Jalakandeswarar Temple Vellore

JALAKANDESWARAR TEMPLE

Vellore, Tamilnadu, India

God

Lord Jalakandeswarar swamy is presiding deity of this temple. He is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Lord Jalakandeswarar is in Linga form, faces east direction. Sthala Purana says Athri muni installed a Shiva Lingam in this place and worshiped. After he left, without proper maintenance the Shiva Lingam in the temple was covered by Puttru (valmeegam). Bommi constructed a temple for Lord Shiva as he was guided by Lord in his dream. Jalakandeswarar swamy idol was installed by Chieftain Bommi Reddy.

Goddess

Goddess Akhilandeswari is consort of Lord Shiva.

Interesting Facts

Jalakandeswarar Temple is located inside Vellore Fort. The Fort is found with five important Mahals naming the reigned Kings as Hyder Mahal, Tippu Mahal, Begam Mahal, Kandi Mahal, Badhusha Mahal.
The Fort is surrounded by moats (Agazhi) with water, to all three sides and the south side temple was located, the circumference of the water tank is 8000 ft.
We can Observe all the three Lords with their consorts – Lord Vishnu with Mother Mahalakshmi, Lord Brahma with Mother Saraswathi and Lord Shiva with Mother Parvathi grace the devotees in the temple.

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit this temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are October to Febuary.

Weather

Highest Temperature - March to May(43 C during the day and 32 C during night)Average Temperature - December (23.4 C during the day and 19 C during night)Lowest Temperature - Nov to Feb (27 C during the day and 18 C during night)Monsoon season - July to September

Dress Code

For men the dress code is dhoti or pyjamas with upper cloth.
For women the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or chudidhar with pyjama and upper cloth.
These rules are applicable for foreigners also. Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.
Pilgrims/visitors will not be allowed inside the temple if dress code is not followed.

Do's & Dont's

Do bathe and wear clean clothes before you enter the Temple.
Do respect ancient customs and co-piligrims while at Temple.

Smoking & Photography is strictly prohibited inside the Temple Premises.

transport connections

Name	Distance	Contact Number
Vellore Bus Stand	8 KM	044-30986319
Katpadi railway Station	7 KM	0416 224 2008
Vellore Airport	9 KM	91-416-291201

Railway Station Name	Distance	Contact Number
Katpadi railway Station	7 KM	0416 224 2008

Airport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Vellore Airport	9 KM	91-416-291201

Architecture

Jalakandeswarar Temple faces East direction with South Entrance. Lord Jalakandeswarar was installed in a place surrounded by Jalam (Water), Hence it is named as Jalakandeswarar. Temple has a Dhwaja Stambham. This temple is a combination of Vijayanagar and Dravidian style of architecture. Jalakandeswarar Temple has a 7 tiered gopuram with intricate carvings, large wooden gates and it is sculptured with iron like lotus flowers. Raja Gopuram was built in 1566 AD. The structures in the courtyard on the outer prakara include the lofty Gopuram on the southern side which is the entry point to the temple. Entrance of inner prakaram is through a three tiered gopuram. Inside the Garbha gruha main deity Jalakandeswarar is seen in Linga form with Rudraksha mala mandapam above him.

The inner Prakaram of the temple and the inner fort were built by the Sambuvarayars during the 13th century, This present form of the temple was built during the reign of Vijayanagara King Sadasivadeva Maharaya during 1540 - 1572 A.D. To the outer walls of Amman sanctum one can get the darshan of Vinayaka, Madeswari, Vaishnavi, Varahi,Lakshmi and Saraswathi. From the inscriptions,it is known that the temple construction began in 1274 A.D.

Temple consists of two theertham as Ganga Gowri Theertham, Thamarai Pushkarini. The main walls, Idols are built by granite stones and Dwarapalakas are built by blue granite stone.Temple consists of two theertham as Ganga Gowri Theertham, Thamarai Pushkarini. The main walls, Idols are built by granite stones and Dwarapalakas are built by blue granite stone.

Religious Significance

A chieftain called Bommi Reddy constructed this temple for Lord Shiva as he was guided by Lord in his dream. There was an ant-hill in the place where the sanctum sanctorum of Jalakandeswarar exists now. Rain waters in the lower levels of the ant hill formed a tank there. There was also a Shivalinga under the water of the tank. Lord Shiva appeared in the dream of a chieftain Bommi Reddy who was ruling the region and asked him to build a temple there. The chieftain went to the tank, demolished the ant-hill and took out the Shivalinga and installed the Lord in the water itself. This Temple was Built From 1274 A.D. and Renovated in 16th century. The temple was Built by the chieftains Bomma Reddy and Thimma Reddy in the Vijayanagara dynasty. For this Temple Sambuvarayars were also Contributred.

History

The temple flourished well up to the invasion of Mughall period. During this period, devotees out of fear shifted Siva Lingam to a nearby place Sathuvacheri, Vellore town. All these years there was no deity in the temple.With efforts of many devotees, Siva Lingam from Sathuvacheri was shifted to Vellore and installed once again on 16th March 1981.

Temple Timings

Day	Timings
All Days	06:00 AM - 12:00 PM	04:00 PM - 09:00 PM

Tours

Airports

Airport Name	Distance
Shamshabad	40 KM
Lorem Ipsum	12 KM

Railway Stations

Railway Station Name	Distance
Secunderabad	10 KM
Nampally	12 KM
Begumpet	6 KM
Lingampally	20 KM

Bus Stations

Bus Station Name	Distance
MGBS	35 KM
CBS	28 KM
kukatpally	20 KM
Lingampally	30 KM
Uppal	35 KM

Private Transports

Transport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Private Transport	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757