Kundrathur
Encyclopedia
Kundrathur is a village in Kancheepuram district in the India
n state
of Tamil Nadu
. Kundrathur Murugan Temple is located in this town. It is a lesser known fact that this town is also home to the Navagraha Temples ( 9 Temples for 9 planets) of Thondai Nadu. The town also has a college, Madha Engineering College which is ranked 14th in Chennai. This is an upcoming neighborhood for migrating population from places like Nanganallur.
, Kundrathur had a population of 25,028. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kundrathur has an average literacy rate of 72% (national average is 59.5%) male literacy is 30%, and female literacy is 40%. In Kundrathur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. A lot pf working population is migrating to this place as this is close to two of the major work hubs Viz Sriperumbudur ( Industrial Belt ) and Porur ( IT Hub).
Kundrathur is situated in the middle of Porur, Poonamalee and Pallavaram. There is a famous Lord Muruga Temple here. In this hill temple, Lord Subramaniar is in a standing posture along with 2 Goddesses by his side. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Subramaniar stayed in the hill during his travel from Tiruporur to Truttanigai. This place is also known as South Thanigai since Lord Subramaniar is standing facing the direction of north, facing Thanigai.
This is the only Murugan temple in Tamil Nadu where the God is standing in a north facing direction. This temple was constructed by King Kulothunga Chola - II. The speciality of this temple is that Lord Subramaniar can be seen only with one Goddess at a time even though he is there along with both the Goddesses.
The God cannot be seen with both the Goddess at the same time. If the God is viewed from one side he can be seen along with Goddess Valli and viewed from the other side, he can be seen along with Goddess Deivanai.
This place is home to around 9 Temples most of which is now not maintained properly and foundations like conserve heritage are getting the same renovated.
A few functioning temples to visit would be:
Sri Kandazheeswarar Nagaimukavalli Eswaran Temple
Surya prayed to Lord Shiva to get his power revived and hence the name. The Lord is seen as a huge Lingam and Goddess is seen facing South with the left foot forward, indicating that this temple is a parihara sthalam. Also the fact that the base of the shiva lingam is square in shape indicates the same. The unique feature of the temple gopuram is that it looks like an elephant's back which is seen in Kulothunga chozan architecture.
Sri Thiru-Uraga Perumal Temple
Thiru-Uraga Perumal and Thiru Iruntha Valli: A Temple of Kulothunga Chozan Period dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his consort. Good temple currently in final stages of renovation. The lord is seen in the standing posture.
In the road towards the Murugan temple, this temple is located just about 100 meters before the Murugan temple.
The main deity, Thiru-Uraga Perumal, is seven feet tall and the thayar, Thiruvirundhavalli Thayar are usually very well decorated. The deities’ decorations very clearly demonstrate the devotion of the Bhattacharyars towards their Master. It is sure that anybody passing through the road will automatically be attracted inside with the little and beautiful glimpse of the deity from the road.
The remains of a pillared mandapam spoke of a grand edifice built probably during Kulothunga or Karikala Chozhan’s period. The inscriptions found inside the temple indicate that this was well patronized during the reign of the Vijayanagar dynasty also. A very recent inscription was interesting. It recorded verses on the deity that had appeared in the dreams of a local Tamil teacher which when recited gave the area copious rain!
Navagraha Temples of Chennai ( Thondai Nadu) in and around Kundrathur
Kolapakkam-Suryan
Agastheeswarar Koil – Kozapakkam, is the Surya shrine, (Sun)
Location: This lies sandwiched in the link road between the Kundrathur and Mount Poonamallee High Road.
The unique feature is that the three main deities The Sun God, Bairava Idol and the Shivalingam (to be seen through Salaram (window) all at the same time. Many stone scriptures are seen scattered all around the temple. The landscape and garden around this temple is maintained excellently well.
Local folk say that due to the power of Surya (Sun God) here, most of the inhabitants have secured Government jobs!
A beautiful water pond is in front of the temple.
Somangalam Chandra (Moon) sthala
Location: Sandwiched in a place between the road from Kundrathur to Sriperumbudur.
