arubathu Moovar festival is attended by
lakhs of devotees every year. [2]
Placade in the East Entrance
The temple festival in c. 1940
The commonly held view is that the temple
was built in the 7th century CE by the
ruling Pallavas. [7] This view is based on references to the temple in the hymns of
the Nayanars (which, however, place it by a seashore). Thirugnanasambandar's 6th
song in Poompavaipathikam and
arunagirinathar's 697th song in Thirumylai
Thirupugazh, make clear reference to the
Kapaleeswarar temple is located by a
Seashore. [8] There are inscriptions dating
back to the 12th century inside the temple. [9]
The temple's 120 ft gopuram[9] (gateway tower) was built in 1906 with stucco
figures adorning it. [2][7] The temple is
maintained and administered by the Hindu
Religious and Endowment Board of the
Bulls are depicted in the decorated gopuram of the Kapaleeshwar ar Temple.
Kapaleeshwarar Temple. Chennai. 2010
Pilgrims taking offerings to the festival from Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai. 2010
The Kapaleeshwarar temple is of typical
Dravidian architectural style, with the
gopuram overpowering the street on which the temple sits. This temple is also a
testimonial for the Vishwakarma
chapatis. There are two entrances to the
temple marked by the gopuram on either
side. The east gopuram is about 40 m high,
while the smaller western gopuram faces
The vahana s (Sanskrit for "vehicles") at the
the temple includes the bull, Adhikaranandi,
elephant, bandicoot, peacock, goat and
parrot, while a golden chariot is a recent addition. Statues of the god and the
Goddess is seated on a vahana or chariot
which is brought in a procession around
the temple while the temple band plays
music. Devotees gather around the
vahanas and consider it a privilege to pull /
lift the God and the Goddess on the
Gahanna. There is also a peacock and a
peahen caged inside the temple, to
symbolize the tradition that Karpagambal
had come in the form of peahen to plead
to Kapaleeshwarar.
Sapta Sthana Shiva temples
This temple is one of the Sapta Sthana
Shiva temples in the Mylapore area. (one of
the seven sacred Shiva temples in
Mylapore). [12] They are:
7. Kapaleeshwarar Temple
In addition to these "Sapta Sthana Shiva
sales", the Ekambareshwarar–Valluvar
temple in the neighbourhood is
traditionally considered the indispensable
eighth. [13]
The tank
The theppakulam or the temple tank lies to
the west of the temple. Also known as the
Kapaleeshwarar Tank or the Mylapore
Tank is one of the oldest and well-
maintained theppakulams in the city,
measuring about 190 m in length and
143 m in breadth.[14] The tank has a
storage capacity of 119,000 cubic metre
and has water all through the year. [14] The
16-pillared, granite-roofed structure, known
as the mandapam at the centre of this tank
is known for its significance during the
three-day annual float festival, when idols
of Lord Kapaleeshwarar and other deities
are taken around the tank to the chanting
of Vedic hymns.[14]
In 2014, ₹ 56.5 million was allotted to build
a 2,150-meter-long pavement around the
The temple priests perform the pooja
(rituals) during festivals and on a daily
basis. Like other Shiva temples in Tamil
Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite
community. The temple rituals are
performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at
6:00 a.m., Kalasanthi at 9:00 a.m.,
Uchikalam at 1:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at
5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and
Ardha Jamam at 9:00 p.m. There is a
separate calendar for the Rahu
Abhishekam (sacred ablution): it is
performed twice a day at 11:30 a.m and
5:30 p.m. and additionally twice at various
times in the day. Each ritual comprises
four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath),
alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food
offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of
lamps) for both Kapaleeswarar and
Karpagambal. The worship is held amidst
music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and travel (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) read by priests and prostration by
worshippers in front of the temple mast.
There are weekly rituals like somavaram
and sukravaram, fortnightly rituals like
pradosham and monthly festivals like
amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai,
pounamu (full moon day) and
Chaturthi.[8][15] During Friday worship, the
statue of the goddess Karpagambal is
decorated with a kiasu masala, a garland
made of gold coins.
Festivals
Goddess Karpagambal with Lord Kapaleeshwarar
Devotees praying at KapaleeshwararTemple, Chennai. 2010
During the Tamil month of Panguni, the
traditional brahmotsavam (annual festival)
takes place when the entire neighbourhood
comes alive with a mela (carnival)-like atmosphere. Since this month
corresponds to the mid-March to mid-April
duration, the Kapaleeshwarar temple
celebrates the nine-day-long Panguni
Peruvizha (Spring festival).[16] The festival
starts with Dwajarohanam (flag hoisting),
includes the therotsavam, (Tamil, there,
"car/chariot"; utsavam, "festival"),
Arupathimoovar festival and concludes
with the Tirukkalyanam (Marriage of
Kapaleeswarar & Karpagambal). In
Brahmotsavam, the idols of
Kapaleeshwarar and Karpagambal are
decorated with clothes and jewels, are
mounted on a vahana, and then taken
around the temple and its water tank in a
pradakshinam (a clockwise path when
seen from above). This is repeated with
different vahanas over the next nine days.
The more important the individual
pradakshinams are the Athigara Nandhi on
the third day, the Rishaba Vahanam on the
midnight of the fifth day, the other (about 13
meters in height and pulled by people) on
the seventh morning, and the
Arupathimoovar festival on the eighth
day.[17]
The Arupathimoovar festival is the most
important procession.[7] It is named after
the sixty-three Nayanmar s who have
attained salvation through their love & devotion
to the all-compassionate Lord Shiva. All
sixty-three Nayanmar idols follow the
Kapaleeshwarar idol on this procession.
During the car festival, Kapaleeshwarar is
depicted holding a bow while seated on a
throne, with his wife Karpagambal
alongside.[18] Brahma is depicted riding
the other. The chariot is decorated with
flowers and statues, and there are huge
gatherings of devotees to pull the other. The
car festival of 1968 is documented in the
documentary film Phantom India by Louis
Religious work and saints
View of the temple tank at dawn.
Inner prakaram (corridor) of the temple.
The main tower at the temple.
There is a reference to the temple in
Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest post-Sangam
mention is found in the 6th-century Tamil
literature. The temple and the deity were
immortalized in Tamil poetry in the works
of Tevaram by poet-saint belonging to the 7th century – Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed the 6th Poompavai pathogen in
praise of the temple.[8] Arunagirinathar, a 15th-century poet, sings the praise of the
temple in Tirumayilai Tirupugazh. The 12th-
century poet Gunaveera Pandithar sings
about Neminathan under Theerthangar
nominator punish. [19] Tirumayilai
Prabanthangal is a compilation of four
works on the temple and the deity. [19]
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