Vanniar Sangam Hall, East Mada Street
Vanniar Sangam Hall, East Mada Street

The joys and wonders of Mylapore will never cease. Rounding the straight yesterday at East Mada Street, I as usual stopped the car for a moment to marvel at the elegance of the Vanniar Sangam hall’s ground floor and then shudder at the unparalleled ugliness of its first floor. Strangely, the hall was not locked. It had a couple of temple umbrellas resting against the wall and inside I could see Pancha Murthies from a temple.

Kaikola Pillayar aka Vadakur Selva Vinayakar
Kaikola Pillayar aka Vadakur Selva Vinayakar

It then dawned on me that this being Vaikasi (May/Jun), it is time for the brahmotsavam of Velleeswarar. Last year I wrote about the most important day of this festival, when Shiva-Velleeswara restores the vision of Shukra after the Vamana Avataram. This year, I was fortunate to see the Adhikara Nandi.

Velleeswarar on Adhikara Nandi
Velleeswarar on Adhikara Nandi

Unlike the Kapaliswarar temple, the Adhikara Nandi here is not plated with silver but only has silver paint. However, the decorations have an understated elegance about them. The pillars of the Vanniar Sangam hall only added to the beauty of the event. 

Goddess Kamakshi, Velleeswarar Temple
Goddess Kamakshi, Velleeswarar Temple

Legend has it that Velleeswarar is the original resident deity of Mylapore with Kapali moving in later. And so in keeping with it, Velleeswarar goes around the four mada streets just like Kapali does. Only the crowds are a lot less. Arupathu Moovar is celebrated with just four devotees – three from the 63 – Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar, coming out along with Manikkavachakar. However, I am not so sure about the authenticity of that claim about the age of the temple. The list of Dharmakarthas dates back to 1884 or so. 

Muthukumaraswami, Velleeswarar Koil
Muthukumaraswami, Velleeswarar Koil

The temple is gearing up for a kumbhabhishekam soon. Its interior must have been once graceful but it is now cluttered with too many sub shrines.
Chandikeswarar, Velleeswarar Koil
Chandikeswarar, Velleeswarar Koil