CHENNAI : Marakannam, situated on the East Coast Road (ECR) from Chennai to Puducherry, has an ancient Siva temple, wherein this deity is worshipped as Bhumishwarar. The temple faces east with only a concrete doorway at the entrance. On entering the temple, the flag-staff (dwajastambham) and the Nandi can be seen. There are a number of pillars of the Vijayanagara style of architecture in front of the dwajastambham, with a wall at the back with a large number of historical inscriptions etched on.
A door leads to the inner enclosure from which visitors can enter the main sanctum to the right. The doorway to the central sanctum, which enshrines the Linga worshipped as Swayambhu (self-manifest), is flanked by a pair of doorguardians (dwarapalakas) belonging to the Chola times while the mandapam in front also has pillars dating to the same era.
The niches (devakoshta) around the principal shrine and the mandapa in front have the images of Bhikshatana, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga. Interestingly, atop the Dakshinamurti image is a carving of a bull while the niches of Vishnu and Brahma have the sculptures of a lion and a swan (hamsa) respectively. Goddess Parvati is enshrined as Girijambal with a Nandi in front.
Many inscriptions including Chola epigraphs belonging to the time of Rajaraja Chola I, Rajendra Chola I and Rajadhiraja Chola I as well as a few of the Vijayanagara times are etched on the walls. They mention donations to the temple for lamps, flower-garlands and also provision for repairs.
Interestingly, in the Chola and Vijayanagara times, salt pans were given as donations to this temple, due to the proximity to the sea. These informative epigraphs state that the ancient name of the main deity was Bhumishvaram Udaiyar. Marakkanam was known as Manakkanam, Rajaraja Peralam and Eyirpattinam. This sea-side town was known situated in Pattina Nadu, a subdivision of Oyma Nadu in Jayankondachola Mandalam.