| Elumur Ardhanareeswarar Temple | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Chennai |
| Deity | LordShiva |
| Location | |
| Location | Chennai |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
 Interactive map of Elumur Ardhanareeswarar Temple | |
| Coordinates | 13°4′41″N80°15′11″E / 13.07806°N 80.25306°E /13.07806; 80.25306 |
Elumur Ardhanareeswarar Temple is aSiva temple inEgmore inChennai inTamil Nadu (India).[1] It is one of the shrines of theVaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil SaiviteNayanarAppar.
The temple is believed to have existed at least since the 7th century CE, whenAppar sang about it. Thus, the temple comes under theVaippu Sthalam group of temples sung byNayanars.[2] Appar calls the place as "Elhu-mur" or "Elhu-oor" or "Ezhumur",[2] literally meaning the "place of seven", which signifies the seven sages, viz. Atri, Brighu, Bharadwaja, Vasishta, Gautama, Kashyapa, and Vishwamitra, all of whom are believed to have worshiped Lord Shiva here.[3] The name was later anglicized as "Egmore". The temple is believed to have fallen into disrepair. Several centuries later, the idols were rediscovered when an old man arranged for cleaning of the tank on the land that he owned. When the water dried, a massiveShivlinga was found buried in the soil along with other idols. The man recovered them and installed them under a thatched roof, and worship began with lighting lamps. Later a new structure was built for the idols. As the idols were submerged in water for a long time, the deity is praised as "Jalakandeswarar".[4]
The temple faces east and has Mahamantapa (great hall), Bali peeta, andNandi mantapa.[4] The presiding deity is known as Ardhanarisvarar (Shiva). His consort is known as Tiripurasundari (Parvathi).[1] Shiva appears in the form ofLingam, mounted on a base known asavudayar of 3.5-feet circumference.[3][4] The Ardhanareeswara form belongs to Satyo Jatham, facing west.[4] The Tripurasundari shrine is located to the left of the presiding deity, facing south.[4]
Outside the sanctum sanctorum, individual shrines ofGanesha,Subramanya,Lakshmi Narayana,Garuda,Anchaneya, and theNavagrahas are present.[1][4] Idols ofDakshinamurthi,Durga, andChandikeshwara found on the goshta wall of the temple.[4] The Lakshmi Narayana Perumal shrine is located to the right of the presiding deity, with the Garuda shrine located opposite, facing Lakshmi Narayana Perumal.[4]
There are also procession deities for all the gods found in the temple, which will be taken on procession during festive days.[4]