Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvottiyur

Getting there

• By train

  Tiruvottiyur railway station is on the Southern Railway network, in the Chennai Division. Wimco Nagar station is on the same network.

• By road

  Tiruvottiyur is linked to central and northern Chennai by road, suburban rail and the metro. The Blue Line has a Tiruvottriyur station, and Tiruvottiyur High Road has long been the principal northward approach from the historic city of Madras towards Tiruvottiyur.

Why devotees come here

Thyagaraja Temple stands in Thiruvottiyur on the Coromandel Coast in northern Chennai. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, a Shiva temple praised in the Tevaram hymns. Its central shrine was rebuilt under Rajendra Chola I in black granite.

Thyagaraja Temple is a major Shaivite temple dedicated to Shiva, known here as Adipureeswarar. The 7th century Tamil saint poets praised the temple in the Tevaram hymns, and it is classified as a Paadal Petra Sthalam. The presiding deity is in the form of a mud mound.

The settlement has a documented history reaching back to the Pallava and Chola periods. The temple was first built by the Pallavas and later rebuilt by Rajendra Chola I, so both dynasties left their mark on it. The central shrine was rebuilt in fine black granite as a three-tiered vimana. A regular visitor quoted in The Hindu counted three dwajasthambams (flagstaffs) and said there are many tales about the deities.

The saint Ramalinga Swamigal, also called Vallalar, regularly visited this temple from his youth in Madras.

Festivals

• Masi month, February or MarchPrime festival

  The prime festival of the temple is performed in the Tamil month of Masi.

Tips for your visit

• An older report in The Hindu said Tuesdays, Fridays and important days brought large crowds, and that there were no toilets for them at the time.
• An older report in The Hindu said about 20 Chola-era inscriptions were installed in what is called an inscription park at the temple.

Questions people ask