Navagraha Temples in Chennai

Navagraha Temples in Chennai… Navagraha Temples are the powerful temples, dedicated to Nine heavenly bodies and deities, located in and around Chennai.

1. Agatheeswarar – Surya – Kolapakkkam

Agasteeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple located at Kolapakkam, a suburb of Chennai. While the presiding deity is Shiva, there are shrines for the Navagrahas or nine planets within the temple complex. The Hindu sage Agastya is believed to have worshipped Shiva at this place. Kolappaakkam has a beautiful Shiva temple where the main deity is Sri Agatheeswarar (also called Sri Vaakeesa Mahadhevar) and Goddess Sri Aanandhavalli.

This temple is supposed to be over 1300 years old. According to legend, Sri Surya Bhagavan had worshipped Lord Shiva at this temple. Sri Surya Bhagavan has a separate shrine inside this temple facing the Lord towards west. This temple is one of the Navagraha temples of Chennai devoted to Sri Surya Bhagavan.

The Sun God is given prominence in this temple, where all important deities of the temples are facing Surya Bhagavan shrine. is said that, apart from Surya Bhagavan, Sage Agasthiyar too had worshipped Lord Shiva here and hence the name Sri Agatheeswarar. Another Rishi called Vaakeesa Muni also had worshipped Sri Agatheeswarar here.

2. Somanaadheeswarar – Chandran – Somamangalam

Somangalam is an ancient, beautiful village having a temple for Lord Shiva. The main deity here is Sri Somanaadheeswarar and Goddess Sri Kamakshi Amman. This temple is one of the Navagraha temples of Chennai (or Thondai Mandalam) devoted to Sri Chandra Bhagavan (Moon God). According to legend, once, Sri Chandra Bhagavan (also called Soman) is said to have got cursed by Dhakshan. As a result, he lost his divine charm and forgot all 16 form of arts he acquired. To come out of this, He is said to have created a pond here called Soma Theertham and worshipped Lord Shiva here. After this, he got back his beauty and wisdom.

As Sri Soman (Sri Chandra Bhagavan) worshipped the Lord here, Lord Shiva here is called Somanaadheeswarar and the place came to be known as Somangalam. This temple is a Parihaara Sthalam for those having any Dhosham related to Chandra Bhagavan. Sri Chandra Bhagavan has a separate shrine in the temple, facing west.

3. Vaidheeswarar – Angaragan – Poonamallee

Vaitheeswaran Temple in Poovirndavalli, (The place of Jasmine flower) currently known as Poonamalee 20 KMs from Chennai is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Vaidyanathar or Vaitheeswaran meaning the “God of healing” and it is believed that prayers to Vaitheeswaran can cure diseases.

Vaitheeswaran is a Tamil derivative from vaidya (Doctor) and Ishvara (God/Master). The presiding deity is Sri vaidyanathan. He is the God of Healing. When pronouncing in Tamil, it sounds like “vaideeswaran”. It is one of the nine Navagraha (nine planets) temples in Chennai (Thondai Mandalam) and is associated with the planet Mars (Angarakan). Sevvai in Tamil.

One of the nine planets, Angaraka (Mars), suffered from leprosy and was cured by Vaidhyanathaswamy and from then on it is treated as one of the Navagraha Temple for planet Angaraka.

4. Sundareswarar Temple – Budhan – Kovur

Sundareswarar Temple at Kovur, a suburb of Chennai, India is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva. Constructed in about 965 CE, the presiding deity of the temple is Sundareswarar, a form of Shiva and the presiding goddess is Soundarambikai. The temple was visited by the Carnatic music composer Tyagaraja who composed a set of five songs collectively called the Kovur Pancharatnam.

According to legend, Goddess Kamakshi was performing thapas (penance) on Panchagni (fire) in Maangaadu praying to Lord Shiva to marry Her. Her penance was so intense that the whole surroundings became very hot and all living beings started to suffer because of this enormous heat. However, since Lord Shiva was deeply meditating with His eyes closed, He did not perceive this. Therefore, all Sages and Devas prayed to Lord Vishnu to save the world from the heat of the penance. Lord Vishnu directed Sri Mahalakshmi to save the world.

Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi came down here to this place in the form of a cow and worshipped Lord Shiva to request Him to open His eyes, so that the world could be saved. Pleased with Her prayers, Lord Shiva opened His eyes, after which the heat of the place subsided and became cooler. As Sri Mahalakshmi worshipped here in the form of a cow, the place came to be known as Kopuri (In Thamizh, Ko means cow) and later corrupted to become Kovur.

5. Ramanaadheeswarar – Guru – Porur

This ancient temple for Sri Ramanaadheswarar is located in Porur, very near to Porur junction, off. Kunrathur Road.

This ancient temple is connected to the Ramayana period. According to the history, Sri Rama on His way to Sri Lanka rested here in this place which was then a forest. While resting under an Amla tree (‘Nelli’ in Thamizh), He realized that there was a Shiva Lingam under the ground and his feet had touched the head of the Lingam unknowingly.

Sri Rama acquired a Dhosham as He had touched the Lingam with His feet. So, he undertook a penance towards Lord Shiva for 48 days with just one Amla fruit as his food, to recover from the Dhosham and to bring out the Shiva Lingam. Lord Shiva pleased with Sri Rama’s penance came out from the earth and gave Viswaroopa Dharshan to Sri Rama.

Sri Rama overwhelmed by the Lord’s mercy named the Shiva Lingam as Sri Ramanaadheswarar and worshipped Him. Goddess Parvathi too appeared and gave Dharshan to Sri Rama as Sri Sivakaama Sundhari. Sri Rama with sincere prayers worshipped Lord Shiva as His Guru and got to know the directions to reach the place where Sri Sita was kept under custody of Raavana and headed towards Sri Lanka.

