Ponneri is a small town in Thiruvallur district, located about 38 kms north western side of Chennai. From Chennai, one has to drive past the Padi junction on Chennai - Kolkata highway to reach Thachur cross roads (koot road). From Thachur cross road junction, one has to take right turn and drive about 5 kms to reach Ponneri.
Ponneri has an ancient temple for Lord Shiva by which is said to be over 2500 years old. The main deity here is Sri Agastheeswarar and Goddess Sri Anandavalli.
According to the legend, the Lord here is said to have been worshipped by the ancient sage Sri Agasthiyar himself. The ancient name of this place is Kumbamuni Mangalam. Sage Agasthiar is also known as Kumbamuni, as he once collected the whole of river Cauvery into his holy pot (Kamandalam) to bring down the force of the river.
It is said that Sage Agasthiar had stayed in this place for years while he was travelling in the Southern part of India. Sage Agasthiyar was caught with severe stomach ache while he was passing this side and he found this temple, stayed here and worshipped the Lord to get relieved of his pain. The Lord who was pleased with his prayers appeared to him and relieved him from his pains.
Since, sage Agasthiyar worshipped the Lord here; the God came to be known as Sri Agatheeswarar. One can see a lot of temples in this part of Tamilnadu in which the main deity Lord Shiva is called as Agastheeswarar. It is said that Sage Agasthya installed and worshipped about 108 Shiva Lingas in various places here and the 108th Shiva Linga being Sri Ashtotheeswarar (or Nootretteeswarar which means 108th Shiva) at Chinnakkaavanam near this town Ponneri.
The temple is built on a very vast land and is highly scenic and beautiful, which has stood strong across centuries. The temple is facing east and has a wonderful 3 tiered Rajagopuram which welcomes us into the temple.
There is a beautiful pond outside the temple which is called Agasthya Theertham which serves as the Theertham for the temple.
There is a grand Dwajasthambham (flag post) at the outer praahaaram of the temple once we enter the temple.
There is an ancient Nandhi in a small mandapam just in front of the Dhwajasthambham facing the west towards the sanctum.
A wonderful stone mandapam with multiple pillars and meticulous carvings is present in front of the Nandhi, which takes us towards the sanctum.
The Lord Sri Agastheeswarar is present in the sanctum with divine silence and excellent vibrations. The sanctum is built in Gajabrishta shape (also called Thoongaanai Maadam), which is in the shape of the back of a sleeping elephant. This type of architecture is seen in many of the temples built by the Chozha kings.
Goddess Sri Anandavalli is seen adjacent to the sanctum with a motherly smile showing lots of grace and mercy to the worshippers. The Dwarapaalikaas statues are found guarding the Goddess’s shrine near the entrance on either side.
Lord Dhakshinamurthy (Guru) is seen facing south on the outer wall of the sanctum.
This temple has received many donations in form of lands and gold during the Chola period. There are sculptures of Raja Raja Chola 1 on the pillars.
Also there are images of Rajendra Chola and Mummudi Chola on the pillars, which have visited the temple during various periods and offered lots of grants to this temple for renovation and maintenance.
There is also an image of one of the later Vijayanagara Kings which is present on the pillars of the mandapam. This temple also has received various grants and patronage by Vijayanagara kings.
The outer praahaaram is huge and peaceful with pleasing breeze. All the walls of the outer praahaaram are painted with lots of Thamizh hymns in praise of various Gods. The entire temple is very neat and maintained well, though it received very less visitors, unless auspicious days like Pradhosham, Sivarathri and Aarudhra.
There is a magnificent 16 pillared stone mandapam outside the temple, adjacent to the temple pond with lot of beautiful sculptures on it, providing shelter to cattle and few homeless people.
The temple is open till 12 pm and again opens at 4 pm till 8 pm.
The temple is open till 12 pm and again opens at 4 pm till 8 pm.
