Nootreteeswarar Temple

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Overview

Chinnakavanam is a village located near Ponneri, which is a small town located at a distance of around 40 Km from Chennai in Tamil Nadu State of India. Chinnakavanam is located between Ponneri and Pulicat. The highlight of the village is the ancient Nootreteeswarar temple.

About The Temple

The temple has small south facing entrance tower (Raja Gopuram). The flag staff, bali peetha and Nandi mandaba are found facing towards the shrine. In the sanctum sanctorum, a large Shiva Lingam with square base called as Nootreteeswarar is found. Near the shrine of Nootreteeswarar shrine, the shrine of another Shiva Lingam called as Chadurvedeeswarar and the shrine of the Goddess Sivagami are located. It is noteworthy that this temple has two Shiva Lingams, two Goddesses and two Nandis.

The sub – shrines of processional idol and the sub-shrine of Nataraj are also situated near the sanctum sanctorum. Ganesha, Dakshinamoorthi, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga are found as the niche idols on the exterior wall. The sub-shrines of Ganesha and Subrahmanya with his consorts are located in the inner prakara (corridor). Some idols of the deities such as Surya, Chandra, Bhairava, the Navagrahas and Chandikeshwara are also found in the corridor. The outer corridor is open space with lots of trees and plants. The Holy Tree of the site is Angola tree. Ganesha is in an improper from without trunk, found under the tree. It is believed that 108 Shiva Lingams merged into this Ganesha idol. He is called Angola Ganapathi. Opposite to this, the shrine of another Goddess Ashotravalli is situated.

Legend and Stories

The place was called Chathurvedhapuram and the main deity is called Chathurvedeeswarar with Goddess Sivagami. On his way to Kasi, Sage Agasthya came here to worship Chathurvedeeswarar when he got the divine message that worshipping a Shiva lingam under the Eranzhil tree here for 108 days will be equivalent to going to Kasi. So he created a lingam everyday with the sand of the nearby Brahma Aranya River and worshipped for 108 days. But on the final day, all the 108 lingams merged themselves into a single Vinayaga for the simple reason that he did not start the worship with a Vinayaga on day one. Then Lord Shiva appeared before the sage in the form of Vinayaga.

Swayambu Ankola Ganapathy under the Eranzhil (Ankola) Tree

The 108 lingams which got merged into a Vinayaga is present under the Ankola tree as a Swayambu (self-manifested) Vinayaga in the name Ankola Ganapathy. In spite of many thousands years and in spite of sitting under the tree without any roof, the sand made Vinayaga is still sitting pretty and looking great.

Two Nandhis for Nootretteswarar and Chathurvedeeswarar

Since all his lingams got merged into a Vinayaga, Sage Agasthya installed another lingam called Nootreteeswarar which is equivalent to the original 108 lingams. In the sanctum sanctorum, we can see both Nootreteswarar and Chathurvedeeswarar in separate shrines. There are two Nandhis for two lingams.

Accessibility

Airport

The nearest airport is in Chennai.

Railways

The nearest railway station is in Ponneri.

Road

The temple is well connected by road from Ponneri and Chennai.

Temple Address