Moolavar - Sri Chenganmaaleeswarar
Amman - Sri Brihannaayagi
Place - Kelambakkam, Chennai, Tamilnadu
In Thamizh, Chenganmaal denotes the name of Lord Vishnu. It is said that Lord Vishnu worshipped Lord Shiva here and hence the deity got the name, Chenganmaaleeswarar and the village, Chenganmaal. It is also said that, as this temple was built by an ancient Chozha king called Ko Chengannan (who built Thiruvaanikkaaval temple, this place got its name after the king Chengannan.
Temple legend has it that Lord Vishnu worshipped Lord Shiva here offering 1008 lotus flowers. He was praying to Lord Shiva with utmost devotion. Lord Shiva made a trick and made one flower vanish from 1008 lotuses. When Lord Vishnu was about to offer the last flower, he was shocked to see that there was no more flower. Lord Vishnu immediately offered himself as the last flower to complete the pooja. This temple is believed to have been built during 12th century. This temple does not have a Rajagopuram. The Lord here is facing east. Goddess Sri Brihannaayagi is beautiful and is facing south.
This small temple has a beautiful Prakaram on which Lord Ganesha is on the south west corner. Lord Ganesha is seen here as Sri Selva Vinayaga. There is an Utsava mandap made of stone pillars, adjacent to Sri Selva Vinayaga shrine. Other deities are Sri Subramanya, Sri Dhakshinamurthy, Sri Brahma and Sri Durga. Surya Bhagavan has a small shrine facing west adjacent to the main entrance. There is a tall concrete mandap adjacent to Surya Bhagavan shrine for the temple's bell. An old, tall Dwajasthambha adds attraction to the Prakaram (outer corridor).
There is a big pond outside the temple, on its northern side, which serves as ‘theertham’(holy water) for this temple and is called as ‘Vishnu Theertham’. The sthala vruksham here is Vilvam. A small, yet beautiful and calm temple to cherish is not too far from the city
References:
1.http://www.templeadvisor.com/temples-in-india/hindu-temples/sri-chenganmaaleeswarar-temple
2.http://www.dharsanam.com/2008/03/chenganmaal-sri-chenganmaaleeswarar.html
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