Kapaleeshwarar Temple

The Kapaleeshwarar Temple is dedicated to Shiva (as Kapaleeshwarar) and Parvati (as Karpagambal). The original 7th-century Pallava-era structure was demolished by the Portuguese in the 16th century during their attempt to build the San Thome Cathedral; the present temple was reconstructed at the current Mylapore site by the Vijayanagara empire in the 16th–17th century, with the towering 37-metre eastern gopuram added in the 19th century. The legend that gives the temple its name has Parvati taking the form of a peacock to worship Shiva at this spot — hence 'Mylapore', from 'Mayilarpari', the place where Mylai (the peacock) worshipped. The Saiva poet-saint Tirugnana Sambandar composed his Tevaram hymns to Kapaleeswarar here, and the 7th-century inscriptions in the inner shrine reference his miracle of restoring a girl named Poompavai to life. The temple's annual ten-day Brahmotsavam (March/April) sees the bronze processional images of all 63 Nayanmar saints brought out on a wooden chariot. Sambandar's Poompavai miracle is re-enacted on the eighth day. Photography prohibited inside the sanctum; gopuram photography from outside is fine.