Description of the attraction
A temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva called Kapaliswarar is located in the suburban area of Mylapur in the ancient city of Chennai, which is located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The exact date of the temple's creation is not known, but scientists suggest that the time of its construction falls on the 7th century, when this region was ruled by the powerful Pallava dynasty. Its name comes from the words "kapalam", which means "head", and "isvarar" - one of the names of Shiva. Kapalisvarar is a typical example of the Dravidian architectural style. Its main gopuram, the tower, rises 40 meters above the entire street on which it is located. It has two entrances located on different sides. The outer walls of Gopuram are decorated with numerous brightly colored figures of people, animals and birds. In the main sanctuary of Kapalisvarar there are several vahanas - figures that are a kind of containers for the essence of the deity: an elephant, a goat, a parrot, a bandicoot and, of course, a peacock and a bull, which have always been considered one of the main forms of Shiva's reincarnation. And recently, another wahana was added - the golden chariot.
In the temple, Shiva's wife, the Goddess Parvati, is also worshiped, namely one of her many incarnations Karpaganbal.
In the temple, puja, a Hindu ritual of "sacrifice", is performed four times every day: morning, afternoon, evening, and the so-called puja pradosha kaala. Also, several festivals are held on the territory of the temple. One of the most famous and important festival is considered the Arupathimuvar festival, during which the followers of Shaivism are honored - the direction of Hinduism, the traditions of which presuppose special reverence for Shiva.