This has Somanatheeswarar as the main deity. The Chandra adorning Shiva is worshipped.
A legend says that the Nandi was cursed to look the opposite side, as it got over confident and thought that it was better than the Lord Himself on winning a war against invaders!!
This temple also ahs an unique statue of BRAHMA SUBRAHMANIAR – Subramania who did the work of Brahma, while Brahma was put behind bars, by Subrahmania himself!! When Brahma came to Kailasa, the abode of Shiva, the young Subrahmania @Karthikeya, stopped Brahma on the way. Brahma showed arrogance and challenged Karthikeya, saying that he was one among the Trinity, doing the job of a Creator and none dared to stop him.
Karthikeya asked the meaning for Aum . Brahma could not decipher the meaning of this Pranava Mantra.
To condemn his ignorance and arrogance, Brahma was imprisoned and Karthikeya took the mantle of a creator for a while!
The priest here is for the 11th generation FROM THE SAME FAMILY which is doing Pooja for ages! There were few idols sctattered around the temple.
The sthala vriksha here is “Sarakondrai”.
Poonamallee-Sevvai-Angaraka-Mars
Thayal Nayagi Udanurai Vaitheesaran Koil ( Goddess named as Thayal Nayagi and the Shiva called as Vaideeswaran, is the Sevvai @ Angaraka Kshetram – (Mars) .
The temple is lavish, big and well maintained. Here the temple has a separate Sevvai Padam (legs) and a statue of the Sthala Vruksha Thaazhi Panai Maram (Thazhi Palm) and also 3 Chakrams which were established here by the Adi Shankara (Sri Chakram, Subramania Chakram, Shanmuga Chakram) near the Subramania Swami Sannidhi.
The munmandapam near the Shiva Shrine has beautiful carvings on the roof. The South entrance has some interesting sculptures on either side.
Gerugambakkam - Kethu
Kethusthalam -Gerukambakkam
Location : At the left side of the road in the Kovur- Kundrathur Road.
At the left hand of the entrance we see a separate Snake idol worshipped as the Kethu shrine.
The Amman strikes your sight as it is facing the entrance. So, big, majestic,beautiful!
The Goddess attracts your concentration and attention. Only those who see it will believe it!! So, powerful is this Adi Kamakshi Amman and the Shiva here is Neelakandeswarar.
Porur - Guru
Guru sthala-(Jupiter) - Porur Ramanadeswarar Koil,
This temple is the situated in Eswaran Koil Street. This is also called as Uthara Rameswaram, and is being maintained beautifully. Well lit, the main Shiva Linga well decorated and taken care off.
Mangadu - Sukran
For ages the temple was in ruins, but now the current Trust of the nearby famous Maangadu Mariamman Temple, have understood that the Shiva Linga (Vellieeswarar) here was worshipped by the Parvathi in penance seen at Maangadu Amman temple itself.
Aftermath, the story goes beyond as Vishnu who solemnized the marriage of Shiva-Parvathi thereafter, also has a near by temple here. This Vishnu carries the jewels for the marriage in his hands!
All the three temples are near by (Vellieeswarar, Maangadu Amman, Vishnu).
It is said that Sukra worshipped the Lingam here.
It is believed that those who have eye ailments will surely get cured by worshipping the lord here.
Budhan Sthalam - Kovur Thirumeyneeswarar
This Shiva temple is the Budhan Sthalam. The entrance is picturesque with an array of houses and tall Asoka Trees on either side.
This temple has the unique Maha Vilvam as its Sthala Vruksham. (Sacred tree in the temple) which has bunch of 27 leaves in one single stalk!!!
This is the place where Saint Thyagaraja sang the Kovur Panchartanam on Shiva.
Thirunageshwaram:
This is considered as the Raagu sthalam for the Navagraha worship and was built by the descendents of Sekkizhaar (who wrote Periya Puranam). Here the Nagabharanam around the linga is supposed to be the Rahu for worship. This place is also called as Vada Thirunageswaram. The temple and its tank are clean and well maintained.
