Kapaleeshwarar Temple

Getting there

• By road

  The temple is at 12/1, North Mada Street, Mylapore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Why devotees come here

Kapaleeshwarar Temple stands in Mylapore, Chennai, where Shiva is worshipped as a lingam. The presiding deity is praised in the 7th-century Tevaram hymns, and the temple is counted among the Paadal Petra Sthalam. The east gopuram, about 40 m high, faces the street.

Kapaleeshwarar Temple is dedicated to Shiva, worshipped here in the form of a lingam. The presiding deity is praised in the Tevaram, a 7th-century Tamil Shaiva collection by the Nayanar saint poets, and the temple is counted among the Paadal Petra Sthalam. According to the Puranas, Brahma failed to show Shiva due respect when the two met on Mount Kailash. Shiva then plucked off one of Brahma's five heads, which gives the temple its name.

The original temple is thought to have been built along the seashore in the 7th century by the Pallavas. After relocation in the 17th century, the 120 ft gopuram, the gateway tower, was built in 1906 with stucco figures. The east gopuram is about 40 m high and faces the street, while the smaller western gopuram faces the sacred tank.

The Mylapore tank is one of the oldest temple tanks in the city. It measures about 190 m long and 143 m wide, and has water all year. During a three-day festival, idols of Kapaleeshwarar and others are taken around the tank. The Arupathimoovar procession, named after the sixty-three Nayanar saints, is the most important procession at the temple.

Festivals

• Mid-March to mid-AprilPanguni Peruvila

  A nine-day spring festival in the Tamil month of Panguni.

Tips for your visit

• Devotees gather around the vahanas and consider it a privilege to pull or lift the deities.
• Mahashivaratri changes the hours, so check the official site before you travel on that day.

Questions people ask