Kumaran Kundram

Kumaran Kundram Chromepet

Kumaran Kundram is a hillock located at Chromepet, Chennai. It houses an about 40-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu God Murugan. The temple can be reached by road from Chromepet en route to Hasthinapuram. The presiding deity is Sri Swaminathaswamy. The presiding deity in Kumaran Kundram is believed to be equivalent to the one in Swamimalai and stands atop the hillock facing north. It can be reached by a flight of about 80 steps.

History

In 1956, Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal, a twentieth-century saint and seer of the Kanchi Mutt, visited Chromepet. On looking at the hill, he proposed that a temple be built for Murugan. The temple for Siddhi Vinayagar was built in the same year. Twenty years later, while clearing the hillside for a path, a lance, the prime weapon of Lord Muruga, was found. This inspired the devotees to speed up work.^[1] The consecration of the Sri Swaminathaswamy temple was performed in 1979. Slowly, more shrines were added for Shiva, Sarabeshwara, Ambal and the Navagrahas. The temple is run by a group of trustees.

The newly constructed and consecrated 5-tier Raja Gopuram of Kumaran Kundram

A five tier Rajagopuram has been constructed recently. Though the spade work had commenced long ago, the actual construction work on the Rajagopuram commenced in 2011-12 and concluded in January 2014. Renovation and painting works have also been carried out in the temple in connection with the Mahakumbhabhishekam (consecration ceremony). A new Artha mandapam adjoining the Rajagopuram has been constructed. A few civil works remain to be completed(February 2014). A new Dwajasthambam (Flag Mast) has also been erected. Cultural and religious events like music, dance and discourses were held at the Arunagirinathar Hall inside the temple precincts every day for over an year in 2013-14 as a part of the Rajagopuram construction and temple renovation.

Religious ceremonies connected to the consecration commenced on 3 February 2014 and the consecration was conducted between 9.00 AM and 10.30 AM IST on 9 February 2014 (Sunday) in the presence of His Holiness Swami Brahmayogananda, Founder, Acharya Yoga Shanthi Gurukulam, West Mambalam, Chennai and His Holiness Niranjanandagiri Swamy of Gnananandagiri Peetam, Dakshina Halasyam, Thennangur.

On the day of consecration, thousands of devotees visited the shrine and took part in the full-day festivities. His Holiness Shri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, the junior seer of the Kanchi Mutt visited the shrine in the evening and offered prayers to the deities.

The presiding deity was taken in a procession in a magnificent floral palanquin in the night to the accompaniment of temple music and chants of devotees.

The monthly circumambulation of the small hill temple on the night of full moon day (Girivalam) attracts hundreds of devotees every month. The annual Soorasamhaaram festival (in October/November) is the prime festival in this temple along with Karthigai Deepam celebrations (in November/December).

A large group of devotees by the name of "Sri Padam" are rendering regular service at the temple on voluntary basis.

Prasanna Yoga Anjaneya Temple

Prasanna Yoga Hanuman

Opposite to the Sri Swaminathaswamy Temple (Kumaran Kundram) is a small vaishnavite temple run by a hereditary trust. The presiding deity is Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal and the goddess is Alarmel Mangai Thayar. To the left of the presiding deity is Sri Yoga Narisimha Swamy. There are separate shrines for Prasanna Yoga Anjaneyar (Hanuman)and Ramanujar.^[1] The ground where this temple is built belonged to Shri. Srinivasan Thiagarajan, who gave it in exchange for another piece of land in the same locality. The temple attracts large crowds on Saturdays, New Year Eve and Vaikunta Ekadasi. Circumambulation is performed by hundreds of devotees in the month of Karthigai (November–December).

