Kapaleeshwarar Temple – Chennai

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore, Chennai

This temple is a very ancient temple of Tamil Nadu that was built during the 7th century and belongs to the Dravidian architecture.The main deities in this temple are Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi who are known by the names of Kabaleeshwarar (Kabalam- Head, Eshwaran – Name of Lord Shiva lingam) and Karpagambal (Karpagam – Wish yielding tree, Ambal- Mother).

This temple has many other deities as well and is quite large with a number of halls. The temple opens at 5:30 am and closes by 10 pm in the night. In a day, six different rituals are performed in the temple and in a year, four different festivals are celebrated.

The most important festival of the temple is the Arubathimooval festival, which is celebrated during panguni month of the Tamil calendar.During these festivals, the temple comes alive with vibrant processions, music, dance, and religious rituals. Devotees from near and far gather to witness these grand celebrations.

The Kapaleeshwarar Temple is also known for its sacred temple tank, called the “Kapali Teertham” or “Shiva Ganga.” It is customary for visitors to take a ritual dip in the tank before entering the temple as a purifying act.