Ardhanareeswarar, Egmore, Chennai

Basic information about the temple

Moolavar:	Ardhanareeswarar	Ambal / Thayar:	Tripurasundari
Deity:	Siva	Historical name:
Vriksham:		Teertham:
Agamam:		Age (years):	500-1000
Timing:	7 to 11 & 5.30 to 8.30	Parikaram:
Temple group:	Vaippu Sthalam	–
Sung by:		Temple set:
Navagraham:		Nakshatram:
City / town:	Egmore	District:	Chennai
Maps from (click):	Current location	Chennai (1 km)	Tiruvallur (48 km)
	Kanchipuram (82 km)	Vellore (154 km)

Location

Sthala puranam and temple information

Tucked away in a small cul-de-sac in the heart of Egmore, is a Tevaram Vaippu Sthalam that finds mention in one of Appar’s pathigams. However, very few would have heard of this temple, and even fewer would have visited here.

This temple should have existed at least in the 7^th century, when Appar sang about it. However, while there is no recorded sthala puranam for this temple, there are some interesting stories associated with the temple and the etymology of Egmore itself.

Egmore is the anglicised version of Ezhumbur, the Tamil name of the place. That itself is a slight modification of Ezhu-Mur or Ezhu-Oor, as it appears in Appar’s pathigam. The Ezhu here means “seven” in Tamil, and refers to the seven sages – Atri, Brighu, Bharadwaja, Vasishta, Gautama, Kashyapa, and Viswamitra – who are believed to have worshipped Siva here.

Another interpretation of Ezhumur is that this was the place of awakening (ezhu in Tamil also means to arise). This may be connected to the fact that the Cooum river runs just south of the temple, and at this point it flows north (and is referred to as Uttara-Vahini), before again turning east. This northward movement is significant in Hinduism, as it indicates spiritual growth / awakening, and may have resulted in the name Ezhum-Oor.

A few hundred years ago, and old farmer and some of his fellow farmers in the area were trying to desilt a water body, when they found a massive Lingam. They extracted it from the ground and installed it here. Later, a superstructure was built to make it a formal temple. That Lingam is the one present in the temple today, and has a circumference of 3.5 feet. Because the Lingam was found in the water, Siva here is also called Jalakandeswarar. There is another story that suggests that the Lingam here was brought from Kailasam, but there is no evidence to support this.

Despite its small size, the temple has several deities in their respective shrines. Behind the moolavar Lingam is a bronze murti of Siva united with Parvati, as Ardhananareeswarar, seated on the Rishabha Vahanam.

Interestingly, Vishnu is also present here along with Lakshmi. as Lakshmi Narayana Perumal, in a separate east-facing shrine to the left of the garbhagriham (as we view it). So, both Siva and Vishnu are here, with their respective consorts. However, the temple does not have a gopuram or dhwajasthambam.