Sri Aksheeswaraswamy Temple – Acharapakkam

 

Sri Aksheeswaraswamy Temple is located in Acharapakkam in the Kanchipuram district of Tamilnadu.

Here Lord Shiva is worshipped as Aksheeswaraswamy or Atchikontantar and Goddess Parvati as Sundaranayagi

It is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalam

The temple has a five-tiered raja gopuram and a tank in front of it.

The image of the consort, Sundaranayaki is enshrined in a west-facing shrine. There are images of Saraswati, Lakshmi, Saptamatrika, and Ayyappa in the first precinct around the sanctum.

It is believed that there was a well in front of the sanctum, which can be seen during the times of monsoon even during modern times.

The all-powerful Asuras, Tarakan, Kamalatchan, and Vithvan Mali built palaces in gold, silver, and iron respectively, and were troubling the Devas more frequently. The Devas along with Vishu and Brahma worshipped Shiva. Shiva personified sky as the roof, ground as a base, Surya & Chandra as Wheels, Four Vedas as horses, Merumalai as the Bow, Vasuki as the string, and Thirumal himself as the arrow. Brahma was steering the Chariot. Vinaya grew angry as he was not a part of the war and broke the caster bolt of the chariot. Shiva gave good deeds to Vinayagar and went ahead winning the Asuras at Thirvathikai. Since the Achu (caster bolt) was broken into pieces (Pakkam), this place is called Achirupakkam. During Tripurasamharam, the killing of Tripurantaka, Shiva forgot to worship Ganesha before setting out for the battle. He realized it and came back to worship Ganesha and went ahead to win the demon. The same legend is associated with Thiruvathigai Veerattaneswarar Temple and Thiruvirkolam Sri Tripuranthaka Swami Temple.

As per another legend, sages Gautama and Kanva worshiped Shiva at this place. There is another legend that indicates that a Pandya king found a golden iguana that disappeared under a tree. While digging under the tree, he found a linga. He requested sage Trinedhrathari to build a temple and built two sanctums, one for Uamiyatchivarar and the other for Aatcheesvarar.

Throughout the year, the temple observes numerous festivals. Among them, the most significant is the ten-day Chittirai Brahmotsavam, which takes place in the Tamil month of Chittirai in April and May.

Timings

6.00 am to 11.00 am

4.00 pm to 8.30 pm

How to reach the Temple

102 km from Chennai

59 km from Kanchipuram

Nearby Temples

Uthiramerur, Sri Balasubramanian Temple – 31 km

Vallakottai, Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple – 65 km

Thenneri, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple – 66 km

Sevilimedu, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Perumal Temple – 67 km

Thiruporur, Sri Kandaswamy Temple – 69 km

Kanchipuram, Kumara Kottam Subramanya Temple – 69 km

Kanchipuram, Sri Ekambareswarar Temple – 69 km

Kanchipuram, Kailasanadar Temple – 70 km.