Vedapureeswarar Melachery

God

Vedapureeswarar, facing east

Goddess

Lalithambigai, facing south

Other Deities

Valamburi Vinayaka, Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Brahma, Chandikeswara, Balamuruga, Bhairava

Vedapureeswarar Melachery is a small east facing temple on the banks of a lake. The old temple was lost and due to the efforts of the locals, a new temple has been constructed. There are two gates to enter, one in the south and another in the east. A separate south facing shrine houses the Goddess. All the idols except the main deities are new.

Holy Water (Theertham) – No information

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – No information

History

The original temple was lost over time. The villagers used to go once in a while to worship the face of the goddess which was visible above the earth. It was only during an operation to clean the lake that some vessels, pots and a grinding stone were discovered. Subsequently, children playing in the area discovered the lingams top and playfully digging around revealed the Shiva Lingam. The elders subsequently rushed to the spot and further digging around revealed the beautiful form of the Shiva Lingam on a square base, a broken Nandi and the full idol of the Goddess. They immediately erected a shed and started worshiping the Deities. From the square base (Aavudayar) scholars and experts suggested that people proficient in the Vedas should have lived in an Agraharam here and worshiped in this temple. From this fact, the lord was named as Vedapureeswarar and goddess as Lalithambikai by people from Shankara Madam.

Legend

No information

Directions

Vedapureeswarar Melachery is about 12 Kilometers west of Singaperumal Kovil and about 12 kilometers northwest of Chingleput in the Walajabad Road after crossing Palur. You have to cross the level crossing to reach if you are going from Chingleput side. The temple is about a kilometer north of the road and inside after crossing the Melachery Village.

Stay and Food

None locally. Closest are the restaurants in the Walajabad Road or Chingleput.