Kapaleeswarar Temple

Kapaleeswarar Temple Review

Dating from the 16th century, this crowded Shiva temple is one of the best examples of Dravidian architecture in India. Between mid-March and mid-April during the Arupathumoovar festival (commemorating the 63 Saivite saints, who were devoted to Shiva, also known as Saiva in Sanskrit), the temple streets are closed for 10 days to make room for processions of carts and idols around the complex. Kapaleeswarar is not a rarefied pilgrimage site, but a community gathering place for worship, very much a part of daily life.

Just inside the south entrance, under the gopuram, stands the shrine to Ganesh, a smooth black image of the elephant-headed god that's grown shiny from so many offerings. Worshippers break coconuts in front of and on Ganesh to ask his blessing for a new venture or just for a good day. The temple's large tank is full of hungry fish who have an easy life, devouring bread and other offerings from temple-goers.

Sometimes in the late afternoon, a priest talks to groups of widows in the mandapam, or courtyard. Farther on around the temple, to the left, you may see a man prostrate himself before the Nandi (the bull that is Shiva's vehicle), which guards the entrance to the inner sanctum. Continue around the building until you come to a mandapam with statues of the nine planets. It's auspicious to walk clockwise around these planets nine times, so join the procession. Several of the shrines set into the courtyard wall are accessible to non-Hindus. Photography is not allowed inside the temple.