Aksheeswaraswamy Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Acharapakkam has its own railhead on the Trichy-Chennai railway line.

• By road

  The temple is near Melmaruvathur, on the national highway from Chennai to Trichy. Acharapakkam lies on NH32 (GST Road), 3 km from Melmaruvathur.

Why devotees come here

Aksheeswaraswamy Temple stands in Acharapakkam, a panchayat town in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped here in lingam form, and the temple is the 29th of the thirty two Shivamukthi sthalams of Thondai Nannadu. It sits near Melmaruvathur on the Chennai to Trichy highway, and its main festival is the ten-day Chittirai Brahmotsavam.

Shiva is worshipped here as Aksheeswaraswamy, in the form of a lingam. The Tevaram, a 7th-century Tamil Saiva work by the nayanar saint poets, praises the deity, and the temple is classed as a Paadal Petra Sthalam. Legend says a Pandya king followed a golden iguana, and where it vanished under a tree he dug and found a linga.

Another legend, the Tripurasamharam story, says Ganesha was angry at being left out of the war and broke the bolt of Shiva's chariot. The temple has several inscriptions dated to the period of Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE).

The five-tiered raja gopuram, a gateway tower, rises in front, with a tank before it. All the shrines sit within concentric rectangular walls, and the Aksheeswaraswamy shrine is the most prominent. Carvings of Karaikkal Ammaiyar, walking on her hands, and of the hunter Kannappa Nayanar, under the image of Somaskanda, are noteworthy.

Festivals

• April and MayChittirai Brahmotsavam

  A ten-day festival in the Tamil month of Chittirai, the temple's most important festival.

Tips for your visit

• TNSTC-VPM operates buses between Acharapakkam and major parts of Chengalpattu district.
• Acharapakkam has its own railhead on the Trichy-Chennai line, so a train brings you to the town itself.

Questions people ask