Chennai: Gangadeeswarar Temple located at Purasawalkam is a shrine of historical significance. The temple’s history dates back to the period of Rama’s forefather Bhagiratha, who first kept a Siva idol at this place and worshipped the deity. A temple was later built by Kulothunga Chola.
The temple is many centuries old and speaking about its history, the priest says, “Bhagiratha was a forefather to Lord Rama and it is said that due to a curse, Bhagiratha had to build 1,008 Siva temples around the country and when he was searching for a place for the 1,008th temple, the God appeared before him and asked him to do so in a place which has a thick cover of Purasa trees. He chose this place and kept a Linga and started worshipping it using the Ganga water. Hence the Lord bears the name Gangadeeswarar.”
The temple is said to have been later built by Kulothunga Cholan. Upon entering the inner prakara of the temple, in the main sanctum, Lord Gangadeeswarar is present in Linga form on the outer wall of the main sanctum, on the left, Lord Vinayaga and Dakshinamoorthy are present adjacent to each other. On the back wall, Lord Brahma and Vishnu are present and on the right wall Goddess Durga is present with Chandikeshwarar opposite to it.
The inner prahara also has separate sanctums for Utsava Moorthies, Lord Subramaniar along with Valli and Deivanai, Maha Ganapathy, Naagar and also has 63 Nayanmars. On the outer prahara there is a separate sanctum for Lord Vaitheeswarar on the right side. Adjacent to it is a sanctum for Lord Siddhi Vinayagar. Opposite to it is a separate sanctum for Goddess Pankajavalli.
There is also a Linga present outside along with a Nandhi. The Linga bears the name Kurundamalleeswarar and it has been kept especially for the north Indian devotees who can worship the Lord themselves doing the abhishekam. Also by going around the outer prahara, we can see a spot where a tall idol depicting Viswaroopa Darshan of Siva. “One speciality here is that every day during 7 pm, a special show will be conducted for the devotees where a voice will tell about the history of the temple,” adds the priest.
The inner walls are also decorated with sculptures depicting scenes from Sivapuranam and Thiruvilayadal. The stahala vriksha of the temple is the Purasa Tree. “One speciality of the deity here is that whatever problem the people
have, once they come here and pray to the Lord all their troubles will be washed away,” said the priest.
The temple also has a big tank located close to it. Special poojas are done in the temple during Navarathri and Sivarathri. “During Sivarathri four kaala poojas will be done throughout the night. During Navarathri on all the 10 days the Ambal will be decorated and special poojas are done to the Goddess. During the month of Vaikasi, a six-day Vizha will happen in the temple where the Utsava Moorthies will be taken on a procession on all days. Also, special poojas are done to Sani Bhagavan and Guru during Sani and Guru peyarchi,” adds the priest.
The temple is open from 7 am to 11 am and from 4.30 pm to 9 pm.