As Sri Rama worshipped Lord Shiva as His Guru, this place became a Guru Sthalam among 9 Navagraha Temples of Chennai (or Thondai Mandalam). Here Lord Shiva Himself is worshipped as Sri Guru Bhagavan.

Also, this place is called Uthara Raameswaram, as Sri Rama worshipped Lord Shiva here, similar to Raameswaram. Also, according to temple sources, it is said that Porur was called as Uthara Raameswaram in ancient days. It is also said that, this temple is equivalent to Raameswaram and those who are not able to go pilgrimage to Raameswaram can visit this place and be blessed by the Lord.

The main deity Sri Ramanaadheswarar is too gigantic and beautifully decorated, facing east. This huge deity is a Swayambhu Lingam (self-evolved). Goddess Sivakaama Sundhari has a separate shrine in the temple.

6. Veleeswarar – Sukran – Mangadu

Velleswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and located in Mangadu, a suburb of Chennai, India. This is a mid-size temple spread over 2 acres and is among the 3 principal temples in Mangadu – the other 2 being the Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple and Sri Vaikunda Perumal Temple. The temple is managed by the HRCE Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is situated about 2 kilometers from Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple in Mangadu.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and derives its name from being worshiped here by Sukra (Vellee in Thamizh) – the planet Venus as per Hindu mythology. Lord Sukra is the guru of the Asuras. Special poojas are hence offered by devotees on Fridays – the day dedicated to Venus. This temple forms part of the Navagraha temples around Chennai. Devotees offer white field beans (Mochai) as a special offering signifying the cereal in relation to Sri Sukra.
According to the legend, when Goddess Sri Kamakshi performed tapas here in Mangadu, Lord Shiva came down to earth to give darshan to Her and then marry Her. It is said that Sri Sukra worshipped Lord Shiva here. When Sri Kamakshi came here to have darshan of Lord Shiva, she saw Sri Sukra worshiping the Lord. The Goddess went back as She did not want to disturb the penance of Sukra.

Later, Lord Shiva directed the Goddess to come to Kanchipuram and married her there. As Sri Sukra worshipped Lord Shiva here, the Lord came to be known as Sri Velleeswarar and also as Sri Bhargaveswarar. This temple is Sukra Sthalam among the Navagraha Temples of Chennai (or Thondai Mandalam). Sri Sukra blesses people with wealth, prosperity, good family, vehicles, fame and social status.

Sri Velleeswarar temple is a beautiful, ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

7. Agatheeswarar – Shaneeswaran – Pozhichalur

The main deity here is Sri Agatheeswarar and Goddess Sri Aanandhavalli.
This beautiful temple is one among the Navagraha temples of Chennai (or Thondai Mandalam) dedicated to Lord Sri Saneeswara Bhagavan.

According to legend, Lord Shiva directed Sri Agasthiyar to go towards south to balance the earth during His wedding at Mount Kailash. As per the God’s direction, Sage Agasthiyar came down to the southern part to balance the weight of the earth. While he was on his way to Podhigai hills, he stayed here for many years and worshipped Lord Shiva, a Swayambhu (self-evolved) Lingam at this place.

Sage Agasthiyar had a boon that wherever he worships Lord Shiva, he will get the dharshan of the Lord’s marriage with Goddess Parvathi. Sage Agasthiyar is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva here and got His dharshan in this place.

Sri Saneeswara Bhagavan is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva here. As Sri Saneeswara had been giving ill effects to people, he had gained Dhosham out of it. Sri Saneeswara Bhagavan, wanting to be relieved of his dhoshams, prayed Lord Shiva for help.

8. Neelakandeeswarar – Kethu – Gerugambakkam

Sri Neelakandeswarar temple is one of the Chennai Navagraha temples – Kethu Sthalam. The temple is located in narrows streets of Gerugambakkam – Google maps guided us correctly to the temple. The temple is quite small; one gets to notice Adi Kamakshi as we enter the temple. Adi Kamakshi is tall, very beautiful and decorated well; feel is quite serene and peaceful. On the left, is Lord Shiva as Sri Neelakandeswarar.

This is a Kethu parikara Sthalam. The temple is around 5 kms from Mangadu Kamakshi temple. We went to the temple around 7:30 AM and we were the only members in the temple.

9. Nageshwarar Temple – Rahu – Kundrathur

Kundrathur Nageswarar Temple, also known as Vada Thirunageswaram, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, located in the neighbourhood of Kundrathur in Chennai, India. The temple was built in the 12th century by the Shivite saint Sekkilar and is modelled on the Thirunageswaram temple at Kumbakonam.

The temple is one of the nine Navagraha temples of the Tondai Mandalam and is known as the Rahu sthala (lit. place of Rahu).

Sekkilar, the 12th-century Shivaite poet-saint and the author of the Periya Puranam, built the temple at his native place of Kundrathur after visiting the Nageshwara Swami temple in Tirunageswaram near Kumbakonam, which is associated with Rahu, one of the navagrahas (nine planets) of Hinduism. Since the temple at Kundrathur is situated to the north of the original temple at Thirunageshwaram, the temple came to be known as Vada Nageshwaram (lit. “North Nageshwaram”).

The temple features several Chola architectural elements. The temple is one of the nine Shiva temples around Porur associated with the Navagraha. The temple’s holy theertham (pond) is known as Suryapushkarini and the sacred tree is the shenbagam (Michelia champaka) tree. The temple conducts annual brahmosthsawam that spans 10 days around Chithra Pournami (April).

“OM SRI NAVAGRAHAESWARAYA NAMO NAMAHA”
DEVELOPED BY
R. HARISHANKAR