Navagraha Temples of Chennai (Thondai Mandalam)

The city of Chennai is not exactly known for its ancient temples, except perhaps for Kapaleeshwarar, Parthasarathy and probably Marundheeshwarar. However, if we can stretch the city limits on its Western side, one finds quite a lot of temples built by the Pallava and even Choza Kings. 

You would even be surprised to know that a cluster of these ancient temples, are called the Thondai Mandala Navagraha Kovilgall. In other words, these are temples quite similar to the famous Navagraha Temples that one finds in the Kumbakonam-Mayiladuthurai belt. 

All these 9 temples around Chennai are pretty much found on the western outskirts. There are quite a few sites that give you details about these temples, their history, pictures, timings when they are open etc. When I tried to plan a visit to these temples, I was unable to find all details in a single site. Some sites did give a standard map, that one just CANNOT make sense of. It has distance between each temple in Kms, but leaves out some positional context. Only after I visited each of these temples over many weekends, I realised that I could have very well covered all of them in a single day. 

So the attempt here is to enlighten interested souls about: 

1. The presence of Navagraha Temples around Chennai
2. A Google map that highlights where each temple is located
3. The salient features of each temple
4. Small tips that one needs to be aware of while visiting these temples
5. The post is more from a tourist perspective than a bhakt or history enthusiast perspective

What I also found during my visits is that Google maps gives you excellent directions to these temples. Just search for it using both the temple name and the location. For example, to find out the route to the Budhan temple in Kovur, you can type “Sundareshwarar Temple Kovur”.  You may find one or two suggestions from Google, but with the map reference that I have given here, you can easily find out which one you have to visit. And it will be a lot more helpful if there is a map reader travelling along with the driver. This may help you avoid certain smaller lanes or even if you miss taking the correct path from the main road, the map reader can help you get back on track. 

So at a high level, these are the temples that constitute the Navagraha Temples around Chennai: 

Graham	Location	Temple name
Suryan	Kolapakkam	Agastheeshwarar
Chandran	Somangalam	Somanadheeswarar
Angaragan	Poonamallee	Vaitheeswaran
Budhan	Kovur	Sundareshwarar or Thirumeyneeshwarar
Guru	Porur	Ramanadheeshwarar
Shukran	Mangadu	Velleeshwarar
Sani	Pozhichalur	Agastheeshwarar
Rahu	Kundrathur	Nageshwarar
Kethu	Gerugambakkam	Neelakandeshwarar

Before I get into the details of individual temples, let me again reiterate that this post would give an account of the temples from the perspective of how to reach the place, what facilities are available, what interesting points can be noted etc. This should help the typical family travellers who have young kids or senior citizens to plan better. 

One common point with all these temples is that these are on the outskirts, which means that you wont find any fancy restaurants or even a decent looking “hotel”. So, it would make a lot of sense to take some refreshments on hand. 

Without much further ado, let us begin the pilgrimage tour! 

1. Suryan - Kolapakkam

Agastheeswarar + Anandavalli

Overall Size: Medium

Main Prakaaram: Small; cramped

Amman Sannidhi: Adjoining the Garba Graham of Shivan along a common wall. 

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: Yes

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Yes

Cleanliness: Above average

Access: Last 200 metres in narrow village road. 

Facilities: Good parking facility. Flower vendors available. 

Feature: The inner Prakaaram is completely walled along one side from the Garba Graham.  So pradakshinam of just Shivan is not possible. You have to do it in the outer Prakaaram. Small pond is present outside the temple, on the Eastern side. 

2. Chandran - Somangalam

Somanadheeswarar + Kamakshi

Overall Size: Medium

Main Prakaaram: Small; cramped

Amman Sannidhi: Separate 

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: Yes

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Yes

Cleanliness: Above average

Access: Last 300 metres in very narrow road if approached purely by Google map. Small deviation can be taken before that stretch, but have a good map reader for that. 

Facilities: Absolutely none. Parking space not sufficient for cars. No flower vendor also. 

Feature: The inner Prakaaram with Shivan is strikingly similar to what is seen in Kolapakkam, with the Garba graham continuing as a wall along one side. The key difference however, is the separate Sannidhi for Kamakshi Amman outside this Prakaaram. Small pond is present  on the Northern side, adjacent to the temple, visible from within the temple. 

3. Angaragan - Poonamallee

Vaitheeswaran + Thaiyal Nayagi

Overall Size: Medium

Main Prakaaram: Decent sized

Amman Sannidhi: Separate, but within main Prakaaram.

Goshala: Yes

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: Yes, but is placed like a dwara palakar for Shivan. 

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: No. Deity placed in a corner. 

Cleanliness: Above average

Access: Can easily be missed from Poonamallee High Road. Keep checking Google closely. The entry to the road from PH Road is quite narrow and congested.  

Facilities: Decent parking, though not worth the charge. Lot of flower vendors. 

Feature: You can do separate pradhakshinams for Shivan, Amman, Vinayagar and Murugan. Small pond is present outside the temple on the Eastern side. We can do the salt and pepper pariharam like in the main Vaitheeswaran temple. Navagraha Sannidhi is placed within the main Prakaaram. 

4. Budhan - Kovur

Sundareshwarar + Soudhambigai 

(Alias: Thirumeyneeshwarar + Thiruvudai Naayagi)

Overall Size: Medium

Main Prakaaram: Decent sized

Amman Sannidhi: Separate, but within main Prakaaram. 