References

Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu
Chennai	Ashtalakshmi Kovil Chennakesava Perumal Temple, Chennai Ekambareswarar Temple, Chennai Ettampadai Kalikambal Temple Kapaleeshwarar Temple Madhya Kailash Mallikesvarar Temple, Chennai Marundeeswarar Temple Nandeeswarar Temple Parthasarathy Temple Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Prathyangira Devi Temple, Shollinganallur Ravishwarar Sri Balaji Temple, T. Nagar Tiruvalithayam Vadapalani Andavar Temple Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple Jagannath Temple
Tirunelveli district	Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple Kulashekharanatha Mahalingam Temple, Pathai Nellaiappar Temple Sankaranayinarkoil Thirukutralam Thirumalai Kovil Vaithya lingam temple Vanniappar Temple
Vellore district	Apatsahayesvarar Temple, Alangudi Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple, Tirukannamangai Engan Murugan Temple Kalyana Varadharaja Perumal Temple Kothandarama Temple, Thillaivilagam Nadutariappar Temple Paampuranathar Temple, Thirupampuram

Hindu deities and texts
Gods	Trimurti Brahma Vishnu Rama Krishna Shiva Ganesha Kartikeya Hanuman Indra Surya more
Goddesses	Tridevi Saraswati Lakshmi Parvati Adi Parashakti Sati Durga Shakti Kali Sita Radha Mahavidya Navadurga Matrikas more
Texts	Vedas Rig Sama Yajur Atharva Upanishads Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita Yoga Sutras of Patanjali more
Hinduism Hindu mythology

Places of worship in Chennai
Temples	Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple Royapuram Angala Parameswari Temple Alamelumangapuram Anjaneya Temple Nanganallur Anjaneya Temple Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple Luz Anjaneya Temple Apparswami Temple Ashtalakshmi Kovil Choolaimedu Angalamman Temple Anna Nagar Ayyappan Koil Muthialpet Bairagimadam Temple Chennakesava Perumal Temple Chennai Om Sri Skandhashramam Chintadri Pillaiyar Kovil Ekambareswarar Temple Ettampadai Temple ISKCON Temple Puri Jagannath Temple Kachchaleswarar Temple Kalikambal Temple Saidapet Kamakshi Amman Temple Kamaleswarar Temple Kandaswami Temple Kapaleeshwarar Temple Mylapore Karaneeswarar Temple Saidapet Karaneeswarar Temple Ayanavaram Kasi Viswanatha Temple Mambalam Kasi Viswanatha Temple Mambalam Kothandaramar Temple Nandambakkam Kothandaramaswami Temple Muthialpet Krishnaswami Temple Kumaran Kundram Kurungaleeswarar Temple Madhya Kailash Madras Kali Bari Mallikesvarar Temple Marundeeswarar Temple Melatirupati Mylapore Mundaka Kanni Amman Temple Nandeeswarar Temple Neelagandeeswarar Temple Parasuramalingeswarar Temple Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple R.A. Puram Ayyappan Koil Ravishwarar Temple Sethu Kshetram Mylapore Shirdi Sai Baba Temple T. Nagar Sri Balaji Temple Thiruneermalai Kaalabairavar Temple Thiruvalluvar Temple Thyagaraja Temple Tiruvalithayam Vadapalani Andavar Temple Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple Velleeswarar Temple Velveeswarar Temple Vengeeswarar Temple
Churches	Santhome Basilica Armenian Church Church of Our Lady of Light Descanco Church Queenship of Mary Church St Andrew's Church St. George's Cathedral St. Mary's Church Saint Patrick's Cathedral Saint Theresa Church St. Lazarus' Church St. Mark's Church St. Matthias' Church St.Mary's Co-Cathedral Wesley Church
Mosques	Thousand Lights Mosque Bahram Jung Mosque Casa Verona's Mosque Dharma Kidangu Mosque Hafiz Ahmad Khan Mosque Makkah Masjid Masjid Mamoor Masjid-o-Anwari Periamet Mosque Triplicane Labbai Jamaath Masjid
Buddhist temples	Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Centre
Gurudwaras	Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha Gurudwara
Parsi temples	Royapuram Fire Temple