aramkool

Very famous Hindu Temple - The Kapaleeshwarar temple,
This is one of it kind which attracts a lot of worshippers as well as tourists to Chennai - both Hindus and Non Hindus and is Mylapore, - a residential area very close to the sea shore. The original 8th century Shiva temple was built by the Pallavas and located on the shore but it was destroyed by the Portuguese and was re-built 300 years later.



The area’s original name, Mayilapura, or the “Town of Peacocks” recalls a legend between Shiva’s wife Parvati who assumed the form of a peahen. In some places I read, Shiva turned Parvati into the peahen because she was admiring a peacock dancing instead of listening to him, while others seem to say that Parvati did it to worship Shiva. The story is depicted throughout the temple including the gopuram.


The presiding deity of this temple is a form of Shiva called Kapaleeshwarar. The form of Shiva's wife Parvati at this temple is called Karpagambal (from the Tamil for "goddess of the wish-yielding tree. A legend associated with this temple is that Shiva's wife Parvati was distracted by a peacock and did not hear him call out to her. Annoyed, Shiva turned her into a peahen and sent her to earth. The peahen arrived at this temple and performed tapas (penance), and was eventually accepted again by Shiva. A temple was then built around the location of the peahen's tapas, and the place was named "Mayilapur" (Tamil: mayil: peacock, peahen; pur: generic place ending, like "-ville"), which was later anglicized to Mylapore.

Easy Paasuram to Learn(Tamil)
சொற்றுணை வேதியன் ஜோதி வானவன்

பொற்றுணை திருந்தடி பொருந்த கைதொழ

கற்றுணை பூட்டியோர் கடலிற் பாய்ச்சினும்

நற்றுணையாவது நம சிவாயமே!