The Kālikāmbal Temple is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple dedicated to Shri Kāligāmbāl ( Kāmākshi) and Lord Kamadeswarar, located in Parry's corner (Old: George Town) locality of the city 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 ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

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 temple is located in Thambu Chetty Street, a prominent financial street at Georgetown, running parallel to Rajaji Salai.

History

The temple was originally located closer to the sea shore at the site of the present-day Fort St. George. When the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

built the fort, the temple was relocated to the current site on 1 March 1640 CE and the construction continued until 1678.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilsh ...

, the 17th century

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...

warrior-king and the founder of

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

, had paid a visit in this temple on 3 October 1677. It is believed that a fierce form of Goddess was held in worship earlier and that this form was replaced with the ''shanta swaroopa'' (calm posture) form of Goddess Kamakshi by

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

. Tamil poet

Subramaniya Bharathi C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...

was a regular visitor of the temple in the early 20th century. The Tamil devotional hymn ''Ullam Uruguthaiya'' written by Andavan Picchi in 1952 was conceived and composed at the temple premises. Kaalikaambaal Temple Gopuram, Chennai

In the 1980s, a new 10-metre-high tower (''rajagopuram'') was added to the existing structure. Construction of the tower began on 22 January 1976 and was completed on 21 January 1983. Another major expansion was made in 2014. The deity is known by other names such as Kottaiamman (''Kottai'' meaning "fort", since it was originally situated at the location of the fort) and Chennamman (''Chenthooram'' or ''Senthooram'' meaning holy crimson).

The temple

The main deity is faced towards the west. Legend has it that the deity was worshiped by demi-gods and saints, including

Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

, Agastya, Aangeerasa, Pulasthya, and

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

. The idol of the main goddess has Thirusiran or Sri Vishwarupan at its feet. The procession deity (''urchavar'') is called Periyanayaki, an idol in standing posture on a chariot, with idols of

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

and

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

on either side. Other shrines in the temple include Shiddi Vinayakar (

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

), Shiddi-Bhuddi Vinayakar (Ganesh), Agora Veerabadhra,

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

, Vadakathirkama Murugan, Virat Vishwa Parabrahma,

Gayatri Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, IAST:Gāyatrī) is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and bears the epithet of ''Vedamata'' (mother of the Vedas). Gayatri is ofte ...

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

Dakshinamurthy Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. Thi ...

, and

Pratyangira Pratyangira (Sanskrit: प्रत्यङ्गिरा, ''Pratyaṅgirā)'', also called Atharvana Bhadrakali, Narasimhi, Simhamukhi, and Nikumbala, is a Hindu goddess associated with Shaktism. She is described to be the female energy and co ...

. The sacred water (sthla tirtha) of the temple is seawater and the sacred tree (sthla vriksha) is the

mango tree ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian t ...

(''Mangifera indica'').

Management

The temple is hereditarily managed by the Viswakarma Community by the order of Madras High Court, with the managing trustees’ board of 5 members being elected by conducting an election voted by men of the respective community.

Festivities

Vasantha Urchavam is held in the Tamil month of Aani. Thotti Unjal Urchavam is held in Aadi for 9 consecutive Fridays. Annabishekam is held in the full-moon day of the Tamil month of Aippasi. Other important festivities at the temple include Aadi Pooram, Aadi Krithikai, Ganesh Chathurthi, Navarathri, Skanda Shashti, Mondays of the Tamil month of Karthikai, Karthikai Deepam, Dhanur Pooja in the Tamil month of Maargali, Manikkavasakar celebrations, Aarudhra, Fridays of the Tamil month of Thai, ''Theerthavaari'' at the seashore during the Tamil month of Maasi, Vasantha Navarathri in the Tamil month of Panguni, Chithra Pournami in the Tamil month of Chitthirai, Brammothsavam in the Tamil month of Vaikasi.

References

External links