Thiruverkadu Karumariamman Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Chennai International Airport at Meenambakkam serves the city.

• By train

  Chennai has four main railway terminals: Chennai Central, Egmore, Beach and Tambaram.

• By road

  Thiruverkadu is 16 km west of Chennai city and 10.5 km from the Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminus. Buses from most parts of the city reach it easily.

Rules to know

• At the time of the report the temple had only one entry, which also served as the exit.

Why devotees come here

Thiruverkadu Karumariamman Temple stands in Thiruverkadu, a suburb of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The main deity is Karumariamman. Legend says the place takes its name from a snake pit where she is believed to live as a snake.

Legend says the place takes its name from a snake pit. Karumari, an incarnation of Parvathi, is believed to live there in the form of a snake, and the name Thiruverkadu comes from that. The legend adds that Karumari appeared in a devotee's dream and asked him to build a temple for her.

The temple was built where Karumari was found, with a holy pond directly opposite it. A separate shrine holds a Karumariamman idol made of wood, called Wooden Idol Amman. The main idol in the sanctum is in a graceful form with all Parasakthi features.

In August 2023 the endowments ministry for Hindu temples announced two projects worth about 800 million rupees, with the work expected to finish within two years. Three new gopurams, or towers, are part of the temple's kumbabishekam, the consecration ceremony. One will have five tiers and two will have three tiers each. A sacred ash tank lies outside the temple. The minister said the new gopurams and entrances will help with crowd management, and parking spaces would be created near the entrances.

Festivals

• Pushya nakshatra dayPoosam

  Called poosam in Tamil. Devotees consider it the incarnation day of Karumari.

Tips for your visit

• The temple gets crowded on Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays and on festival days.
• Devotees can witness sun rays falling on the deity's head twice a year.

Questions people ask