Kachineri Karaikadu

Paadal Petra Sthalams - Kancheepuram Taluk

God

Satyavradeswarar (also called Satyanadeswarar), facing west

Goddess

Bramarambikai, facing east with the main deity

Other Deities

Dwara Vinayakar, Dwara Subramaniar, Navagraha, Nataraja, Sivagama Sundari, Naalvar, Indran, Budhan, Bhairava, Ganesha, Muruga with consorts, Gajalakshmi, Neelakanta Sivacharyar. Sanctum Niches – Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Lingotbavar, Brahma, Durga, Chandikeswara

Kachineri Karaikadu is an ancient west facing temple with 2 Prakarams. The ancient holy water pond Periya Veppankulam has been in disuse and a smaller pond called Siriya Veppankulam, located west of the temple is being used for drinking water and as Theertham Tank. A 3 tiered Rajagopuram is present in the west at the entrance. The goddess is a processional deity and kept alongside the main deity. The main deity is a light earthy red in color. Usually, Dakshinamurthy is seen with four sage disciples below him, here there are seven of them.

Holy Water (Theertham) – Indra Theertham

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Kaarai (Canthium parviflorum)

History

Thirugnanasambandar (7th Century CE) has rendered Thevaram Hymns here for the Lord.

Legend

Indran is believed to have worshiped the lord here to get relief from the curse of having eyes all over his body by Sage Gowtama whose wife Akalya he had seduced. Jupiter (Vyazhan) was the Guru of Chandran (Moon) who developed a desire for Dhara, Jupiter’s wife. He had an illicit relationship with her out of which was born Budhan (Mercury). When he became older he learnt about his birth and prayed to Lord Shiva here at Kachineri Karaikadu to recognize him by granting him the status of a Planet. In the ancient days, this temple used to be in the road to Kancheepuram and was covered with Kaarai Plants (Canthium parviflorum) giving it its name.

Directions

Kachineri Karaikadu is about 3.5 kilometers southeast of Ekambaranathar temple. It is advisable to refer to our map below for exact location.

Stay and Food

Kancheepuram town has innumerable temples which could be combined as preferred. Refer our map to plan your day. Good hotels and small restaurants are available all around.

Paadal Petra Sthalams

Kancheepuram Temples

Tamilnadu Temples