The Temples of Nanganallur, Chennai

My cousin's cherished long time wish was to visit the Nanganallur Anjaneyar temple (Hanuman temple). Her birthday that fell on a weekend gave us the time to plan for the occasion. So we arranged for a cab and left at 8.30am. I had heard about the greatness of the temple from friends and relatives, and had made a sankalpa to visit the temple at sometime. As with all things, there is a time for everything.

The 32 feet Viswaroopa Adhivyadhihara Sri Bhaktha Anjaneya Swamy, a monolith is a sight to behold. Sri Anjaneyar came to stay in Nanganallur with the blessings of the Sri Raghavendra and Sri Paramacharyal and is believed to hold special powers. Visiting the temple on Saturdays is considered auspicious. The idol is beautifully adorned in lovely silk and combination of flowers and tulsi garland on normal days. (In this picture, the Chandana Kaapu has been offered - Sandalwood paste).

Devotees are also given holy water and prasadam, which can include hot delicious Pongal, or Sesame seed with pepper rice, or other varieties prepared at that time.

The temple also houses the beautiful Kodhanda Rama with Lakshmana and Sita, a small idol of VInayaka, Sarpa, and Sri Krishna. Tulabaram is also performed in front of the Krishna temple.

There are other innumerable ancient temples, all a stone's throwaway from the Anjaneya temple. We also went to the Guruvayoor temple, built according to the Kerla style Guruvayur temple; the Raghavendra temple with his disciples; the Bhagavathi temple; and last, but not the least, the Raja Rajeshwari temple, believed to have come up even earlier than the Anjaneyar temple. Sri Bhairavar, Sri Vinayaga, Sri Durga, Sri Satyanarayana are the deities that are worshipped here. Constructed in 1970 by Sri Rajagoplaswamy, there are 16 steps leading to the deity. She was believed to have emerged from the Homa kundam.

The devotees go around the temple in the anti-clockwise direction.

There are tons of other temples to visit around the area. But for want of time, we had to return home by lunch. Nevertheless, it was a fulfilling trip.