Sri Agastheeswarar temple at Pozhichalur
This is being considered as the Sani (Saturn) sthalam for the Navagraha worship. The main deity is Agastheeswarar with His consort Anandavalli Thayar. The temple has a separate Sani shrine and called as ‘Vada Thirunallaru’. This is also a renowned Nadi Pariharashthalam and people around say that foreigners and north Indians throng the temple to do parihaara for their dhosha if informed through Naadi Josyam!
The temple is of 12th century architecture. It is said that the Shivalingam appeared when the native Mudaliars ploughed the land.
Other Temples here would be:
and Thiruporur
and kovoor where other Lord Muruga temples are located.
The proposed Outer ring road which passes close to Kundrathur town will give a big boost in development.
A lot of Share auto's also ply from Pallavaram and Porur to Kundrathur
Pallavaram and Porur are 7kms from here.
, a poet and the chief minister in the court of King Kulothunga Chola II and compiler of Periya Puranam
, the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanmars, the poets of Shiva who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai
, hailed from this town.
Little Flower Matriculation School is also there in the same Sambandam Nagar Locality.
Sekkizhar Government Higher Secondary School and Government Girls Higher Secondary School run on State Board Syllabus.
Also it has a couple of other Schools which follow uniform syllabus as per TN Government.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Kundrathur Murugan Temple is located in this town. It is a lesser known fact that this town is also home to the Navagraha Temples ( 9 Temples for 9 planets) of Thondai Nadu. The town also has a college, Madha Engineering College which is ranked 14th in Chennai. This is an upcoming neighborhood for migrating population from places like Nanganallur.
Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Kundrathur had a population of 25,028. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kundrathur has an average literacy rate of 72% (national average is 59.5%) male literacy is 30%, and female literacy is 40%. In Kundrathur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. A lot pf working population is migrating to this place as this is close to two of the major work hubs Viz Sriperumbudur ( Industrial Belt ) and Porur ( IT Hub).
Temple
Kundrathur Murugan TempleKundrathur is situated in the middle of Porur, Poonamalee and Pallavaram. There is a famous Lord Muruga Temple here. In this hill temple, Lord Subramaniar is in a standing posture along with 2 Goddesses by his side. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Subramaniar stayed in the hill during his travel from Tiruporur to Truttanigai. This place is also known as South Thanigai since Lord Subramaniar is standing facing the direction of north, facing Thanigai.
This is the only Murugan temple in Tamil Nadu where the God is standing in a north facing direction. This temple was constructed by King Kulothunga Chola - II. The speciality of this temple is that Lord Subramaniar can be seen only with one Goddess at a time even though he is there along with both the Goddesses.
The God cannot be seen with both the Goddess at the same time. If the God is viewed from one side he can be seen along with Goddess Valli and viewed from the other side, he can be seen along with Goddess Deivanai.
This place is home to around 9 Temples most of which is now not maintained properly and foundations like conserve heritage are getting the same renovated.
A few functioning temples to visit would be:
Sri Kandazheeswarar Nagaimukavalli Eswaran Temple
Surya prayed to Lord Shiva to get his power revived and hence the name. The Lord is seen as a huge Lingam and Goddess is seen facing South with the left foot forward, indicating that this temple is a parihara sthalam. Also the fact that the base of the shiva lingam is square in shape indicates the same. The unique feature of the temple gopuram is that it looks like an elephant's back which is seen in Kulothunga chozan architecture.
Sri Thiru-Uraga Perumal Temple
Thiru-Uraga Perumal and Thiru Iruntha Valli: A Temple of Kulothunga Chozan Period dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his consort. Good temple currently in final stages of renovation. The lord is seen in the standing posture.
In the road towards the Murugan temple, this temple is located just about 100 meters before the Murugan temple.
The main deity, Thiru-Uraga Perumal, is seven feet tall and the thayar, Thiruvirundhavalli Thayar are usually very well decorated. The deities’ decorations very clearly demonstrate the devotion of the Bhattacharyars towards their Master. It is sure that anybody passing through the road will automatically be attracted inside with the little and beautiful glimpse of the deity from the road.
