The Karaneeswarar temple on Bazaar Road, Mylapore, dedicated to Lord Siva, is one of the most ancient temples of Chennai. The central shrine which houses a Shiva Linga faces east while the smaller one for Parvati enshrined here as Porkkodi Amman, adjacent to the main sanctum, faces south. You can enter both these shrines through a mandapa with pillars of Chola times.
This mandapa has an image of Surya, with a lotus in each hand and halo around the head. The pillars here have small carvings at the base including those of a few devotees who probably gave donations to this temple in times bygone and some that look like dancers. However, they have thick coatings of paint on them making them difficult to identify.
Also seen in the same mandapa are the stone images of three of the 63 Nayanmars or devotees of Shiva namely Appar, Thirugnanasambandar and Sundaramurti who composed the Devaram hymns. Alongside is an image of Manickavachagar of the 8th Century, a peerless Shiva devotee who was the composer of Tiruvachagam.
Another image here is of Sekkizhar who lived in the 12th century in the Chola times and who wrote the famous Periya Puranam, chronicling the life-history of the 63 Nayanmars in the reign of Kulottunga Chola II (1133-1150 AD). All the five historic personages have enriched Tamil literature. Tirugnanasambandar’s connection with Chennai from his visit to Mylapore is well known and Sekkizhar was born at Kunrattur close to Chennai.
A dozen inscriptions in this temple were documented many years ago. A few have been assigned to the reign of Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 AD) and Kulottunga Chola III (1178-1218 AD). An inscription refers to a donation of a lamp by devotees to the ‘God of Tiruvanmiyur’. An inscription on the north wall also registers a gift of four cows and four calves to the temple in Tiruvanmiyur by a lady.
(The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture)