Shri Aadhipureeswarar Temple Chennai,Tamil Nadu

Legend:

According to legend, the sage Vyagrapada sought a place with abundant Bilva trees to perform a sacred puja to Lord Shiva. To fulfill his wish, Shiva granted him the legs of a tiger, enabling him to collect flowers and leaves swiftly for the worship. From that day onwards, he became known as Vyagrapada. Later, a king in the region learned of Vyagrapada’s story and erected a temple in this location, naming it Puliyur Kottam. (In Sanskrit, “Vyagra” means tiger, and “Puli” in Tamil holds the same meaning.)

History:

The temple dates back at least 700 years and bears inscriptions documenting its renovation during the rule of Krishnadeva Raya.

Temple Layout:

The east facing temple has a small three tiered Raja gopura.

The east facing sanctum enshrines Shiv Linga named as Adipureeswarar.

The south facing shrine of the Goddess Shanta Nayaki is found in the maha mandapa.

At the entrance of the sanctum, the images of Ganesha and Subramanya are situated.

The small flag staff, bali peetha and Nandi mandapa are found facing towards the main shrine.

The wall around the shrine of Shiva has Nardana Vinayaka, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Vishnu Durga as the Koshta icons.

The wall around the shrine of Shanta Nayaki has Kamakshi, Lakshmi and Saraswati as the Koshta deities.