The remains of a pillared mandapam spoke of a grand edifice built probably during Kulothunga or Karikala Chozhan’s period. The inscriptions found inside the temple indicate that this was well patronized during the reign of the Vijayanagar dynasty also. A very recent inscription was interesting. It recorded verses on the deity that had appeared in the dreams of a local Tamil teacher which when recited gave the area copious rain!
Navagraha Temples of Chennai ( Thondai Nadu) in and around Kundrathur
Kolapakkam-Suryan
Agastheeswarar Koil – Kozapakkam, is the Surya shrine, (Sun)
Location: This lies sandwiched in the link road between the Kundrathur and Mount Poonamallee High Road.
The unique feature is that the three main deities The Sun God, Bairava Idol and the Shivalingam (to be seen through Salaram (window) all at the same time. Many stone scriptures are seen scattered all around the temple. The landscape and garden around this temple is maintained excellently well.
Local folk say that due to the power of Surya (Sun God) here, most of the inhabitants have secured Government jobs!
A beautiful water pond is in front of the temple.
Somangalam Chandra (Moon) sthala
Location: Sandwiched in a place between the road from Kundrathur to Sriperumbudur.
This has Somanatheeswarar as the main deity. The Chandra adorning Shiva is worshipped.
A legend says that the Nandi was cursed to look the opposite side, as it got over confident and thought that it was better than the Lord Himself on winning a war against invaders!!
This temple also ahs an unique statue of BRAHMA SUBRAHMANIAR – Subramania who did the work of Brahma, while Brahma was put behind bars, by Subrahmania himself!! When Brahma came to Kailasa, the abode of Shiva, the young Subrahmania @Karthikeya, stopped Brahma on the way. Brahma showed arrogance and challenged Karthikeya, saying that he was one among the Trinity, doing the job of a Creator and none dared to stop him.
Karthikeya asked the meaning for Aum . Brahma could not decipher the meaning of this Pranava Mantra.
To condemn his ignorance and arrogance, Brahma was imprisoned and Karthikeya took the mantle of a creator for a while!
The priest here is for the 11th generation FROM THE SAME FAMILY which is doing Pooja for ages! There were few idols sctattered around the temple.
The sthala vriksha here is “Sarakondrai”.
Poonamallee-Sevvai-Angaraka-Mars
Thayal Nayagi Udanurai Vaitheesaran Koil ( Goddess named as Thayal Nayagi and the Shiva called as Vaideeswaran, is the Sevvai @ Angaraka Kshetram – (Mars) .
The temple is lavish, big and well maintained. Here the temple has a separate Sevvai Padam (legs) and a statue of the Sthala Vruksha Thaazhi Panai Maram (Thazhi Palm) and also 3 Chakrams which were established here by the Adi Shankara (Sri Chakram, Subramania Chakram, Shanmuga Chakram) near the Subramania Swami Sannidhi.
The munmandapam near the Shiva Shrine has beautiful carvings on the roof. The South entrance has some interesting sculptures on either side.
Gerugambakkam - Kethu
Kethusthalam -Gerukambakkam
Location : At the left side of the road in the Kovur- Kundrathur Road.
At the left hand of the entrance we see a separate Snake idol worshipped as the Kethu shrine.
The Amman strikes your sight as it is facing the entrance. So, big, majestic,beautiful!
The Goddess attracts your concentration and attention. Only those who see it will believe it!! So, powerful is this Adi Kamakshi Amman and the Shiva here is Neelakandeswarar.
Porur - Guru
Guru sthala-(Jupiter) - Porur Ramanadeswarar Koil,
This temple is the situated in Eswaran Koil Street. This is also called as Uthara Rameswaram, and is being maintained beautifully. Well lit, the main Shiva Linga well decorated and taken care off.
Mangadu - Sukran
For ages the temple was in ruins, but now the current Trust of the nearby famous Maangadu Mariamman Temple, have understood that the Shiva Linga (Vellieeswarar) here was worshipped by the Parvathi in penance seen at Maangadu Amman temple itself.
Aftermath, the story goes beyond as Vishnu who solemnized the marriage of Shiva-Parvathi thereafter, also has a near by temple here. This Vishnu carries the jewels for the marriage in his hands!