This place was called as Chathurvedhapuram in ancient days and this temple’s main deity was Sri Chathurvedheeswarar and Goddess Sri Sivakami Amman. Sage Agasthiyar during his visit to this part of the country came here to worship the Lord. He was advised by a divine voice of Lord Shiva to install and worship Him under the Eru Azhinjal (
It is said that, those days this entire district had lots of Eru Azhinjal trees, which is considered most sacred. It is believed that any spiritual act performed under the Eru Azhinjal tree would be most divine and fetch desired results. There are 3 places in the present districts of then ‘Thondai Mandalam’, where Sage Agasthiyar had worshipped Lord Shiva under Azhinjal Tree. They are Azhisoor near Kanchipuram, 
According to the legend, Sage Agasthiyar as per the order of Lord Shiva collected the sand from the nearby Arani River, which was then called Brahmaaranya River, made Shiva Lingam out of it and started worshipping Him under this Azhinjal Tree everyday for 108 days, thus creating 108 Shiva Lingams. But to his surprise, when he completed creating 108th Shiva Lingam, all the 108 Lingams merged to become Lord Ganesha’s idol. Then, he was told by a divine voice that he forgot to worship Lord Ganapathi before starting the Shiva Pooja and hence all the deities merged together to form an idol of Sri Ganapathi.
Later Sage Agasthiyar made another Shiva Lingam and worshipped, which came to be known as Sri Ashtotheeswarar and also as Sri Nootreteeswarar. The God was called so, as Agasthiyar worshipped 108 Shiva Lingams at this place.
The Azhinjal tree under which Agasthiyar worshipped, remains till today and is 2500 years old now. Also the Swayambhu Ganapathy which formed from the 108 Shiva Lingams is seen under the same Azhinjal tree and is called as Sri Angola Ganapathy, as He evolved Himself under Angola (Azhinjal) tree.
There are 2 parallel shrines for both and each has separate Nandhi respectively.
Other deities of the temple are Sri Subramanyar with Sri Valli and Sri Devasena, Sri Surya Bhagavan (called Siva Suriyar) & Sri Kaala Bhairavar.
Thiru Aayarpaadi is a small village located 3 kms from Ponneri, near Chennai. This village has a beautiful temple for Lord Krishna called Sri Kari Krishna Perumal, on the banks of the Aarani River. The Lord here is Swayambhu Murthy (self evolved).
The main deity Sri Kari Krishna Perumal is seen here in human form. Generally in Vishnu temples one can see the Lord with 4 hands holding Sangu (Conch) and Chakra (Wheel). But here the Lord is seen as a Yadhava (shepherd), with His right hand holding a shepherd’s whip and left hand rested on the hip. The Lord has Amrutha Kalasam (bowl containing celestial nectar) on His head.
There is an ant hill present inside the temple. Usually, we can see such ant hill only in Amman temples. But this is the only Vishnu temple which has an ant hill. The main deity is said to be evolved from this ant hill only. There is an interesting story behind this temple.
Ages back a cow belonging to a villager used to graze around in the forests here. One day the master of the cow saw the cow pouring its milk in a bush without any one actually milking it. The master who got confused went and saw the place along with the villagers. There was an ant hill amidst the bushes. They started demolishing the ant hill curiously. While digging out they saw this idol of Lord Krishna showing up. While digging further, it is said that, Lord Krishna moved his leg a bit and stood slanting to avoid being hit by the crowbar. But one of the crowbars hit Him on his shoulders. The villagers took out this beautiful idol of Lord Krishna which stood tilted, holding a whip on His hand.
Ancient Chozha king, Karikaal Chozha II has built this temple for Lord Krishna and hence the God here came to be known as Sri Kari Krishna Perumal.
Another rare feature of this place is the Shiva Vishnu meet, which is celebrated once in a year. It is said that there were 2 Rishis performing penance nearby. They planned to pray Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu respectively and both gave dharshan to them simultaneously. Marking this occasion, a festival called Hari – Haran Sandhippu Urchavam (‘Shiva - Vishnu Meet’ festival) is celebrated annually near this temple. This is probably the only place where these 2 Gods meet.
There is a 16 pillar Mandapam outside the temple in front of the Raja Gopuram. A stone slab above these pillars form a firm ceiling for the Mandapam. All the 16 pillars are in a slanted position looking as if the whole structure is falling. But actually the whole Mandapam is brilliantly made in a tilted form, for the reason that the main deity here is standing in a tilted position. All the pillars of this Mandapam have exquisite carvings on them.
Sri Kari Krishna Perumal is worshipped here by childless couples to be blessed with a child. It is considered as Prarthana Sthalam (temple that fulfils wishes) for the childless. It is believed that Perumal fulfils their prayers.
The Sthala Viruksham (temple tree) is Magizha Maram and the Theertham here is called Santhaana Pushkarani.