Thirumullaivoyal is a western neighbourhood of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, the capital of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. It is located in the

Chennai Metropolitan Area The Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area, or simply the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India, the 22nd-most in Asia, and the 40th-most in the world. The CMA consists of the core city of Chennai, wh ...

in Tiruvallur district, from Ambattur. The neighbourhood is served by

Thirumullaivoyal railway station Thirumullaivoyal railway station is one of the railway stations on the Chennai Central– Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhoods of moondru nagar, Jayalakshmi Nagar, Senthil Nagar and Thirumull ...

and Annanur Railway Station. The region was historically part of Thondaimandalam, a region in

Chola Empire The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

during 9th century CE. The place was originally called Mullaivanam, a forest, after which the suburb is named. The history of the suburb revolves around the Masilmaninathar temple. The place is also one of the five revenue firkas under the Avadi Taluk. The place is a pilgrimage location and also houses several other religious and natural tourist destinations.

Etymology

In ancient times, the forest surrounding Thirumullaivoyal was occupied by two notorious tribesmen, Vaanan and Onan from the

Kurumbar Kuruba is a Hindu caste native to the Indian state of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are the third-largest caste group in Karnataka. Traditionally, they were agriculturalists and cattle farmers. The origins of kuruba i ...

tribe. King Thondaiman, the then ruler of the land, wanted to put an end to their atrocities. All his attempts went futile and finally he decided to defeat them in war. He set out for the war with all his infantry and cavalry with elephants and chariots. En route to the war, they waded through a dense growth of ''Mullai'' plants (

Jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

climbers). The foot of the elephant on which he was mounted was entangled in the dense foliage. The king and his men, in an attempt to free the elephant from this mess, went on to cut the wild twines with their swords and daggers. Suddenly they noticed blood gushing out from the leaves and found a '

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

' bleeding. Shocked, the king was in great distress that he has committed a sin. Seeking mercy and forgiveness from Shiva, he prayed to Him. Without any delay

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

appeared before the king lest he indulge in causing self-inflicted injury out of grief. Shiva asked the King to build a temple for Him right there and promised that he would reside there as Masilamaniswara, Shiva who is as precious as a gem, but without stains maasu' - dirty or stain (caused by the profuse bleeding), 'ila' - without, 'mani' - gem It is believed that Shiva also promised to support him in destroying the Kurumbars by sending his holy steed, the

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

bull. On his orders, the

also gets ready to go and fight for the King. This is why the

in this temple faces outwards, ready to leave for the battle on the orders of Shiva, whereas in all other Shiva temples, it faces inwards facing the sanctum.

History

The history of the region is obtained from the inscriptions from the Masilamninathar temple. It has inscriptions from the period of

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

and Pandya, as per which, it was located on the banks of a tributary of river

Palar Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in the Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka state, and flows in Karnataka, in Andhra Pradesh and in Tamil Nadu before reaching its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur abo ...

. The temple has inscriptions from the period of

Medieval Cholas Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century CE and established one of the greatest empires of South India. They successfully united South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influen ...

and has received various architectural additions during their regime. An inscription from the period of

Uttama Chola Uttama was a Chola Emperor who ruled from 973 CE to 985 CE in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. According to Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola, Madurantaka Uttama Chola's reign is placed after Aditya II. The latter may have been a co-regent ...

(970-85 CE) recorded as AR 669 of 1904 indicates that Sembiyan Mahadevi, the mother of Uttama bought 9,300 ''kulis'' of land for 80 ''kalanju'' of gold from the Mahasabha of Ambattur and made a gift to the temple. This is the northernmost of temples where Sembiyan Mahadevi donated for the temple construction. There are also inscriptions from the regime of Parthivendravarman, a feudatory of Uttama Chola, which mentions the reconquest of the regions lost to

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

during the

Battle of Takkolam The Battle of Takkolam (948–949) was a military engagement between a contingent of troops led by Rajaditya, crown prince and eldest son of the Chola king Parantaka I (907–955), and another led by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III (939–96 ...

fought during 949 CE. Another inscription recorded as 677 and 678 of 1904 from the period of Rajendra I (1012–1044 CE) records gifts to the temple. There are other inscriptions from subsequent Chola kings like Kulothunga III (1178–1218 CE) and

Rajaraja III Rajaraja Chola III succeeded Kulothunga Chola III on the Chola throne in July 1216 CE. Rajaraja came to the throne of a kingdom much reduced in size as well as influence. With the rise of the Pandya power in the south, the Cholas had lost most ...

