Thiruppulivanam Sri Vyaagrapureeswarar

Thiruppulivanam is an old small village located just 3 kms from Uthiramerur on the Kanchipuram Road.

Thiruppulivanam houses a very ancient temple for Lord Shiva called Sri Vyaagrapureeswarar Temple.

Thiruppulivanam got its name as Saint Vyaagrapaadhar worshipped Lord Shiva here. Saint Vyaagrapaadha possessed the body of human being and legs of a tiger (Puli in Thamizh). As this saint worshipped here, the place came to be known as Thiruppulivanam (Thiru - God, Puli – Tiger, Vanam – Forest).

According to the legend, it is said that Saint Vyaagrapaadha has worshipped Lord Shiva Linga here here and hence the name of the God, Vyaagrapureeswarar.

The saint had taken a boon from Lord Shiva to give him tiger’s legs for him to leap faster to fetch flowers for Siva Pooja even before the honey bees could touch them. He wanted the purity of flowers offered to the Lord even without the touch of bees. Lord Shiva granted his wish and Vyaagrapaadha was worshipping the God here.

One day, a king called Parantaka was infected with a strange disease and was advised to visit this temple at the north of Kanchipuram. As he neared the temple, Vyaagrapaadha, out of possessiveness went and hugged the idol of Shiva Linga. As a result of this, there formed a nail mark of the Tiger on Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva appeared and blessed both the king and Saint in this place.

As you enter the vicinity, a beautiful Nandhi, seated at a distance outside the temple facing the sanctum shows you the way to temple.

Here, you can find the main deity Vyaagrapureeswarar idol in the form of a Shiva Linga but with unusual Jada mudi on it. Also the Aavudaiyar (base of Shiva Linga) here is of square shaped unlike the usual circular one.

The Goddess here is Amrutha Kujaambal, who has a separate Shrine inside the temple on its outer Praakaram.


There is a very beautiful Pillaiyar (Ganesha) at the entrance of the Goddess’s Shrine, wonderfully carved on the stone wall.


The Dhakshinamurthy is very peculiar here and not seen elsewhere. Dhakshinamurthy offers Dharshan as Ardhanareeswarar (half Shiva & Shakthi). One foot of his is on the Lion and hand holding the Thirisoolam (as Shakthi). Another foot on the Muyalaka Asura (as Shiva)

He is seated under the Kallala tree. Around him one can see the 4 Sanath Kumaras (Sons of Brahma), worshipping him. Also seen are Saint Vyaagrapaadhar and Pathanjali Rishi (incarnation of Maha Vishnu’s serpant, Aadhi Sesha).

Usually, if there are rishis or saints near the God’s idol, they will be seen near the feet of the Lord worshipping Him. But here Vyaagrapaadhar is seen next to the God standing equally.

It is said that, Vyaagrapaadhar asked for a boon from the Lord that, both this village and the deity should be named after him. Also he should be equally given the importance while devotees worship the Lord.

Lord granted his wish and the place was called as Vyaagrapuri (Thiruppulivanam, today) and the Lord is Sri Vyaagrapureeswarar. Also an equal treatment is given to him in Sri Dhakshinamurthy’s Shrine.

The temple also has a separate shrine for Vyaagrapuri Siddhar here.

Another unique importance of this temple is, just outside the sanctum, you can see a dark underground tunnel, which is closed with couple of stone slabs. Upon request the priest burns a piece of camphor (pic above) and pushes it through the slit between the slabs and one can see the underground tunnel as a passage (pic below).

It is said that this underground passage starts here and ends at Uthiramerur Sri Sundara Varadhar Temple. This has been built by some king for their safe hiding etc., during the times of war.

The outer walls of the temple are magnificent with Rishabas (bulls) guarding the temple.

In the inner praakaram, one can see the pillars in unique shape which are not commonly seen in any other temples.

The Sanctum here is in the circular shape at the back (pic above). This type of Vimana belongs to the Chola style of architecture which is seen in some temples around Chennai, Kanchipuram areas. Such shaped vimanas are called Gaja Brishta (means Elephant’s Back) as they resemble the back of the elephant in sitting posture.

The other deities are Lingothbavar, Pillaiyar, Lord Brahma, Vishnu Durgai, Suryan (Sun God) and Navagrahas.

It is said that, from dawn till dusk a bit of sunlight falls on the Lord Suryan’s idol through a diamond shaped small slit on the wall facing Him.

One can see very ancient and beautiful works on the pillars with images of Kannappa Nayanar, Maha Kali etc., sculpted on them.

Outside the main temple, in front of the entrance, there is an old, big Mandapam, which is believed to be Indra Mandapam, in which Lord Indra lands here to worship God. It’s in a poor shape with no maintenance, but looks wonderful.

