Temples in Tamilnadu

           

                                                Temples in Tamilnadu

Tamilnadu known as Chennai is a Land of temples with 33000 ancient temples with 600-800 years of old built by various Dynasties. Each and every temple is studded with complex architecture, variety of sculptures that captures the very essence of the culture & heritage. The temples in Tamilnadu characterized by ornamented soaring towers known as gopuras. The temples were not just a place of worship, social gathering, education and celebration but acted as the storehouses for emergencies.

             Temple Name                                                      Location

1) Srivaikunthanthor Temple                                        Tiruneveli

This Temple is also known as Kallpiransswami temple that enshrines Lord Vishnu. This temple was used as fort during British Period. It is one of the 108 Sri Vaishnavite sacred shrines and has been sung by the Alwar Saints.

2) Nataraja Temple                                                      Chidambaram

     The presiding deity of the temple is represented by vaccum space, which is one of the five elements of the universe, the others being wind, water, fire and earth. The temple has the statue of Nataraja made of bronze. This temple is an example of the Chola Architecture and is a tribute to the art of Bharatnatyam. The pillars in the eastern tower of the temple depict the Lord Nataraja in 108 different poses of the classical dance of Bharatnatyam with striking roof covered with gold. 

3) Annamalaiyar Temple                                             Thirruvannamalai

     This temple is located at the bottom of the Annamalai hill in Thiruvannamalai town. This temple is called Arunchaleshwara temple in Sanskrit. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Shiva an is one of the largest temple in India. It is the home of Lord Shiva worshipped as a Shiva Lingam.

4) Brihadeeswarar Temple                                          Thanjavur

          Perurdaiyar Kovil or Brihadeeswarar temple  also known as Rajarajeshwaram is the world’s first granite temple of cholas kingdom. This temple was built to be the royal temple to display the emperor’s vision of his power and his relationship to the universal orders. This temple enshrines the Lord Shiva.

5) Kamakshi Amman Temple                                    Kanchipuram

      

          This temple is one of the famous Hindu  temple dedicated to Kamakshi one of the forms of goddess Parvati. The main deity, Kamakshi, is seated in a majestic Padmasana an yogic posture signifying peace and prosperity, instead of traditional standing pose. The goddess holds a sugarcane bow and bunch of  flowers in the lower two of her arms and has a pasha(lasso), an ankusha (goad) in her upper two arms and there is also a parrot perched near the flower bunch.

6) Ranganathswamy Temple                                                 Sirangam

                           Trichi

                

         The temple was constructed by many Dynasties such as Cheras, Pandyas, Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagar Empire. The temple had seven concentric walls with 21 gopuras surround the temple. The largest gopuram of the temple is in the first wall on the southern side is the main entrance. There are severe shrines dedicated to various gods and goddess but the main temple is dedicated the Lord Vishnu.

7) Kapaleshwarar Temple                                                      Mylapur

     The presiding deity in is Lord Shiva. A small shrine of goddess Parvati depicted as peacock is worshipped under an old Punnai tree as it is saying that Goddess Parvati worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of a Peacock, Mayil hence the place called Mylpore.

8) Nellaiappar Temple                                                          Tiruneveli

         The temple is dedicated to Lord Nellaiappar enshrines of Lord Shiva and parvati