Kapaleeshwarar Temple (Tamil: மயிலாப்பூர் கபாலீசுவரர் கோயில் Mayilāppūr Kapālīcuvarar Kōyil) is a temple of Shiva located in Mylapore, Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The form of Shiva's wife Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal (from Tamil, "Goddess of the Wish-Yielding Tree"). The temple was built around the 7th century CE in Dravidian architecture.
According to the Puranas, Shakti worshipped Shiva in the form of a peacock, giving the vernacular name Mylai (Mayilāi) to the area that developed around the temple - mayil is Tamil for "peacock". Shiva is worshiped as Kapaleeshwarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Karpagambal. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Shaiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Kapaleeshwarar and Karpagambal being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and four yearly festivals on its calendar. The Arubathimooval festival celebrated during Paṅkuni in the Tamil calendar is its most prominent festival.
The original temple was built on the sea shore but was destroyed by the Portuguese. The present masonry structure was built 1.5km away from the original location by the Tuluva dynasty (1491–1570 CE) of the Vijayanagara Empire. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
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