History

The Chandra Choodeswarar Temple is an ancient Shiva temple located on a rocky hill in the town of Hosur, Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu.

Due to variations in the local languages (Tamil, Kannada, Telugu) and dialects, the temple is also referred to as ‘Chandira Choodeshwarar’, ‘Chandra Choodeshwara’, ‘Chandra Choodeshwar’, ‘Shri Choodeswarar’ or ‘Arulmigu ChandraChoodeshwarar’.

The main deities of the temple are Shiva, depicted as the Shiva linga and the Goddess Parvati, depicted as ‘Maragathambal’
‘Chandra Choodeswarar’ means the Eshwara who wears the Moon (Chandra) as an ornament on his crest or tuft of hair on top of the head.

Shiva’s consort Parvathi is worshiped here as Maragathambal. ‘Maragatham’ means green and ‘Ambal’ means mother. This is in reference to the green plants and trees (Photosynthesis), which provide sustenance to all living beings.

26 Tamil inscriptions are documented by Archaeological Department of Tamil Nadu, in 1974.

‘Chandra Choodeswarar’ is been called as Cevidai Nayanar in Tamil as per the Tamil inscriptions.
The 13th century inscription found during Chandrasudeswara temple Patronage.

Commenting on this inscription, Krishnagiri District Historical Search Committee Organizer Ramakrishnan said:

In the 10th century, Hosur was known as Chevidapadi, and in the 13th century, Hosur was known as Murasunadu, From 16th century onwards, it is been called as Hosur.

The temple has grown during the time of the Cholas, Hoysala and Vijayanagara Emperors.

Perumal Temple in Hosur and Bagalore Shiva Temple inscriptions tell the details of donations to Chandra Chandrasudeswara temple.

There are also inscriptions of Rajendra Chola in this ancient temple.

The exact history of the temple is not clearly documented. Considering that the Hosur region is mentioned in ancient Hindu texts like the ‘Padmagiri Mahathyamam’, a part of ‘Bramanda Puranam’, a shrine for Shiva is deemed to have existed here from ancient times.

The Chandra choodeshwara Temple structure was built by the Hoysala king, Thirupuvanamalla Barvatharaja Anthiyazhvar, in the year 1260.

The temple was renovated by Azhakiya Perumal Aathimoolam. ‘Padmagiri Mahathyamam’, a part of ‘Bramanda Puranam’ talks about the popularity of Hosur.