Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Melmaruvathur railway station lies on the Chennai Egmore to Villupuram section of Southern Railway. Some express trains have a one-minute stop here during festivals.

• By road

  The temple is about 92 km from Chennai. Melmaruvathur is in Cheyyur taluk of Chengalpattu district.

Rules to know

• People of any caste, creed, community or religion may go inside the sanctum and worship.
• Women are permitted to perform poojas in the sanctum.

Why devotees come here

Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Temple is a Hindu temple in Melmaruvathur town, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu. The 21 Siddhars are laid to rest here in Jeeva Samaadhi. The divine mother Adi Parashakti is worshipped here.

The peetam is a place of worship for Adi Parashakti, the divine mother, and the resting place of 21 Siddhars in Jeeva Samaadhi. Devotees believe the mother speaks through Arulthiru Bangaru Adigalar.

Where the sanctum stands today, there was only a neem tree in the 1960s. In 1966 a severe storm uprooted the tree. It exposed a naturally formed, oval stone, a self-emerging Swayambu, to the villagers for the first time. The stone is carved of rock, and the sanctum now stands on that spot. The Saptha Kanni shrine was consecrated in 1974, and the idol of Mother Adi Parashakti was installed in the sanctum on 25 November 1977.

The idol is three feet tall and sits on a thousand-petalled lotus seat. The sanctum is a small room of about 10 by 10 feet. Temples of the virgins normally have no roof. The Saptha Kanni shrine, with walls on four sides, has none.

Festivals

• During AdipooramAdipooram

  Adigalar performs Angaprathatchanam in the temple during the festival.

• First day of NavarathiriNavarathiri

  Adigalar lights the holy Agandam on the first day.

• JanuaryThaipoosam

  In past years Southern Railway added one-minute train stops here from 30 November to 24 January, for the Irumudi and Thaipoosam festivals.

Tips for your visit

• Devotees walk round the Om Sakthi stage three times before they enter the peetam to worship the Mother.
• Free food is given to all visiting devotees around 11 AM every day.

Questions people ask