The
visit to this Sri Vedapuriswarar temple at Puducherry was part of “Shiva and
Maha Vishnu Temples of Puducherry” on 06th March 2026. The temple is
on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Puducherry, about 100 meters away from the Sri Varadaraja
Perumal Temple.
Moolavar : Sri Vedapuriswarar
Consort : Sri Tripura Sundari
Some
of the salient features of this temple are….
The
temple faces east with a 5-tier Rajagopuram. The temple tank is on the back
side of the temple. Balipeedam, dwajasthambam, and Rishabam are after the
Rajagopuram. Stucco images of Vinayagar, Sri Valli Devasena Subramaniar, Shiva, and Parvati as Rishabaroodar, Saraswati, and Ayyappan are on the top of the
mukha mandapam. Vinayagar and Murugan sannidhis are at the entrance of the mukha
mandapam.
Shiva
Lingam in the sanctum sanctorum is a little short on a round avudaiyar. A Rishabam
and balipeedam are in front of the sanctum sanctorum. In koshtam, Vinayagar,
Dakshinamurthy, Maha Vishnu, Brahma, and Durgai.
In the praharam, Nalvar, 63var both metal and stone, Vinayagar, Sri Valli Devasena
Subramaniar, Palliyarai with Dwarapalakas, library, and Natarajar,
Chandikeswarar, Navagrahs, Shaniswaran, Nagars, Suriyan, and Bairavar.
Ambal
is in a separate sannidhi that faces south. Ambal is in a standing posture with
abhaya varada hastam.
ARCHITECTURE
The
total temple was constructed with brick and cement concrete. The temple
consists of the sanctum sanctorum, antarala, ardha mandapam, and a mukha mandapam. The
sanctum sanctorum is on a pada bandha adhistanam with jagathy, threepatta
kumudam, and pattikai. The bhitti starts with vedikal. The pilasters are of
Brahma kantha pilasters with kalasam, kudam, palakai, and vettu pothyal. The
prastaram consists of valapi and kapotam with nasikudus. A two-tier vimanam
with greevam and vesara sigaram is on the bhumi desam. Shiva, Dakshinamurthy,
Maha Vishnu, and Brahma are on the tala and greeva koshtams.
Paintings
of Shiva’s dance, Ambal, and Shiva’s various forms are on the ceiling of the
mandapam.
HISTORY
AND INSCRIPTIONS
It is said that the original temple belongs to the later Chozha period, and damaged sculptures of this temple were found at the Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple, which is about 200 meters from this temple. As per Wikipedia, the temple was destroyed by French troops and Indian
subcontinental peoples in religious riots between Hindus and Christians in 1748
CE. During that time, the Utsava murtis are kept in the Sri Varadaraja Perumal
Temple. After the riots, the same was reconstructed in 1788 CE, which was
recorded by Ananda Ranga Pillai.
The
temple tank was gifted by Kalichi Nathamuththu in 1830.
Both
Sri Vedapuresswarar and Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temples are under the same
trustees.
LEGENDS
POOJAS
AND CELEBRATIONS
Apart
from regular poojas, special poojas are conducted on pradosham, Maha
Shivaratri, Navaratri, Vinayagar Chaturthi, Amavasya, Pournami, Masi Maham
theerthavari at sea, etc.
TEMPLE
TIMINGS
The
temple will be kept open from 06.15 hrs to 12.00 hrs and from 16.30 hrs to
21.00 hrs.
CONTACT
DETAILS
HOW
TO REACH
The
temple is in Puducherry, Mahatma Gandhi Road, 2.5 km from Puducherry Railway
Station, 40 km from Villupuram, and 42 km from Tindivanam.
The
nearest Railway Station is Puducherry.
LOCATION
OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE
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OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
Sir the temple is chozha era as they found late chozha era statues (broken) from the varadaraja perumal!
ReplyDeleteMay be Sir, but it is not available at the temple, the temple looks completely new, completely reconstructed... Thanks for pointing out , I will add your point too...
DeleteSir you can start from the French colonial chronicals of 1748. There was a Hindu-Christian(missionaries) riot where several witnesses claim the temple, which is 1000 years old, was demolished. It was reconstructed in 1788, and that's the present structure we see! I'm not sure abt varadan koil as ppl claim it was spared, but generally the view is that most Pondi temples had been destroyed by missionaries and reconstructed later, and the French stopped indulging in religion after their losses in the Carnatic War
DeleteThanks a lot for all your comments... Your view may be correct also... Since we don't know what had happened at that time... If you have any evidence to prove the same, please pass on to me and it will improve the History part of my blog post on this temple.. Thanks a lot sir,...
Delete