Velleswarar Temple, Mangadu

Velleeswarar Temple, Mangadu
Velleeswarar Temple, Mangadu
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Chennai
Deity	Lord Velleeswarar
Location
Location	Mangadu
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
	Velleeswarar Temple, Mangadu, Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	13°01′44″N 80°06′24″E / 13.028931°N 80.106766°E
Elevation	42.02 m (138 ft)

Velleeswarar Temple is a Shiva temple located in Mangadu, a suburb of Chennai, India.^[1] This is a mid-size temple spread over 2 acres and is among the 3 principal temples in Mangadu – the other 2 being the Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple and Sri Vaikunda Perumal Temple. The temple is managed by the HRCE Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is situated about 2 kilometers from Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple in Mangadu.

Mythology

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and derives its name from being worshiped here by Sukra (Vellee in Thamizh) - the planet Venus as per Hindu mythology. Lord Sukra is the guru of the Asuras. Special poojas are hence offered by devotees on Fridays - the day dedicated to Venus. This temple forms part of the Navagraha temples around Chennai. Devotees offer white field beans (Mochai) as a special offering signifying the cereal in relation to Sri Sukra.

According to the legend, when Goddess Sri Kamakshi performed tapas here in Mangadu, Lord Shiva came down to earth to give darshan to Her and then marry Her. It is said that Sri Sukra worshipped Lord Shiva here. When Sri Kamakshi came here to have darshan of Lord Shiva, she saw Sri Sukra worshiping the Lord. The Goddess went back as She did not want to disturb the penance of Sukra.

Later, Lord Shiva directed the Goddess to come to Kanchipuram and married her there. As Sri Sukra worshipped Lord Shiva here, the Lord came to be known as Sri Velleeswarar and also as Sri Bhargaveswarar. This temple is Sukra Sthalam among the Navagraha Temples of Chennai (or Thondai Mandalam). Sri Sukra blesses people with wealth, prosperity, good family, vehicles, fame and social status.

The Temple

Sri Velleeswarar temple is a beautiful, ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The east-facing grand shrine of Sri Velleeswarar is joined by Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga at either side of the entrance of the sanctum. Lingothbavar is seen on the outer wall behind the sanctum. Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu are present on either side of Lingothbavar worshipping Him. There is a separate shrine for Sri Veerabadhrar behind the sanctum. Sri Veerabadhrar is said to have been created from the sweat of Lord Shiva in order to defeat Daksha who was the father-in-law of Lord Shiva.

Sri Subramanya's shrine is present at the north-west side of the outer prakaram. Sri Subramanyar is magnificently adorned and is seen with His consorts - Sri Valli and Sri Dhevasena. All the three deities are carved out of a single stone. Lord Muruga’s vahana (carrier) peacock is present outside the shrine, facing it. On entering the temple one comes across the Bali Peeta or the sacrificial altar, and a resplendent Nandhi is present outside the sanctum, facing west. Further down the temple one can enter the Artha Mantapa (Central Hall) where there are idols of Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya installed on the sides of the entrances to the Garbhagriha. Lord Ganesha here is holding a mango fruit in His hand instead of the regular modak and is called ‘Mangani Vinayagar’. The place Mangadu itself got its name as it was once a vast mango forest.

Across from this one can enter the Maha Mantapa and have darshan of Lord Velleeswarar or Lord Sukreswara in the Linga form. The Lord himself is a 6-feet-tall shivalinga sporting a square avudaiyar. This is the case with all Shiva temples where Sri Kamakshi is the presiding deity in the town. Elsewhere in the Temple are the figurines of Lord Dakshinamoorthy, an exquisite lingothbavar and Sri Durga just after the Chandikeswara shrine. The temple also has separate shrines for Lord Kasi Viswanatha and Lord Sundaresa along with their consorts Visalakshi and Meenakshi respectively. The temple has a separate shrine for the Navagrahas as well. Friday pooja is considered auspicious in this temple.

It is said that people visiting Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple should also have dharshan at Sri Velleeswarar Temple and Sri Vaikunda Perumal Temple in Mangadu, as all these three temples are interconnected with the history of Sri Kamakshi Amman.

References

"Sri Velleswarar Temple".

^ Indira Srivatsa (27 April 2024). A TO Z INDIA - MAY 2024. A TO Z INDIA.

[1] Indira Srivatsa (27 April 2024). A TO Z INDIA - MAY 2024. A TO Z INDIA.

