Thyagaraja Temple, also known as Vadivudai Amman Temple, is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Tiruvottiyur, situated in the northern part of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

This temple is closely related with Sundarar and Pattinathar, the saint poet. At present, the temple is administered and maintained by the Tamil Nadu Government’s Hindu Religious and Endowment Board. This temple is drawn parallel with the temple with the same name, Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur, as both these temples were expanded by King Rajendra Chola I and this is why, both these temples possess exactly the same dance poses of Lord Shiva.

Legend

Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu are three primary gods of Hinduism. Lord Brahma is the creator of Gods and Demons, both of which fight against each other. In this fight, the Asuras (Demons) use the power of their muscles while Devas (Gods) use the power from the sacred texts, Vedas. Once two demons, namely Kaithaba and Madhu succeeded in tricking the Gods and stealing the Vedas. They later on chopped the Vedas into pieces and hid the pieces in the bottom of the sea. Lord Vishnu fought the demons but could not succeed in defeating them and then he prayed to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi to help him, as a result Lord Vishnu was able to defeat the demons. After that, he took the form of a fish (Matasya) to search the Vedas. The recovered pieces of Vedas were brought in this temple and the deity of the temple reunited and purified them.

Also, the Makhizha tree, the wishing tree of Gods, became the sacred tree of this temple.

History

From the Pallava times, this temple has been in vogue since 7th century and it is believed to have been built by Pallava Kings and was widely expanded in 11th century by the Chola kings.

Inside the temple, one can witness a number of inscriptions dating back to 7th century, the Pallava period. It is also believed that the famous 8th century scholar in the advaita school of Hinduism, Sankaracharya visited this temple to free it from the power of evil.

There are many other inscriptions citing the evidences from the Chola period. An inscription from the 13th century indicates the practice of sacrificing the animals to the Goddess which continued till early 2000s. However, a large of this temple got destroyed during the reign of Malik Kafur and the bronze idols which are now present in the temple were installed in the 15th century during the Vijayanagara Period.

This temple has also served as the centre of learning and as a prime venue for religious discourses like Panini’s grammar, Somasiddhantha (Philosophy) and vyakarna (translation).

Architecture

Aadhipureeswarar, the prime and presiding deity of this temple, is in the mud mound form covered by armor.

The main sanctum of the temple possesses Lord Shiva’s idols in the three forms. The first form is formless, that is it is wither light or Agni which human eyes cannot see. The second form is of the snake pit, that is, Swayambu Lingam. The shivling is always kept covered with a kawach.

The third form of Lord Shiva is indescribable, which is present inside the snake pit and it cannot be seen or touched. This form is known as Padampakka Nathar.

There are many shrines in the temple including a Durga Shrine in the northern part of the temple, the Nataraja shrine in the main temple complex, and the Ganpati shrine in the koshta. Behind the main shrine, there are several deity statues installed including the one of Subrahmanya.

Festivals

The prime festival celebrated in the temple is performed in the Masi month as per Tamil Calendar, which comes around February or March. An additional function is celebrated on the eighth day of the month, and is known as Mahiladisevai.

A 15 days long festival is celebrated every year in the honor of Godess Durga and on the last day of the festival, the thatch roof of the event is put to fire to symbolize Kannagi burning the Madurai at the epic’s end.

Best time to visit

As Chennai is a very hot place, going there is summers are not advisable. Thus, the best time to visit the temple is from October – March.

How to Reach

By Train

Chennai is one of the metropolitan cities of India and the nearest rail head is located in Chennai itself. From the railway station, you can easily find taxis or local transport buses to reach the temple.

By Road

Chennai is well connected to rest of the cities of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh through a highly developed network of roads and highways.

By Air

Chennai possesses both International and Domestic airport, and you can easily hire a taxi from the airport to reach the temple.