Visit this temple once and you will crave for more visits ! !

Uthiramerur Sri Balasubramanyar

This is another ancient temple in Uthiramerur. Beautifully spread on vast area, this temple Balasubramanya Temple for Lord Muruga is another attraction here.

According to sources, this temple belongs to 8th Century. The Murthy here is a Swayambu (self evolved). Built by Jeyam Konda Chozhan, this temple has a very rarest feature.

You can witness Peacock as the ‘Vaaganam’ (Carrier) for Lord Muruga in all his temples. But here, Elephant stands as the Vaaganam for Lord Muruga which is rare of its kind in Murugar Temples.

The Deity Sri Balasubramanyar is about 5-6 ft tall, well decorated and gracefully blesses the visiting devotees.

Other deities are Pillaiyar, Lord Shiva, Skandhar, Shanmugar, Navagrahas etc.,

There is a beautiful Temple Pond in front of the temple.

The outside Praakaram so vast with Dhwajasthambha and the whole gives a divine feeling with many ancient sculptures standing testimony for the architectural excellence of our ancestors.

This temple is situated just adjacent to Sri Sundara Varadharaja Perumal Temple and very close to the Bus Stand.

Uthiramerur Sri Sundara Varadhar

Uthiramerur village is located about 85 kms from Chennai off the GST Road. This is an ancient village well known for its temples, architecture, sculptures and stone inscriptions.

The main temple here is for Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal which is said to be built in 750 AD during Pallava rule. A king called Nandivarma Pallavan has donated this whole town to 1200 vedic scholars who settled down here. Those days this place was called as Uthiramerur Chaturvedhimangalam.

Later it has been renovated by Rajendra Chola in 1013 AD and again renovated by Krishnadevaraya in 1520 AD.

Lord Vishnu is generally seen in either of the 3 forms, Ninraan (நின்றான் - Perumal in standing posture), Irundhaan (இருந்தான் - Perumal in sitting posture) or Kidandhaan (கிடந்தான் - Perumal in reclining posture like Ranganathar)

This is one of the few temples where you can have dharshan of Perumal in all his 3 forms.

The sanctum is built in such a way that all 3 forms of Lord Vishnu are set one above the other as 3 levels or floors.

The presiding deity is Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal here in standing posture along with Sri Devi and Bhoodevi in the first level.

There is a staircase on which one can climb with much ease to go to the next floor, just above the main sanctum. In this next level Sri Vaikunda Varadhar is seen in the sitting posture.

While climbing up to the next level there is Sri Parthasarathy preaching Gita to Arjuna on the outer wall facing south. Lord Narasimha is present on the outer wall facing west and Sri Varaha Perumal with Lakshmi facing North. Here Varahar is in sitting posture with Sri Lakshmi sitting on his lap looking at Varahar's face in a praying gesture.

There is also Sri Dhakshinamurthy on the tomb facing south which is unusual in Vaishnavite temples.

In the third (upper most) level the Lord is in reclining posture on Aadhiseshan as Sri Ranganathar. Lord Brahma is seen on a Lotus emerging from Ranganathar’s navel. Lord Shiva is seen near the feet of the deity with the Deer and Mazhu (a weapon) on his hands.

Lord Ranganatha is seen blessing Markandeya Rishi with his right hand. Bhoodevi is in a praying gesture standing opposite Markandeya.

Other than these three, there are other deities called Achudha Varadhar, Aniruddha Varadhar and Kalyana Varadhar in the 3 sides of the prakaaram.

It is said that Pandavas during their Agnanavaasam where they hid themselves and roamed around in forests have visited here and worshipped Lord here. It is said that Sundara Varadhar was worshipped by Yudhishtira, Vaikunda Varadhar by Bheema, Achudha Varadhar by Arjuna, Aniruddha Varadhar by Nakula and Kalyana Varadhar by Sahadeva.

All the above 5 Gods are the principal deities here, though Sundara Varadhar remain the main deity.

It is also said that Pandavas lost their power and wisdom and after worshipping here, they gained all their power back.

This is one of and most ancient and wonderful temples filled with architectural brilliance with great sculptures all around.

Uthiramerur is also known as the birth place of democracy. The stone inscriptions in this town explains how constitutions were laid for democratic administration and also about electoral systems etc., People here have followed the election system called “Kudavolai” system for electing their favorite leaders in the local elections and the rules for nominating in elections and the voting systems which is the fore runner for today’s electoral systems.

Aazhwaars like Thirumazhisai Aazhwaar, Thirumangai Aazhwaar, Poigai Aazhwaar & Peyazhwaar have composed hymns on this temple.

Uthiramerur is well connected by road with buses plying from Chennai and Kanchipuram.

A must visit place for the lovers of temples, culture and heritage.