01Amman of the vel forest
Thiruverkadu means the sacred forest of vel trees. The temple’s katha says the Devi appeared here to a devotee as a fortune-teller woman and then hid in an anthill, and that the swayambhu image was found there. Two forms are worshipped: the swayambhu stone, and a wooden image, the marachilai, carved from a tree of the forest. The anthill, the putru, is worshipped too, and devotees offer milk and eggs at it, as at a serpent shrine. Neem leaves, lemons and turmeric are her offerings.
02Sundays and Aadi
Sundays are the Amman’s day here, and in Aadi (July–August), the month of the Devi in Tamil Nadu, the crowds come with pots of pongal and rows of lamps. The Shiva temple of Vedapureeswarar in the same town is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams, where Agastya is said to have seen the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and many pilgrims visit both. The temple is administered by the Tamil Nadu HR&CE department.
About 20 km west of central Chennai near Poonamallee. Weekday mornings are calmer than Sundays.
