हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Vadapalani Andavar Temple, Chennai

A devotee who could no longer walk to Palani set up a picture of Murugan in a hut in what was then a village west of Madras, and it became Vadapalani, the Palani of the north. It is now one of the most loved temples of Chennai and a favourite place to be married.

Built: Grew from a thatched shrine of the later 19th century set up by Annaswami Nayakar; renovated in 1920 and enlarged sinceWhere: Tamil Nadu (Chennai)Deity: Bhagwan Murugan as Palani Andavar13.05° N, 80.21° E
  1. 1920
Photo: Vkraja · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Annaswami’s picture

Annaswami Nayakar was a devotee of the Murugan of Palani who made the pilgrimage there many times. When illness kept him from going, the temple’s account says, he set up a painted picture of Palani Andavar in a thatched shed in his garden and worshipped it, and people of the area came to him for blessing and healing. After him Rathinasamy Chettiar carried on the worship and had a stone murti made, and the shrine came to be called Vadapalani. It was renovated in 1920, and its gopuram and halls have grown in stages since.

02Weddings and cinema

Vadapalani lies in the middle of Chennai’s old film district, and the people of Tamil cinema have long come here before a film’s first shot. The temple is known above all for weddings: on auspicious muhurtham days dozens of couples are married in its halls one after another. Kanda Shashti, Thai Poosam and Panguni Uttiram are its great festivals, and Tuesdays its busy day.

The life of this place

  1. 1920The temple is renovated and enlarged.
Visiting

Vadapalani, west Chennai, near the Vadapalani metro station.

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