Dhandeeswaram Temple Velacherry, Chennai

SRI DANDEESWARAR TEMPLE

Velacherry, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

God

The main deity of this temple is Dandeeswarar, who is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. The Lord faces in East direction and appears in a standing posture.

Interesting Facts

The rays of Sun fall on the Shivalinga on the first day of Thai Tamil month, most probably on January 14 or a day before or after in some years.

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit the temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are September to February.

Weather

Highest - April to June (42°C during day and 30°C during night)Average - May (33.7 °C during the day and 28 °C during night)Lowest - October to February (26 °C during day and 21 °C during night)Monsoon season - June to September

Dress Code

For men the dress code is Shirt & Trouser, 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.
Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.

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 and drinking is prohibited in this temple.
Chewing betel leaves, tobacco, gutka and spitting inside temple is strictly prohibited.

transport connections

Name	Distance	Contact Number
Velachery Bus Stand	1.2 KM	‎18004194287
Chennai Egmore Railway Station	14.4 KM	044-28194579
Chennai International Airport	9.5 KM	044-22560551

Railway Station Name	Distance	Contact Number
Chennai Egmore Railway Station	14.4 KM	044-28194579

Airport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Chennai International Airport	9.5 KM	044-22560551

Architecture

On the advice of Sage Narada, Yama created a temple pond here and worshipped the Lord Shiva and got back his Dhandam. Hence the Lord Shiva here is called as Dandeeswarar. The Temple has three entrances in the East, North and West directions. Although the sanctum is facing the east direction, the North facing tower with five tiers is the main entrance, Dhwaja Stambham is placed infront of the temple. The oldest inscription found in this temple belongs to the period of Gandaraditya Chola. There are lot of Tamil inscriptions found around Sanctum Walls. Several Inscriptions confirm that the area was contemporary to other historical townships in the Thondaimandalam region of Tamilakam. The oldest Inscription in Velachery are in the ancient Selliyamman Temple from the reigns of Parakesarivarman/Parantaka Chola (9th century) and Parthivendravarman. Dhandeeswaram temple contains many inscriptions from the times of Gandaraditya Chola (10th century) and emperors Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I (11th century). During the 12th century, Velachery, along with the rest of Thondaimandalam, was thought to have briefly come under the rule of the Kadavas (or Kadavarayas) who were feudatory powers under the Cholas and subsequent Pandya emperors.

An inscription from king Kopperunjingan I of Senthamangalam of South Arcot region is found in Velachery. Tamil stone inscriptions from the period of Sundara Chola are found here around the walls of the sanctum sanctorum. One of the inscriptions mentions a donation made towards burning a lamp. This is considered the rst temple constructed by Cholas in this part of the state as per a Historian. The tmeple Ardha Mandapam also has the idols of Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya with his consorts Valli and Devasena on either side. The temple pond created by Yama is called Yama Theertham.

Religious Significance

The legend also has it that during Dwapara Yuga, when Yama came to snatch away the life of Markandeya, the Pasakkayiru fell on the Siva Lingam which Markandeya was hugging. Angered over this act, Lord Shiva snatched the Dhandam of Yama. On the advice of Sage Narada, Yama created a temple pond here and worshipped the Lord Shiva and got back his Dhandam. Hence the Lord Shiva here is called as Dandeeswarar and the temple pond created by Yama is called Yama Theertham. Yama, the god of death, is believed to have done penance here to seek the pardon and blessings of the lord after he lost his strength at being kicked on the chest by the Lord to save Sage Markandeya at Thirukadavur. He created the Theertham (temple tank) bathed in it and was granted pardon and a sta (Dhandam) by the pleased Lord Shiva. hence his name here is Dhandeeswarar.

It is also believed that the 4 Vedas prayed to the Lord here to get back their original purity, power and glory after being rescued by Lord Vishnu from the Asura Hiranyaksha, who had kept them immersed in the ocean. Since the Vedas worshipped here the place was called Vedasreni, which became Vedachery and now Velachery. Another story is that Lord Shiva deputed Veerabadhra to protect the Saptha Madhar who were targeted by a demon whom they had set out to kill whereas they ended up killing a sage by mistake. The demon was subsequently killed by Veerabadhra and you see him depicted here in a sitting posture with the Saptha Madhar. He is considered the guardian deity of women and receives special offerings and pooja in Dhandeeswarar Velachery temple.

During Tretha Yuga, the Four Vedas were snatched away from Lord Brahmma by the demon Somasura. Lord Vishnu recovered them from the demon. As the Vedas remained with the demon for some time, their sanctity was lost as they had acquired an asura Dosha. They prayed to Lord Shiva at this place to become pure and holy again. Lord Shiva purified the Vedas here and restored them to their original glory. The place where the four Vedas prayed was known as Vedasreni, which got changed in the later yugas and now called as Velachery. The temple was built in 10th century C.E by Chola and Pallava.

History

Temple is built in 9th Century by the contributions of Cholas and Pandya Emperors.

Temple Timings

Day	Timings
All Days	05:30 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