Mylapore, home to numerous temples, is among the oldest and most historic places in Chennai. One among the well-known Vishnu temples in this area is dedicated to Madhava Perumal. The story of this place and the temple are mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana in the section called Mayurapuri Mahatmyam, which refers to the area as Madhava Puram. It is said that in reply to Veda Vyasa’s query as to which place is suitable for penance in Kali Yuga, Lord Vishnu replied that the best was Madhavapuram where Brighu Maharishi’s hermitage (ashram) was situated.
This temple’s tradition states that when Goddess Mahalakshmi arose from the ocean of milk as it was being churned, Vishnu sent her to Brighu Maharishi’s hermitage in Mayurapuri. The rishi brought her up and named her Amritavalli. Vishnu as Madhava Perumal married Amritavalli in the Tamil month of Panguni during Uttiram asterism (nakshatram). It is believed that this temple is situated in the place where the sage Bhrigu’s ashram existed.
Madhava Perumal, also called Kalyana Madhava, is in a seated posture flanked by consorts Sri Devi and Bhu Devi. The large and exquisite utsava murti of this shrine deserves special mention. In the mandapa in front of the principal sanctum is the shrine for Peyazhvar (one of the twelve important devotees of Vishnu), while all the other Azhvars are worshipped in a sanctum in the courtyard. This is in keeping with the special position given to Peyazhvar in Mylapore, his birth-place (avatara-sthala).
The shrines for Goddess Lakshmi worshipped as Amritavalli Thayar, and Andal are to the right and left of the main sanctum respectively. There are separate sanctums for Rama,Venugopala and also a famous shrine for Bhu Varaha, popularly known as Jnanappiran in this temple.