Kachchaleswarar Temple

Kachchaleswarar Temple
	Front view of Kachchaaleeshwarar Koil
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Chennai
Deity	Kachchaleswarar (Lord Shiva)
Location
Location	77 Armenian Street
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Geographic coordinates	13.033634°N 80.270199°E
Architecture
Type	Hindu temple architecture
Creator	Kalavai Chetty
Completed	1725
Temple(s)	1

Kachchaleswarar Temple, also known as the Great Kachali Pagoda, is a Hindu temple located in Armenian Street, in the neighbourhood of Parry's corner (Old: George Town) in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, India. Constructed on land belonging to dubash Kalavai Chetty in 1725, the temple belonged to the left-hand castes and was the site of the first major conflict between left and right-handed castes in the then Madras city.

The temple is modelled on the Kachaaleshwarar temple at Kancheepuram. Kachaaleshwarar (Shiva) is the main deity and Soundaraambikai, the consort deity.

History

Facade of the temple

Pillaiyar thoppu (garden) at the temple, near the entrance

The temple was built in 1725 by Kalavai Chetty, a 'dubash' working for the British East India Company, on a land belonging to him.[1] The street on which the temple stands was originally came to be known as "Katchala Pagoda Street", after the "Great Kachali Pagoda" as the temple was known then.[1] A huge retinue of dancing girls were attached to the temple in the earlier days.[1] These dancing girls resided in a quarter adjoining the temple since about 1700.[1]

The temple happened to be the cause of one of "Black Town's" first caste disputes as it belonged to the Left-Hand Caste. With the government's intervention, a new approach to the temple was built without encroaching on Right-Hand Caste property.[1]

A plaque in the temple records the year of the first kumbhaabishekam (consecration) as 1728. Post-Independence, a mahaa-kumbhaabishekam (great consecration) was held on 8 July 1962. A major renovation of the temple began on 20 February 1984 and another great consecration was held on 9 July 1989.

Temple tank during a dry season in September, before monsoon

References

Muthiah, S. (2014). Madras Rediscovered. Chennai: EastWest. p. 383. ISBN 978-93-84030-28-5.

Places of worship in Chennai
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Mosques	Thousand Lights Mosque Bahram Jung Mosque Casa Verona's Mosque Dharma Kidangu Mosque Hafiz Ahmad Khan Mosque Makkah Masjid Masjid Mamoor Masjid-o-Anwari Periamet Mosque Triplicane Labbai Jamaath Masjid
Jain temples	Shantinath temple
Buddhist temples	Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Centre
Gurudwaras	Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha Gurudwara
Parsi temples	Royapuram Fire Temple

Kachchaleswarar Temple

History

See also

References

Further reading