History

Marundeeswarar Temple  is a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva, located in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai adjacent to the beach of Bay of Bengal. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams and no Navagraha where the three of the most revered Nayanars (Saivite Saints), Appar and Tirugnana Sambandar have glorified the temple with their verses during the 7th-8th century. The temple has been widely expanded by Chola kings during the 11th century. The temple has two seven tiered gateway towers, a huge tank, with the overall temple area covering 1 acre. The Marundeeswarar temple has been a place of curative worship for people with diseases. The latest consecration of the temple after renovation, was performed in May 2008. The temple is administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Marundeeswarar is known so because he imparted sage Agastya on curative properties of various herbs and plants. Since then the Marundeeswarar temple has been a place of worship for people with diseases and various problems with their health. It is said that even The Sage Valmiki, who wrote The Ramayana, came here to The Marundeeswarar temple to worship Shiva. Sage Valmiki was said to be blessed here. After this incident, this place was to be known as Thiruvalmikiyur, the name gradually changed to Thiruvanmiyur. There is a place present in Thiruvanmiyur called Valmiki Nagar in his honour. There is also a temple built for Sage Valmiki in the middle of the East Coast Road, very close to the Marundeeswarar temple. The lingam for which Hanuman performed pooja, The lingam(meenakshi sundareswarar) that cured the curse of Indra, the Lingam for which Saint Bharadwaja performed pooja are present here. Markandeyar performed a penance and prayed to Shiva here, Brahma is believed to have conducted a festival here for Shiva.
The road starting from Marundeeswarar temple, now called ECR was an important route during the Chola period and was known as Vadagaperuvazhi, connecting the kingdom to places in Thanjavur and Andhra Pradesh. Inscriptions can be found in the shrine of Tripurasundari Amman dating back to the 11th century during the period of Rajendra Chola. The origins and antiquity of this temple is corroborated by the inscriptions found in other temples in the city namely Kapaleeswarar Temple, Virupaksheeswarar Temple and Thiruvidandai which bear testimony to Tiruvanmiyur’s existence. A new life has been put into this ancient worshipping place, first in the year 1903 and then in the 1970s. This temple along with the Kapaleeswarar Temple and the Thiruvottiyur Thyagarajaswamy Temple form the famous Trinity Sea Shore temples of Thondai Mandalam.
The temple has two entrances, one from East Coast Road and the other from West Tank Street both adorned by 5-tiered gopuram (gateway tower). The Entrance from the West Tank Street has got three gates whereas the entrance from the East Coast Road has only one gate. The temple occupies an area of about 1 acre – numerous images adorn the pillars of the temple, while stucco figures adorn the gopurams. The mandapam (hall) housing the Somaskanda form of Shiva has 36 massive pillars adorned with carvings. Devasriyan mantapam inside the temple conducts shaiva sidhantha lectures every day between 7 pm and 8.30 pm.

The temple has smaller shrines for Ganesha, Murugan, there is a shine for 3 ganeshas who control all three time periods, adjacent to this a vedagama padasalai is situated . a thirumurai mandapam has been set up in which thirumurais are sung daily for the past 11 years. the shrine of Shiva, which has the idols of Shiva in his three forms, Theyagaraja, Marundeeswarar, and Nataraja. Nataraja is Shiva in his dancing form. Theyagaraja and Nataraja are the forms of Shiva in which he is not in the Lingam form. The last shrine is for Marundeeswarar’s consort, Goddess Thirupurasundari, who is actually Goddess Parvati. The samadhi of Pamban Swamigal is also found near the shrine.