Thiruvallikeni (Triplicane)

Yesterday, we saw Thiruvallur, a suburb of Chennai (Madras) or Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), as it is called. Today, we are going to see a very important landmark in Chennai, Parthasarathy Perumal Temple, Thiruvallikeni.

Thiruvallikeni is my birth place, where I spent most of my formative years close to the Parthasarathy Perumal Temple. In fact, I was named Parthasarathy (for all religious purposes) for obvious reasons.

“Thiruvallikeni, later anglicized by the British as Triplicane literally means Thiru-Alli-Keni or sacred lily pond in Tamil. Triplicane is historically much older than the city of Chennai itself, with a mention in records as early as 8^th century CE.

Triplicane is home to some of the tourist attractions of the city, such as the Vivekananda house, Marina Beach, Parthasarathy Temple and Triplicane Big Mosque.

Triplicane is famous for the various personalities it has produced over the years. Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, Writer Sujatha Rangarajan, and cricketers M.J. Gopalan, Krishnamachari Srikkanth  all hailed from Triplicane. Subramanya Bharathy, a freedom fighter and poet, lived his last years in the house opposite Lord Parthasarathy temple’s western entrance.”

For more information on Thiruvallikeni, please visit the Wiki Page: Triplicane.

Parthasarathy Perumal Temple, Thiruvallikeni

“Parthasarathy Perumal Temple is an 8th-century  Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, located at Thiruvallikeni, Chennai, India. The temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE and is classified as among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The name ‘Parthasarathy’, in Tamil, means the ‘charioteer of Arjuna‘, referring to Lord Shri Krishna’s role as a charioteer to Arjuna in the epic Mahabaratha.

It is one of the very few shrines in the country dedicated to Krishna as Parthasarathy, with a prominent moustache and carrying a conch in his hand.  Krishna is seen standing with consort Rukmini, elder brother Balarama, son Pradyumna, grandsons Aniruddha and Satyaki.. The temple has icons of five forms of Vishnu: Narasimha, Rama, Gajendra  Varadaraja, Ranganatha and Krishna. The temple is one of the oldest structures in Chennai. There are shrines for Vedavalli Thayar, Ranganatha, Rama, Gajendra Varadaraja, Narasimha, Andal, Hanuman, Alvars, Ramanuja, Swami Manavala Mamunigal and Vedanthachariar. The temple subscribes to Vaikhanasa agama and follows Thenkalai tradition of Sri Vaishnavas.”

For more information on Parthasarathy Perumal Temple, please visit the Wiki Page: Parthasarathy Perumal Temple, Thiruvallikeni.