Navagraha temples in chennai near porur –Thiru Naageshwarar Temple Kunrathur-Rahu sthalam

As already written by me in the previous post the temple was built by Sri Sekkizhaar who wrote the popular ‘Periya Puranam’. This temple is a famous Rahu ketu parihara  sthalam near chennai.
The temple is situated right behind the bus stand of kunrathur and very easy to find.(Kunrathur can also be easily reached from Porur where if you follow the extension of Arcot road you will reach the town in 4 kms or you can also reach it from Mangadu/poonamallee)


(The approach road to the vada thirunaageshwaram temple which is seen in the far distance)
Legend:

Sekkizhaar was born in Kunrathur itself. The king made Sekkizhaar his minister at his capital. Sekkizhaar was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and was regularly worshipping Lord Shiva at Thirunaageswaram near Kumbakonam.
During later stages, Sekkizhaar built a temple for Lord Shiva at Kunrathur which is very similar to the Thirunaageswaram temple. He installed the deity (Shiva Lingam) with Naagaabaranam (snake as an ornament) around the Shiva Lingam and named the Lord as Sri Naageswarar.
There is a huge temple tank just outside the temple

(The main entrance to the temple)

view as you enter
The first praharam as you enter houses the Kamakshi devi sannidhi in the standing posture on the left hand side.Goddess Sri Kamakshi is facing south .The next praharam houses the Sivalingam in all its resplendence The Naga aabharanams around the shiva is what makes him special here to ward off the evils of Rahu and Ketu.Sri Naageswarar is seen facing east
Sri Sekkizhaar also has a separate shrine inside the temple.


There is a seperate navagraha sannidhi in the outer praharam

Nandi seen on a seperate pedestal facing the main sanctum

View of the temple from outside

Nagai mugai ambal sametha Kandhazheeswarar temple

This temple on the foot hills of the Kunrathur temple is truly enchanting. It was built by Kulathungachola II with generous modifications by Chera and Pandya kings as per inscriptions found here. The temple is opposite the residence of sekkhizhiar the Chola prime minister and author of the periapuranam fame who it seems sat here and composed many poems of the peria puranam here.(The dilapidated house can still be seen)
The temple is unique that the main entrance leads to Ambal sannidhi( seen in the back ground here) unlike in other siva  temple and the ambal is facing south.

The kumbabishekam was done about 40 days ago and there was a special puja yesterday with a 1000 sanghu abhishekams and homams  the ambal was decked with sandal paste and was truly enchanting
Legend: The Sivalingam here was prayed to by Subramania on his travels and hence he is called Kandhazheeswarar.The other reasons for the names are
In pure tamil Kandhu stands for tree. The story is there used to be  a very
ancient tree right at the spot where the Linga is today. People used
to worship the tree as it was considered very auspicious. Once the
tree withered away they constructed a temple at the same place and
hence the name Kanhdaeshwar.

Also in tamil Kandhe stands for evil. Kandhaeshwar is the destroyer of all evil
Another meaning for kandhu is infinity. Since the linga in pure form
is a beam of light with no beginning and end, Surya worshiped Lord
Shiva in this place and hence the name Kandhaeshwar. There is a
separate worship place for Suriya in this temple.

All these different interpretations are found in different puranas.
But according to periya puranam the last one is the correct
interpretation of the Lord's name.
As you enter the main gate you see sannidhis for Vinayaka and murugan on your left
As you enter the main temple you can see the goddess Nagai Mugai amman(Smiling face) sannidhi  which is truly enchanting. Equally enchanting is the huge sivalingam bedecked with flowers in the main sannidhi.
The Gajaprushti vimanam signifies early chola influence and a swayumbhu lingam .Next to the main sannidhi are the utsava Moorthies of Muruga and valli devasena.
The outer courtyard has been neatly paved with tiles and it was very peaceful.



( A panel depicting Kannappa nayanar fresco found during the renovation)

Navagraha sannidhi seen on the lotus

A view of the dwajastambham and balipeedam seen in the western courtyard
we had a lovely morning experience. unfortunately the perumal koil next door was locked so we could not see it as it was being renovated.. The next stop was the Vada Naageshwaram an 800 year old temple built by the chola prime minister!