Ashtalakshmi Temple
Chennai Ashtalakshmi Temple Margazhi Month Utsavam…
The Ashtalakshmi Temple in Chennai is a revered spiritual site, dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi and her eight primary forms. The best time to visit the temple is during the cooler month, that is the god’s favourite Tamil month Margazhi, from December to January, wherein we can find plenty of Utsavams for the benefit of the devotees, like Hanuman Jayanti and Vaikunta Ekadasi. During this period, the weather in Chennai is pleasant. Visiting during these months ensures a comfortable experience, as the scorching heat and high humidity from March to July can be quite overwhelming for many visitors. Moreover, the temple is beautifully decorated during Hindu festivals like Hanuman Jayanti, Krishna Jayanti and Vaikunta Ekadasi.
Women draws kolam in front of their house to welcome lord Lakshmi to their temple which is also one of the traditions in margazhi month. women used to draw different kolam like rangoli kolam design with flowers, puli kolam with dots in temples and they will conduct competition also for doing kolam.
December is particularly significant as the temple celebrates the Marghazi festival with a wide range of religious events and classical music and dance performances.
This is the time when the spiritual atmosphere in Chennai is at its peak, and the Ashtalakshmi Temple is no exception, with devotees visiting in large numbers to partake in special poojas and to seek blessings. Temple timings; it generally opens early in the morning around 6:00 AM -12:00 PM and then in the evening from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM, though hours may be extended during special occasions.
The Ashtalakshmi Kovil is a Hindu temple, which lies on the shorelines near the Elliot’s beach, in Chennai, India. The temple is dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi, and her eight primary forms – the Ashtalakshmi – the giver of all eight forms of wealth, namely, offspring, success, prosperity, wealth, courage, bravery, food, and knowledge. The sanctorums are depicted on a multi-tier complex in such a way that visitors could visit all the shrines without stepping over any of the sanctorums.
In this temple, the Ashtalakshmis, the eight forms of goddess Lakshmi, are present in four levels in nine separate sanctums. The shrine of Lakshmi and her consort Vishnu is in level two. One starts the worship from here. Taking the stairs, the path leads to the third floor, which has the shrines of Santhanalakshmi, Vijayalakshmi, Vidyalakshmi and Gajalakshmi. Further few steps would lead to the shrine of Dhanalakshmi, which is the only shrine on the fourth floor. Exiting the main shrine, in the first level, there are shrines for Aadilakshmi, Dhaanya lakshmi and Dharyalakshmi. The temple also has Dashavatara (avatars of Vishnu), Guruvayoorappan, Ganesha, Dhanvanthari and Anjaneyar deities.
“OM SRI MARGAZHIMANNANE NAMO NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R. HARISHANKAR