Jalakanteswara/Jalakandeswarar Temple Vellore,Tamil Nadu

Jalakandeswarar Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which is located in the Vellore Fort, in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

History

According to legend, there used to a giant ant-hill which had grown over a swayambhu Shiva Lingam at the location where the sanctum sanctorum of temple now stands. This ant-hill was surrounded by stagnant water, as a result of collection of rain water. Chinna Bommi Reddi, a Vijayanagar chieftain, who was controlling the fort had a dream where the Lord Shiva asked him to build a temple at that location. Reddi, proceeded to demolish the anthill, found the lingam and build the temple in 1550 CE, and since the Lingam was surrounded by water (called Jalam in Tamil) the deity was called as Jalakandeswarar (translated as “Lord Siva residing in the water”).[6] The temple was built during the reign of the Vijayanagaram king Sadasivadeva Maharaya (1540–1572 CE). The temple also has the statue of Sri Akhilandeshwari Amma, the consort of Jalakandeswarar.