| Kundrathur Nageswarar Temple | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Chennai |
| Deity | Nageshwara (Lord Shiva) |
| Location | |
| Location | Kundrathur |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Chennai | |
| Coordinates | 12°59′53″N80°05′37″E / 12.9981°N 80.0936°E /12.9981; 80.0936 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Hindu temple architecture |
| Creator | Sekkilar |
| Completed | 12th century CE |
| Temple | 1 |
Kundrathur Nageswarar Temple, also known asVada Thirunageswaram, is aHindu temple dedicated toShiva, located in the neighbourhood ofKundrathur inChennai,India. The temple was built in the 12th century by theShivite saintSekkilar and is modelled on theThirunageswaram temple atKumbakonam.[1]
The temple is one of the nineNavagraha temples of theTondai Mandalam and is known as theRahu sthala (lit. place ofRahu).[2]
Sekkilar, the 12th-century Shivaite poet-saint and the author of thePeriya Puranam, built the temple at his native place of Kundrathur after visiting theNageshwara Swami temple inTirunageswaram nearKumbakonam, which is associated withRahu, one of thenavagrahas (nineplanets) ofHinduism. Since the temple at Kundrathur is situated to the north of the original temple at Thirunageshwaram, the temple came to be known asVada Nageshwaram (lit. "North Nageshwaram").[3] The temple features severalChola architectural elements.[1]
The temple has 46 stone inscriptions including those of Kulothunga Chola III (1178–1218 CE), Rajendra Chola III (1246–1271 CE), Sundara Pandiyan (1251–1271 CE), Maravarman Kulasekara Pandiyan I (1268–1311 CE), Harihara Rayar I (1509–1592 CE), and Sriranga Devarayar (1582–1592 CE).[4]
The temple is located on the Kundrathur Main Road.[5] The main deity of the temple is Lord Nageswarar (Shiva) and his consort goddess Kamakshi Amman (Parvathi). The main entrance with a five-tier tower (raja gopuram) lies on the eastern side of the complex.[1] The main entrance leads to amandapa or auditorium of the Chola times, near which a shrine for Kamakshi Amman is present.[1] The main deity is theshiva linga, worshipped as Nageshwara Swami, and theutsava-murti or the deity of procession isSomaskanda.[1] There is also a separate shrine for Sekkilar, where the idol of the scholar-devotee sports a garland of prayer beads (japa mala) in his right hand and palm-leaf manuscripts in his left hand.[1] Several inscriptions of the reigns of the Chola, Pandya, and Vijayanagara monarchs, and the kings such as Rajanarayana Sambuvarayar have been discovered in the temple.[1]
The temple is one of the nine Shiva temples aroundPorur associated with theNavagraha.[1] The temple's holy theertham (pond) is known as Suryapushkarini and the sacred tree is theshenbagam (Michelia champaka) tree.[4]
A school of 70 pupils functions at the temple premises, which was started in September 1990.[5]
The temple conducts annualbrahmosthsawam that spans 10 days around Chithra Pournami (April).[3]
