காசி விஸ்வநாதர் கோவில் , நசரத்பேட்டை

Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Nazarethpet, Poonamalle

Kasi Visalakshi Samedha Kasi Viswanathar temple at Nazarethpet is said to be more than 1000 years old.  The temple was earlier  managed by a family of  Beri Chetty, a trader community of the Arya Vysya Clan,   who had created a  number of endowments for the temple.  Now  the HR &CE board has taken control and have initiated steps for renovating this temple.  Balayalam has already been done and the renovation work has commenced at  snail's pace.

The specialty of this temple is that on the 5th , 6th & 7th of the Tamil month Panguni every  year, the rays of the sun fall on the main deity in the morning hours between 6 am and 7 am. It is considered that Surya Bhagvan is worshiping the presiding deity Lord Kashi Viswanathar on those days.

The Nandhi Bhagavan of this temple delights the devotees with his smiling face.  With his head inclined slightly to the right and a serpent tucked under his frontal left foot he sits majestically facing  the Presiding Deity, in the outer praharam.  On enquiry, we were told that the serpent here represents Karkotaka Mahirishi who got his mukthi here.  It is possible that there may be some connection of Karkotaka Mahirishi to this temple, since, the jeevasamadhi of the Maharishi is located at the  nearby Vaidhyanatha Swamy temple at Poonamalle.  If any  reader of this blog is aware of the history and background of this temple, we request that the same may please be passed on to us.

There is a separate shrine for Lord Ayyappa near the northern boundary of the temple.  This construction, we were informed, had come up within the last 12 years and it appears to be  a better-maintained one.

When we reached there on the morning of 21.04.2013, there was not a single soul anywhere nearby.  Only the priest's helper was waiting for our arrival. In view of the commencement of renovation, the main temple itself remained locked down.  Hence there was not much of a work for us inside the temple.

There was a wild growth of weeds and shrubs, especially on the northern side of the temple's outer praharam.  Our volunteers actively involved themselves in clearing the same.  Soon, our newly acquired brush cutter was pressed into service and made the job of cutting the unwanted shrubs easier.  Wild growth was also noticed on top of the gopurams and vimanams.  The same were cleared and weed-killer chemical applied over the remaining portion to prevent further growth.

Before returning, we dug two deep holes and planted coconut saplings after clearing the wild bush in that area

To view additional photos on Nazarethpet Uzhavarappani :  Click Here

How to Reach:  Nazarethpet is two kms away from Poonamalle. From Poonamalle, you can get into any MTC bus proceeding to Sriperumpudur side and get down at the next stopping, which is Nazarethpet.  Take a left turn at the bus stop and a walk for five minutes will lead you to the temple.