The town of Pondicherry is blessed with many temples. The natives built temples that stand testimony to their love of God even today. I will be writing about some of the key temples within the town of Pondicherry. Every town in Tamil Nadu will have one main temple around which the town's religious activities are centered. Sri Tirupurasundari sametha Vedhapureeswarar temple is the main temple of Pondicherry.
It is said Pondicherry was known as Vedhapuri during ancient times. It was a seat of Vedic studies and hence the name Vedhapuri. The Siva derives the name Vedhapureeswarar from the town's name. His consort is known as Thirupurasundari. Goddess Thirupurasundari is in standing position and shes quite tall and explicitly carved. Shri Vedhapureeuswarar is said to be Swaymbhu Lingam.
This temple was built during the French occupation. There used to be another ancient temple called the "Sambha" temple. The "Sambha" temple was destroyed by the French and the natives had to carry the idols and rebuild a new temple. It is said the main Lingam of "Sambha" temple was installed in a separate shrine in the new temple, called "Bhakthapureeswarar"
Hundreds of devotees throng the temple on Pradosham, Shivarathri, Karthigai and so on. The temple has a beautiful rajagopuram more than 70 feet tall. The sculptures on the rajagopuram are intricate.
When you plan to visit Vedhapureeswarar temple, one should also visit the nearby temples in one go. Each street in this part of the town is named after one temple. The temples are Vedhapureeswar Temple, Vardaraja Perumal Temple, MuthuMarriAmman Temple and Kamatchi Amman temple. We have each one street named after each of these temples.
More detail about the temple at dinamalar site : http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=640
Picture Courtsey: Dinamalar.
More pictures at : http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=640
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