Shree Nimishambal Temple / ஶ்ரீ நிமிஷாம்பாள் கோயில், Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, George Town, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The visit to this Shree Nimishambal Temple at Kasi Chetty Street in Sowcarpet, Chennai was a part of the “Amman, Shiva, and Vinayagar Temples of Chennai Visit” on 30^th March 2025.  

Moolavar: Sri Nimishambal

Some of the salient features of this temple are….

The temple faces South with a 3-tier Rajagopuram. A Trishul, a balipeedam, and a Simha Vahana are in front of the sanctum sanctorum. Dwarapalakis are on both sides of the sanctum sanctorum. Sri Nimishambal is in a sitting posture with abhaya varada hastam, and Trishul & Damru are in the upper hands. Various forms of Ambal, Ichcha Sakthi, Kriya Sakthi & Gnana Sakthi are in the koshtams.

In praharam, Varasiddhi Vinayagar, Nimisha Lingam Muktheeswarar, Maha Vishnu with his consorts Sridevi & Bhudevi, Anjaneyar, Navagrahas, and Sri Balamurugan.

ARCHITECTURE

The whole temple was constructed with bricks and cement concrete. The temple consists of the sanctum sanctorum and the ardha mandapam. No formal temple architecture is followed. The Vimanam is of two tiers. Ambal’s various postures are on the tala and greeva koshtams.

HISTORY AND INSCRIPTIONS

The temple was constructed in the 19^th Century by the Devotees from Karnataka. As per the hearsay, a businessperson from Karnataka came and settled in this area and constructed a house. In the process of construction, a Utsavar idol of Nimishambal was unearthed. The businessperson constructed the temple where Ambal was unearthed.

The temple is under renovation and preparing for the Maha Kumbhabhishekam.

Even though the temple is under the maintenance of Private Trustees, under the control of the Tamil Nadu HR & CE Department.

LEGENDS

As per the legend, King Mukthi Rajan ruled his country without any problems or troubles with the grace of Ambal Parasakthi. The demon Janukamandalan, who couldn’t digest the fame of Mukthirajan, started giving problems/troubles. Most of the time, the king had to fight against the problems given by the Demon. At one stage, the King prayed to Ambal, who came from the Yagna. Ambal, look at the Demon for a fraction of a Minute (நிமிஷம்) and burn him out (In another version, Nimisham means twinkling of eyes in Sanskrit, hence called Nimishambal). Hence, Ambal is called Nimishambal. Due to the killing of the Demon, Ambal was affected by the Brahmahathya dosha. To get rid of the Dosha, Ambal created a Shiva Linga called Mavuthikeswara, near a place called Srirangapattinam in Karnataka, and worshipped it. Shree Shiva relieved Ambal from the Brahmahathya dosha. Shiva was then called “Muktheeswarar” and in Karnataka called “Mavuthikeswarar”. The King constructed a temple for Ambal at Kanjam, near Srirangapattinam, and called as Nimishambal.

POOJAS AND CELEBRATIONS

Apart from 2 kala regular poojas, special poojas are conducted in Navaratri, Maha Shivaratri, monthly full moon days, Pradosham, Dhasami, Aadi, and Puratasi months.

Devotees worship Ambal for Child boon, to get rid of troubles in business and personal life, etc.

TEMPLE TIMINGS

The temple will be kept open from 07.00 hrs to 11.30 hrs and from 17.00 hrs to 19.30 hrs.

CONTACT DETAILS

HOW TO REACH

The temple is at Kasichetty Street, in Sowcarpet, a part of Chennai.

The temple is about 500 meters from Pookadai Police Station, 1.2 km from Fort Sub-Urban Railway Station, and 1.5 km from Chennai Central Railway Station. 

LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE

--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---