CHENNAI: The Kandaswamy (Murugan) temple, popularly known as Kandakottam, in Park Town, Chennai, is one of the best known places of worship in Chennai. Legend says two devotees of Subramanya — Mari Chetty and Kandapandaram — used to visit the well-known temple in Thiruporur (OMR) every month on Krithikai nakshatram. In 1632, when they reached Thiruporur and rested under a tree, they received a divine instruction that an image of Murugan was inside an ant-hill near the tank of Thiruporur which they ought to find and take to Madras for worship. The devotees did so and Mari Chetty constructed a temple for this deity. About 200 years back, this temple was reconstructed as it was in a dilapidated condition.
The main deity, brought from Thiruporur and enshrined in the main sanctum, is worshipped as Kandaswamy. The image, about two feet tall, is flanked by consorts Valli and Devayanai. In the upper hands, Lord Kandaswamy holds the weapons named Vajra Shakti and Sula Shakti.
His lower right hand is in the pose of blessing devotees (abhaya hasta) and lower left hand rests on the waist (kati hasta). The mandapa in front has pillars with beautiful sculptures including Heramba Ganapati (one of the 32 forms of Ganesa), Lord Siva performing the urdhva-tandava (with one leg raised vertically) and Lord Siva’s epic marriage with Parvati (Kalyana Sundara).
The famous processional deity known as Muthukumara Swamy is enshrined in a separate sanctum in front of which is the large utsava mandapam. Valli and Deivayanai are on either side. Close to the large temple tank which is called Saravana Poigai, located inside the premises of the temple, is a shrine for Ganesha (called Kulakkarai Vinayaka) seen with consorts Siddhi and Buddhi and another for Kasi Viswanatha and Visalakshi.
Chithra Madhavan
cityexpresschn@gmail.com