Linked by legend
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Kodambakkam that boasts of several ancient temples has an interesting background. T. A. SRINIVASAN elaborates ...
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THE NAMES of many places in Chennai may sound strange and more modern, but these places are more ancient and can boast of their existence even during the reign of the Chozha kings or even long before them. One such place is the present Kodambakkam, which some writers have identified with "Godabagh" or the place where horses were reared during the rule of the Nawabs of Arcot. They cite in this connection the Urdu and Hindi word "Goda" meaning horse and the place being situated on the road leading to Arcot. But according to the Sthalapuranam of a Siva temple in the area, it was the place where Lord Siva turned the "Meru" mountain into a bow to destroy the demons who caused terror and destruction by flying in a city known as "Thiripuram." Lord Siva, who destroyed the demons, earned the title of "Thiripuranthakan".
Kodambakkam consists of three Tamil words, according to scholars — "Kodu" meaning mountain, "ambu" meaning arrow, and "aakkam" meaning the place where Lord Siva bent the bow by turning the mountain into an arrow. Some others say that it was here "Karkodakan", a serpent and a descendant of Adisesha, worshipped Lord Narayana, and hence the place was named after him as "Kodakanbakkam." They cite in this connection the existence of a Mahavishnu Temple in the area, where the Lord was worshipped as "Adhimoola Perumal" and He later came to be known as "Sundararajar" or "Azhagar Perumal".
The area was known in times of yore as "Puliyoor Kottam" and it was one among the 24 such divisions in the Thondai Nadu and Puzhar Kottam and Eekkattu Kottam, which are identified with the present Puzhal and Eekkattuthangal, formed part of it. It also had within it the Kundrathur area, the birthplace of Sekkizhar, author of the Periya Puranam, describing the lives of the Saivite saints, Mangadu, Porur, Amarur and Kottur. The headquarters of this Kottam was Puliyoor, which was none other than the present Kodambakkam.
Utsavar Azhagar Perumal
It was previously known as "Kodalambakkam" and a stray verse by Vakeesa Munivar, author of ``Gnanamirtham," a great Saivite religious work, says that his preceptor, Paramananda Munivar, resided in Kodalambakkam. Vakeesa Munivar, who was a contemporary of Rajadhiraja Chozha in the twelfth century, also lived for some time in Thiruvotriyur, which was visited by him along with the king, according to an inscription. Vakeesa Munivar, in his verse, hails his preceptor as "Narkodalambakka Adhipan, Thirunerikkavalan, Saiva Sikamani". Hence it is clearly established that Koda(la)mbakkam and the Siva temple there were in existence even 900 years ago.
Puliyoor, which included in it Kodalambakkam, was named after Pulikkal Munivar or Sage Vyagrapadhar, who prayed to Lord Siva and got tiger's legs so that he could pluck flowers from the tall branches of trees before sunrise to offer them to the Lord as part of "Siva Puja." He was said to have stayed in the area for a long time before going to Chidambaram along with Sage Pathanjali to witness the dance of Lord Nataraja and worship Him. During his stay here he established a Siva temple and installed a Lingam in it for offering worship daily. The Lord came to be known as Vengeeswarar, or the Lord worshipped by Vyagrapadhar ("Vengai" is another Tamil term meaning tiger). The Lord is also known as Vyagrapureeswarar. The sage stayed in Thirupadirippuliyur and Thiruperumbuliyur, which places were also named after him.
In the Kodambakkam Vengeeswarar temple, the statues of Vyagrapadar and Patanjali are found even now. The temple is situated on the 100-feet road, very close to Vadapazhani Murugan temple. The temple is a Chozha period structure with the "Gajabrishta Vimanam" (known as "Thoonganai Maadam" in Tamil) as it looks like the back of a sleeping elephant. The Goddess in the temple is known as Santhanayaki. The temple was in bad shape due to long years of neglect, but has been restored to its past glory now. The Pathanjali-Vyagrapadhar Narpani Manram (No. 20/5, Ellai Muthamman Koil Street, Vadapazhani, Chennai-600026) is maintaining the temple very well and is also conducting the "Paalkudam" festival in the month of Adi every year when milk "Abishekam" with 108 pots is performed to the Goddess.
The tower of Vengeeswarar temple, Vadapalani. — Pic. by M. Moorthy
There is also a temple for Lord Sundararaja(originally known as Adhimoola Perumal) in the West Sivankoil Street in Vadapazhani where the Lord is now known as Azhagar Perumal and there is a legend linking the Siva and Vishnu temples. The Lord in this temple performs the celestial wedding of Lord Vengeeswarar and Goddess Santhanayaki on the Panguni Uthiram day. As Parvathi is considered to be the sister of Lord Mahavishnu, which legend gained ground as "Mahamaya", a form of the Goddess, was born as the sister of the Lord during His incarnation as Krishna, He conducts their wedding by bringing various gifts.
In the Lord Sundararaja temple, which faces east, one can worship Goddess Sudaravalli, who is in sitting posture as in Azhagarkoil, near Madurai. The Lord in the sanctum sanctorum is standing along with Sridevi and Bhoomadevi on either side.
He has four hands, the upper hands holding Sudarsana and Panchajanya, while the right lower hand is in "Abhaya Hastha" pose and the left lower hand shows His feet asking the devotees to surrender to Him. Andal and Gajananar (Vinayaka) are worshipped in separate shrines in the outer Prakara. The area was a dense forest of mango trees in the past and was known as "Amraranyam", according to the Sthalapuranam.
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