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: No. Contained within Shivan.

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: No. Deity placed in a corner. 

Cleanliness: Good

Access: Quite decent sized roads leading to the temple from main road.  

Facilities: Excellent parking. Few flower vendors. 

Feature: Easily the best in terms of carvings. Sheer number of carvings of deities and puranas along the wall, in the pillars, under the raja gopuram are stunning. So are the features. Murugan with Valli and Deivanai sannadhi is quite small and you will be mesmerised by the 5 foot tall vigrahams that are almost at a touching distance. The collection of utsava moorthis is also quite large. You will realise that the entrance to this temple has been featured in many movies. 

5. Guru - Porur

Ramanatheeswarar + Sivakamasundari

Overall Size: Small

Main Prakaaram: Quite an open one, like what we can see in a lot of modern temples. 

Amman Sannidhi: Separate 

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: No. Contained within Shivan.

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Yes 

Cleanliness: Good

Access: Once you get off the main road, the cramped streets begin. The final stretch leading to the temple is extremely narrow and can be easily missed. Big cars or SUVs wouldn't be able to reach the lane where the main entrance lies. 

Facilities: No dedicated parking for cars. Many flower vendors. 

Feature: The main Shivalingam is around 6 feet tall and it is quite a captivating sight. The navagraha Prakaaram is very unique because, they are all presented with their consorts. Not seen in (m)any temple(s). This is also the only Shivan temple that offers Chadari and Theertham like Vaishnava temples. 

6. Sukkiran - Mangadu

Velleeswarar + Kamakshi (different temple)

Overall Size: Small

Main Prakaaram: Medium

Amman Sannidhi: Not present. Mangadu Kamakshi Amman nearby is the equivalent . 

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: No. Contained within Shivan.

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Yes 

Cleanliness: Good

Access: Very near Mangadu Kamakshi Amman temple. 

Facilities: No dedicated parking for cars. You can park at Kamakshi temple and walk for 5-10 mins. Or park mid-way between both temples. Many flower vendors. 

Feature: Inner Prakaaram reminds one of the Suryan and Chandran temples (one side fully walled). However, you can get quite close to the main lingam and see its granite like texture. There is no separate Amman Sannidhi and you have to visit the Kamakshi Amman temple if need be. Between the dhwaja sthambam and the Prakaaram, you can see a small set of feet carved on the ground, which is deemed as Kamakshi Amman taking darshan of Shivan from that spot. 

7. Sani - Pozhichalur

Agastheeswarar + Anandavalli

Overall Size: Medium

Main Prakaaram: Medium

Amman Sannidhi: Separate, but within main Prakaaram.

Goshala: Yes

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: Yes.

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Practically a separate temple.

Cleanliness: BAD. 

Access: Along the Chennai Airport runway! This is on the Pammal side and accessibility is good as long as there isn't too much traffic. 

Facilities: Good car and bike parking option. Many flower vendors. 

Feature: Dogs. This being a major Bhairavar sthalam, one can observe many dogs roaming around the temple. Some are present even inside the Prakaaram. I even saw one sleeping behind the Chandikeshwarar. There is too much of dog excrement around the temple, so pradhakshinam and namaskaram has to be done with utmost caution. Other than that, it is a pretty nice temple with a stand-alone Anjaneyar Sannidhi too. 

8. Rahu - Kundrathur

Nageshwarar + Kamakshi

Overall Size: Medium

Main Prakaaram: Medium

Amman Sannidhi: Separate, but within main Prakaaram.

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: Yes.

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Yes.

Cleanliness: Good

Access: Well connected from main road. 

Facilities: Good car and bike parking option. Many flower vendors. 

Feature: There’s a very beautiful Vinayagar vigraham in the Prakaaram that basically defines  “mischievous look”. The Navagraha Sannidhi is a closed structure like Garba Graham, but people can step in and do pradhikshinam. 

9. Kethu - Gerugambakkam

Neelakandeshwarar + Aadhi Kamakshi

Overall Size: Small

Main Prakaaram: Small

Amman Sannidhi: Separate, but within main Prakaaram.

Goshala: No

Separate Sannidhi for pariharam: No.

Separate Bhairavar Sannidhi: Yes.

Cleanliness: Average

Access: Last 200+ meters is along a single car lane. Cycle cant come in opposite direction. As bad if not worse, as the approach road/lane to the Porur Ramanadheeshwarar temple. 

Facilities: Parking option not really available near temple. 1-2 flower vendors only. 

Feature: This is an easily "missable" temple and doesn't have the popularity that others seem to command. The Amman here is very beautiful. Its a compact little temple but needs some attention in the accessibility portion.

My suggestion would be to not try and squeeze out a visit in a single day, unless you are hard-pressed for time. There are many other old temples in this region that you can visit, like the famous Mangadu Kamakshi Amman temple. So the best choice would be to spread the visit over 2 days and try to fit in additional temples. 

For the very adventurous types, you can check out the MTC bus services. All these places are well served by MTC, though their frequency would ensure that you take 4 or 5 separate days to cover all 9 temples. 

Before I conclude, let me reiterate once again that travellers can avoid big cars and vans and limit themselves to small or medium cars. Please take refreshments along with you and don't expect to find good eating spots near the Temples. I visited the temples in the Thai and Maasi months and that too in the mornings. The alangaarams for Amman were quite outstanding in all of these temples. 

Have a good trip.