[1]

v t e Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu
Chennai	Ashtalakshmi Kovil Chennakesava Perumal Temple, Chennai Ekambareswarar Temple, Chennai Ettampadai Kalikambal Temple Kapaleeshwarar Temple Madhya Kailash Mallikesvarar Temple, Chennai Marundeeswarar Temple Nandeeswarar Temple Parthasarathy Temple Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Prathyangira Devi Temple, Shollinganallur Ravishwarar Sri Balaji Temple, T. Nagar Tiruvalithayam Vadapalani Andavar Temple Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple Jagannath Temple
Tirunelveli district	Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple Kulashekharanatha Mahalingam Temple, Pathai Nellaiappar Temple Sankaranayinarkoil Thirukutralam Thirumalai Kovil Vaithya lingam temple Vanniappar Temple
Vellore district	Apatsahayesvarar Temple, Alangudi Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple, Tirukannamangai Engan Murugan Temple Kalyana Varadharaja Perumal Temple Kothandarama Temple, Thillaivilagam Nadutariappar Temple Paampuranathar Temple, Thirupampuram

v t e Places of worship in Chennai
Temples	Adikesava Perumal temple Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple Royapuram Angala Parameswari Temple Alamelumangapuram Anjaneya Temple Nanganallur Anjaneya Temple Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple Luz Anjaneya Temple Apparswami Temple Ashtalakshmi Kovil Choolaimedu Angalamman Temple Anna Nagar Ayyappan Koil Muthialpet Bairagimadam Temple Chennakesava Perumal Temple Chennai Om Sri Skandhashramam Chintadri Pillaiyar Kovil Dhenupureeswarar Temple Ekambareswarar Temple Elumur Ardhanareeswarar Temple Ettampadai Temple ISKCON Temple Puri Jagannath Temple Kachchaleswarar Temple Kalikambal Temple Saidapet Kamakshi Amman Temple Mangadu Kamakshi Amman Temple Kamaleswarar Temple Kandaswami Temple Kapaleeshwarar Temple Mylapore Karaneeswarar Temple Saidapet Karaneeswarar Temple Karumariamman Temple Ayanavaram Kasi Viswanatha Temple Mambalam Kasi Viswanatha Temple Mambalam Kothandaramar Temple Nandambakkam Kothandaramaswami Temple Muthialpet Krishnaswami Temple Kumaran Kundram Kundrathur Nageswarar Temple Kundrathur Murugan Temple Kurungaleeswarar Temple Madhava Perumal temple Madhya Kailash Madras Kali Bari Mallikesvarar Temple Marundeeswarar Temple Melatirupati Mylapore Mundaka Kanni Amman Temple Nandeeswarar Temple Neelagandeeswarar Temple Parasuramalingeswarar Temple Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple Porur Ramanatheswarar Temple Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple Purasawalkam Gangadeeswarar Temple Putlur Amman Temple R.A. Puram Ayyappan Koil Ramakrishna Math Thiruneermalai Ranganatha Temple Ravishwarar Temple Sethu Kshetram Mylapore Shirdi Sai Baba Temple T. Nagar Sri Balaji Temple Thiruporur Kandaswamy temple Thiruvalluvar Temple Thyagaraja Temple Tirusoolanathar Tripurasundari temple Tiruvalithayam Vadapalani Andavar Temple Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple Vedapureeswarar temple Velleeswarar Temple Velveeswarar Temple Vengeeswarar Temple
Churches	Santhome Basilica Armenian Church Church of Our Lady of Light Descanco Church Queenship of Mary Church St Andrew's Church St. George's Cathedral St. Mary's Church Saint Patrick's Cathedral Saint Theresa Church St. Lazarus' Church St. Mark's Church St. Matthias' Church St.Mary's Co-Cathedral Wesley Church
Mosques	Thousand Lights Mosque Bahram Jung Mosque Casa Verona's Mosque Dharma Kidangu Mosque Hafiz Ahmad Khan Mosque Makkah Masjid Mamoor Mosque Masjid-o-Anwari Periamet Mosque Triplicane Labbai Jamaath Mosque
Jain temples	Adinath Digambar Jain Temple Shri Chandraprabhu Jain temple Mylapore Swetamber Jain Temple Shantinath Jain temple
Buddhist temples	Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Centre
Gurudwaras	Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha Gurudwara
Parsi temples	Royapuram fire temple

Mythology

The Temple

See also

References