Tirusoolanathar Tripurasundari Temple, also known as the Tirusoolanathar Temple, is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

located in

Tirusulam Tirusulam is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. For administrative purposes, it is a census town in Chennai. The Chennai International Airport is located here opposite the Tirusulam Railway station, with the cargo terminal located at the adja ...

, a suburb 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 ...

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 ...

. The presiding deity is

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 ...

. The goddess is Tirupurasundari. The temple has inscriptions dating from the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...

period.

Etymology

The temple gets its name from Trichuram family which ruled over the region.

History

Sri Thirusoolanathar, Thiruchuram was constructed by the

Medieval Chola 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 ...

king

Kulothunga Chola I Kulottunga I (;1025 CE - 1122 CE) also spelt Kulothunga (), was a Chola Emperor who reigned from 1070 CE to 1122 CE succeeding his cousin Athirajendra Chola. He also served as the Eastern Chalukya king from 1061 CE to 1118 CE, succeeding his ...

and later renovated by Sundara Cholar. The temple has inscriptions dating from the 11th century CE. The Moolavar is facing east and his consort Thirupurasundari is facing south. Inside the main sanctum is another deity of Thirupurasundari, which was damaged by intruders during Muslim invasion kept next to Thirusoolanathar. The walls of the temple have inscriptions from the

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 ...

period, and Pandiya kingdom, which denotes by the temple inscription The temple has big historical mysteries behind the walls. There is a story of a hiding place for precious metals and jewelry beneath the earth, where a secret path is said to exist. Kulothunga I is said to have hidden treasures somewhere here, instead of inside the temple. There exists a subway under the temple that connects the temple to the nearby hills known as "Panchapandava's Hills", where the king had his palace.

Etymology

History

See also

References

Further reading