திருவலிதாயம் திருவல்லீசுவரர் திருக்கோயில் பாடி சென்னை
Of the four Paadal Petra Sthalams within metropolitan Chennai, this is likely the least well known. Situated in the industrial and working class neighbourhood of Padi, it is not as famous as others such as the Kapaleeswarar in Mylapore or the Marundeeswarar in Thiruvanmiyur. Today the temple is popular with the locals as it is associated with Guru or Jupiter and is one of the Navagraha temples around Chennai.
The temple must have been in existence in some form in the early 7th century as Sampanthar has praised it in his Thevaram. It was a much larger complex during the heyday of the Chola empire in the 11th and 12th centuries when much of the temple was rebuilt by Rajarajan III and Kulothungan III. Added on to during Vijayanagar and Nayakkan times, it must have been a grand temple. Heavily encroached upon by an expanding city, today only the core remnant remains. The nearby Padaivettu Amman Koil a kilometre away was part of the original complex and is proof of the large extent of the original temple. Chola military commanders paid homage to the Amman here before their northern campaigns. The name Padi likely came from the Chola military encampment that existed here. Padi means a military settlement. Some say that it got its name from the Nayanmar and others who sang hymns in praise of the lord here.
The sanctum and the Vimanam here are of the Gajaprishta or Thoonganai Maadam type. It is a fine example of this type of Vimanam that was very popular in the later Chola period. Although this is only a small part of the original temple, it is still a large complex. The relatively small 3 tier rajagopuram is likely a gopuram over an inner entrance way. The outer prakarams have been swallowed by encroachments from an expanding city. It is a beautiful and ancient temple in a bustling part of the city.
It is located in the Padi neighbourhood in the western part of the city of Chennai. The locals refer to it as the Padi Sivan Koil.
We visited in August 2017. We stayed in Chennai.
Credits: Google Maps
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