All the three temples are near by (Vellieeswarar, Maangadu Amman, Vishnu).
It is said that Sukra worshipped the Lingam here.
It is believed that those who have eye ailments will surely get cured by worshipping the lord here.
Budhan Sthalam - Kovur Thirumeyneeswarar
This Shiva temple is the Budhan Sthalam. The entrance is picturesque with an array of houses and tall Asoka Trees on either side.
This temple has the unique Maha Vilvam as its Sthala Vruksham. (Sacred tree in the temple) which has bunch of 27 leaves in one single stalk!!!
This is the place where Saint Thyagaraja sang the Kovur Panchartanam on Shiva.
Thirunageshwaram:
This is considered as the Raagu sthalam for the Navagraha worship and was built by the descendents of Sekkizhaar (who wrote Periya Puranam). Here the Nagabharanam around the linga is supposed to be the Rahu for worship. This place is also called as Vada Thirunageswaram. The temple and its tank are clean and well maintained.
Sri Agastheeswarar temple at Pozhichalur
This is being considered as the Sani (Saturn) sthalam for the Navagraha worship. The main deity is Agastheeswarar with His consort Anandavalli Thayar. The temple has a separate Sani shrine and called as ‘Vada Thirunallaru’. This is also a renowned Nadi Pariharashthalam and people around say that foreigners and north Indians throng the temple to do parihaara for their dhosha if informed through Naadi Josyam!
The temple is of 12th century architecture. It is said that the Shivalingam appeared when the native Mudaliars ploughed the land.
Other Temples here would be:
- Sri Amaratheeswarar Temple at Sirukalathur
- Sri Balambika Samedha Valeeswarar Temple on Natham Road
- Sri Ramanatheswarar temple at Sirukalathur
- Angala Paremeshwari Temple
- Boopala Vinayagar Temple
- Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple
- Devi Mookambigai Temple
Transportation
Kundrathur has a bus terminus and is well connected by MTC buses to various points in Chennai city and surrounding areas. Buses also connect this temple town to VadapalaniVadapalani
-Murugan Koyil:Built about 125 years back, this much-hallowed and regularly frequented Lord Muruga sannidhi has emerged from a thatched shed, an unostentatious one enshrining a Murugan picture only, and established for itself a name on par with ancient places of worship...
and Thiruporur
Thiruporur
Thiruporur is a panchayat town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A Lord Murugan temple is situated in the center of the town. There is a large temple tank in the vicinity of the temple.-Demographics:...
and kovoor where other Lord Muruga temples are located.
The proposed Outer ring road which passes close to Kundrathur town will give a big boost in development.
A lot of Share auto's also ply from Pallavaram and Porur to Kundrathur
Pallavaram and Porur are 7kms from here.
Popular personality of Kundrathur
SekkizharSekkizhar
Sekkizhar was a poet and scholar of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, a Saiva saint contemporary with the reign of Kulothunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam , 4253 verses long,recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, the poets of Shiva who composed the liturgical...
, a poet and the chief minister in the court of King Kulothunga Chola II and compiler of Periya Puranam
Periya Puranam
Periya Puranam , that is, the great purana or epic, sometimes also called Tiruttontarpuranam is a Tamil poetic account depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanars, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkizhar...
, the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanmars, the poets of Shiva who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai
Tirumurai
The word Thirumurai literally means the sacred book. It is a compendium of songs or hymns in the praise of Shiva in the Tamil language...
, hailed from this town.
Schools
Kundrathur has a good CBSE School Mukkula Nammalvar Chetty Vivekananda Vidyalaya in Sambandam Nagar.Little Flower Matriculation School is also there in the same Sambandam Nagar Locality.
Sekkizhar Government Higher Secondary School and Government Girls Higher Secondary School run on State Board Syllabus.
Also it has a couple of other Schools which follow uniform syllabus as per TN Government.
Colleges
- Madha Group of Educational Instutions, Kundrathur Main Road, Kundrathur
- Chennai Institute of Technology , Pammal Main Road, Sarthy Nagar, Kundrathur
- Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Engineering, Mangadu Main Road - Kundrathur