(1216–1256 CE). There are inscriptions from Pandya king

Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I Jatavarman Sundara I, also known as Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan, was a emperor of the Pandyan dynasty who ruled regions of Tamilakkam (present day South India) between 1250–1268 CE.Sethuraman, p124 He is remembered for his patronage of the ...

and from kings of

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...

Harihara Raya II Harihara II (1342–1404 CE) was a emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. He patronised Kannada poet Madhura, a Jaina. An important work on Vedas was completed during his time. He earned the titles ''Vaidikamarga Sthapanach ...

(1377–1404 CE),

(1377–1404 CE) and

Mallikarjuna Raya Mallikarjuna Raya (or Deva Raya III) (born 1420, r. 1446–1465 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. Mallikarjuna Raya succeeded his father Deva Raya II, who had brought prosperity throughout the Vijayanagara e ...

(1446–1465 CE). The large

Nandi Bull Nandi ( sa, नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, g ...

statue is believed to have been built to commemorate the victory of king Thondaiman over two demon brothers.

Administration

Avadi is the state assembly constituency in

, India, formed after constituency delimitation.^{/sup> The areas included are Poonamalle Taluk (partially), Pattabiram, Nemilicheri, Thirunindravur (TP), Tiruverkadu (TP) and Avadi (M). It is included in the Thiruvallur parliamentary constituency.

Landmark

The Puzhal lake extends to the border of Thirumullaivoyal. Tamilnadu SIDCO Women Industrial Park (Estate) is located 5 km to the north of Thirumullaivoyal at Kattur.

Transport

Thirumullaivoyal is connected by both railways and roadways to other parts of Chennai

Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and the Chennai Metropolitan Area

The Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area, or simply the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India, the 22nd-most in Asia, and the 40th-most in the world. The CMA consists of the core city of Chennai, wh ...
. Thirumullaivoyal sits on National Highway 205 (India)

National Highway 205 commonly referred to as NH 205, is a highway in India. The highway passes through the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
Route
The highway starts at Kharar near Chandigarh. It passes through Ropar and Kiratpur ...
and is from Chennai International Airport and from Chennai Central. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation runs a mixed fleet of regular and deluxe buses through Thirumullaivoyal. All the buses operating in the 70 Route, which runs from Avadi to Tambaram through CMBT serves residents of Thirumullaivoyal. Some of the important routes include 70, 70A, B70, D70 EXTN, and 77.

Chennai suburban railway

The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third ...
, a commuter rail

Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
system operated by the Southern Railway, connects Thirumullaivoyal railway station

Thirumullaivoyal railway station is one of the railway stations on the Chennai Central– Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhoods of moondru nagar, Jayalakshmi Nagar, Senthil Nagar and Thirumull ...
. It connects the residents of Thirumullaivoyal to various parts of the city by providing access to Chennai's complex railway network. Thirumullaivoyal railway station

Thirumullaivoyal railway station is one of the railway stations on the Chennai Central– Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhoods of moondru nagar, Jayalakshmi Nagar, Senthil Nagar and Thirumull ...
sits on the rail network, which connects Chennai

Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
with Bangalore

Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, Arakonam, West and southern parts of Tamil Nadu and also neighbouring states of Kerala and Karnataka. It is part of West Line in Chennai Railway Network. Senthil Nagar Bus Stand is available next to the Thirumullaivoyal Railway Station.

On 4 October 2013, the Tamil Nadu Highways department issued a GO extending the entire stretch of the road till Tirutani to 6 lanes at a cost of 1,680 million, by means of land acquisition from 12 villages. In the first phase, the road will be widened to 100 ft (4 lanes) with center median at a cost of 980 million.

References

External links

*

{{Chennai Topics

Cities and towns in Tiruvallur district
Neighbourhoods in Chennai}