The Lord of Knowledge - Yoga Hayagreevar Temple, Chettipunyam, Chennai

By -
Chettipunyam is a small village with just 5-6 streets. However, this small village has become a center of attraction nowadays, thanks to the Yoga Hayagreevar temple.

For the benefit of starters, let me start with a brief introduction. Hayagreeva is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. When two Asuras, namely Madhu and Kaidabha, stole Vedas from Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu took the form of Hayagreeva (horse face and human body), killed the Asuras, and handed over the Vedas to Lord Brahma. Hence, Lord Hayagreeva is considered as the God of Knowledge. 

Yoga Hayagreeva temple in Chettipunyam is around 500 years old. Actually, the presiding deity of the temple is Varadaraja Perumal. How did it become Hayagreeva temple? It has an exciting story.

In 1868 CE, fearing invasion and loot, the images of Devanatha Swamy and Yoga Hayagreeva were brought from Tiruvahindipuram temple near Cuddalore to this site. Since then, this temple was referred to as Yoga Hayagreeva temple. In recent time, the popularity of this temple has increased as people started bringing their school-going children to this temple (as Hayagreeva is considered as the God of Knowledge).

The small temple enshrines Varadaraja Perumal, with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi, on either sides, in the sanctum. The bronze images of  Yoga Hayagreeva and Devanatha Swamy are also found in the same shrine. 

The presiding Goddess, named as Hemambhuja Nayaki, is found in a separate shrine. Besides, the shrines of Andal, Rama-Sita-Lakshmana-Hanuman and Garuda are too found.

Happy travelling.

Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.



Location: Srivari Nagar, Chettipunyam, Tamil Nadu 603209, India

Comments

  1. ShanthyTuesday, June 14, 2011

    Very informative

    ReplyDelete
  2. DesikanSaturday, January 07, 2012

    The temple is conducting a Spl Archanai on 29th Jan 2012 under the blessings of Sri AM Rajagopalan. One has to book for this archanai at Executive Officer, Arulmigu Devanathaswamy Thirukoil, Chettippunniyam Village, Chingleput Taluk,Kancheepuram Dist., Tamil Nadu – 603 204. For more details, please contact Chettippunniyam Temple +918675127999 or the SYHSS Trust at +914428173263 & yogahayagriva@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine
Read more

Putlur Angala Parameswari Temple - Chennai

By -
Image
Angala Parameswari Temple in Putlur, near  Chennai  city of South India, is a unique temple. The Goddess is in the form of a pregnant woman in this temple. The icon of Angala Parameswari is believed to be self-manifested, called swayambhu.  As per the legend, a village head tortured a poor for borrowed money. The poor was forced to plough an infertile land. While ploughing the ground full of rocks, the villager noticed that blood was oozing out from a particular place. There, he discovered the image of the Goddess. It is a snake hole (putru in Tamil - where snakes live) in the form of a woman in a sleeping posture with her mouth kept open, and her bulged stomach like a pregnant woman. The villagers built a temple with this putru and named the Goddess Angala Parameswari. Hence, they started calling the village Putlur the town with the divine Putru.  Putlur Angala Parameswari temple is basically a village temple. It is visited by thousands of people. Primarily it will be tough to en
Read more

A 17th century Dargah with healing power - Mount Road Dargah, Chennai, India

By -
Image
Mount Road or Anna Salai is one of the most happening places in  Chennai . There are two famous Islamic shrines on Mount Road – one is  Thousands Light mosque . The other one is Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (Rahmatullah Alaihi), also known as Mount Road Dargah. It is the most popular Dargah across the city. It draws devotees of all faiths and all walks of life. Especially every Thursday, a large number of devotees gather to the Dargah. A lot of city-based celebrities regularly visit the site. This Dargah is the shrine of a Muslim Saint named Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi. He was also known as Rahmatullah Alaihi. Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi arrived from Baghdad in the middle of the 17th Century CE. He made Chennai his home and lived here. It is believed that he had healing powers. During his time, he had so many devotees regularly visiting him. After his demise, his family buried him next to his house, which is the current Dargah. You can easily lo
Read more