Kurungaleeswarar
Kurungaleeswarar Temple
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| Sri Kurungaleeswarar Temple |
Sri Kurungaaleeswarar temple is situated in Koyambedu,Chennai.It is one of the oldest temple in Chennai and according to inscriptions, it is 1500 years old. During 12th century this temple was developed by Kulothunga chozha and Vijayanagar kings.It is seen from the ancient scriptures that this place in ancient days was known as Kosai Nagar, Koyattipuram and Prayachithapuram.
This place was once an ashram of Sage Valmiki. When Lord Rama sent the pregnant Sita away suspecting her fidelity based on rumours by a dhobi, Sita went away to some forest far away. She was then taken care of by sage Valmiki. She gave birth to twins Lava and Kusa. They were leading a normal life of hermits.
One day, for conducting Aswamedha Yagna, Lord Rama at Ayodhya sent the Aswamedha horse towards the south. The horse reached this place then known as Kosai Nagar, which is presently called Koyembedu.Lava and Kucha captured the horse and refused to let go. Rama sent a battalion in search of the horse and when the battalion encountered Lava and Kusa, the strong battalion was defeated by the boys and they returned empty handed. Rama's brother Bharatha ,Shatrughna came and were also defeated. Finally an enraged Lakshman came and he was also defeated. A very much puzzled Lord Rama then came and started a fierce battle with the boys Lava and Kusa.Sage Valmiki then revealed to the children the identity of Sri Rama as their own father and Sri Rama also realised that they are his sons.
Fighting against their father, Lava nad Kusa were afflicted by Pitru dosham. They seeked the help of Sage Valmiki for a remedy and he advised to worship Lord Shiva. The boys then built a huge Shiva linga and started worshipping for the sin of fighting against their father. The shiva linga was huge and was difficult for the boys to reach and perform pooja. Lord Shiva shrank himself and became a linga of just under one feet height. Since he shrunk and narrowed himself (Shrink/narrow -Kurugal in Tamil), he may have been called as Kurungaleeswarar.
The Temple: Origin of this temple is said to be more than 1500 years.The temple is situated in a sprawling space of more than 22500 sq.ft amidst the busy and noisy Koyambedu.The entrance to this temple has a seven tiered Rajagopuram adorned with images depicting stories from the Siva puranam.
There is a big sixteen pillared mandapam situated in front of the temple. Each pillar has beautiful carvings of Venugopala swamy,eha padhar,Annamalaiar,Uma Maheswarar,Veera bhadrar,Veeran,Sandikeswarar ,Sarabeswarar and others, and also scenes from Ramayana are sculpted.
In one of the pillars we can the carving of Sarabeswarar.Poojas are performed to this Sarabeswarar during the Rahu kalam on Sunday evenings.
As you enter the temple,there is a big gold plated Kodi Maram in the east entrance, a Nandi mandapam in front of that. There is a main 40 pillared 'artha mandapam' that houses the sannidhis of Kurungaleeswarar and Godess Dharmasamvarthini ambal.
As you come around the main sanctum, you see the idol of Dakshinamurthy. There are sannidhis for Ganesha, Sri Subramanya with Valli and Deivayanai,Saraswathi,Maha Lakshmi,Sastha,Somaskandar,Kasi Viswanathar.As you come around the sannidhi of Kurungaleeswarar,you can see a majestic idol of Surya and the idols of 63 Nayanmars along the corridor length.
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| Kurungaleeswarar-Utsavar |
The Shiva Lingam of Moolavar Kurungaleeswarar is very small ( shrunk small to help Lava and Kusa to perform pooja with ease as per legend) and can be hardly seen as it is always covered with Kavachams and flowers. You can specifically ask the archakar (priest) if he can show and explain.
Ambal Dharmasamvarthini has a sannidhi next to Kurungaleeswarar on his right side and she is seen in a standing posture facing North. She is seen having her left foot forward.
In front of the Ambal sannidhi you can the Navagrahas on a lotus shaped stage. In the center is Lord Surya with his consorts seen riding a seven horse chariot.
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| Inside praharam |
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| Suryan in his chariot |
2. As Lava and Kusa worshipped here and were releived of Pitru Dosham, devotees who worship here will also get the blessings of their pitrus (ancestors).
3. Worshipping here on a pradosham day gives you an equivalent of 1000 pradosha darshans,and darshan on Sani Pradosham (Pradosham on Saturday) is quivalent to 10 million darshans of Pradosham darshans.
Temple location It is situated near the market in Koyambedu, Chennai.
Temple Timings The temple is open from 5:30 AM till 12:00 noon and from 4:30 pm till 8:30 pm.
How to reach? Koyambedu is the hub of transport facilities and well connected by Metro rail, buses and easily accessible by cars and autos.
Where to Stay? Chennai has many star hotels,deluxe,semi deluxe and economy hotels.
Contact
Executive Officer
Arulmigu kurungaleeswarar & vaikundavasa perumal Temple,
Sivan koil street,
Koyambedu.
chennai 600107
Phone : 044 24796237
E.mail. kannaiyaheo.chn@gmail.com
Useful data
State: Tamil Nadu
District: Chennai
Famous for: Pilgrimage
Languages: English,Tamil, Telugu
Best Season: Throughout the year. Summer( from May to July) could be very sultry when the mercury shoots to 40 degree celsius.
Weather: Summer 33-42°C, Winter 16-28°C
Altitude: Sea level
