Fifth Temple of Sri Rama,whichb is older than Ayodhya Ram temple,is Sri Parthasarathi Temple ,Thiruvaklikkeni( Triplicane) Chennai. Though the temple is dedicated to Sri Krishna as Parthasarathi,One who drove the chariot for Arjuna,Sri Rama has a separate sanctum.The temple was built( temple work was. Carried out,) by Narasimha Varma Pallava in Eighth Century AD.One unique feature about Krishna,who is the Presiding Deity,is that he is seen with a moustache.
It was originally built by the Pallavas in the 8th century by king Narasimhavarman I. The temple has icons of five forms of Vishnu: Narasimha, Rama, Gajendra Varadaraja, Ranganatha and Krishna. The temple is one of the oldest structures in Chennai
Though works in the temple was carried out in Seventh century AD,the temple is referred to by Peyazhwar,Boothaththazhwar,and Thirumazhisai Azhwar.
The First three Azhwars are Peyazhwar Poigai Azhwar and Boothaththazhwar.They have sung in praise of the temple and it can be found in Nalayira Divya Prabhadam,the sacred Collection of Hymns addressed to Sri Vishnu..Poigai Azhwar was a contemporary of Peyazhwar.( The first three Azhwars were contemporaries)
Poigai Azhwar is dated at 4205 BC. The Thiruvaklikkeni temple about which Peyazhwar sung, should therefore be older than Fifth Century BC.
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Born4203 BCE
Tiruvekkaa near Kanchipuram
Religion Hinduism
Philosophy VaishnavaBhakti
‘The Parthasarathy Temple is an 8th-century Hindu Vaishnavite temple dedicated to the Lord Vishnu, located at Thiruvallikeni, Chennai, India. The temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE and is classified as among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu. The name ‘Parthasarathy’, in Tamil, means the ‘charioteer of Arjuna’, referring to Krishna’s role as a charioteer to Arjuna in the epic Mahabaratha.
The temple was originally built by the Pallavas in the 8th century, subsequently expanded by Cholas and later by the Vijayanagara kings in the 15th century. The temple has several inscriptions dating from the 8th century in Tamil and Telugu presumably from the period of Dantivarman, who was a Vishnu devotee. Thirumangai Alvar, the 9th century also attributes the building of temple to the Pallava king. From the internal references of the temple, it appears that the templNandivarmane was restored during 1564 CE when new shrines were built. In later years, endowments of villages and gardens have enriched the temple. The temple also has inscriptions about the Pallava king, of the 8th Century.
The temple was extensively built during the Chola period and a lot of inscriptions dating back to the same period are found here. The outer most mandapam is replete with sculptures of various forms of Vishnu, especially the avatars. One can also see inscriptions of Dantivarma Pallava of the 8th century, Chola and Vijayanagara in the temple. The first architectural expansion of the temple took place during the reign of the Pallavas (Tondaiyar Kon) as vividly described by Tirumangai Azhwar. Reminiscent of this is the inscription of the Pallava King Dantivarman (796-847 A.D.), which is preserved in the temple. Reference and citation. Parthasarathi Perumal temple Triplicane Chennai
‘பார்த்தசாரதி கோயில் (பெருமாள் கோயில்) 8ஆம் நூற்றாண்டின் இந்து வைஷ்ணவக் கோயில்களில் ஒன்றாகும். வைணவர்களின் 108 திவ்விய தேசங்களில் ஒன்றான, கோயில் கோபுரங்களும் மண்டபங்களும், நுட்பமான சிற்பக் கலைகளும் நிறைந்த இக்கோவில் சென்னையில் உள்ள திருவல்லிக்கேணியில் உள்ளது. இத்தலத்து எம்பெருமான் மகாபாரதப் போரின்போது பார்த்தனுக்கு (அர்ஜுனன்) தேரோட்டிய (சாரதி) வடிவில் காட்சி அளிக்கிறார். இத்தலத்து மூலவரின் பெயர் வேங்கட கிருஷ்ணர் என்ற போதிலும் உற்சவராகிய பார்த்தசாரதியின் பெயரிலே புகழப்பெற்றுள்ளது.
Images credit.http://sriparthasarathytemple.tnhrce.in/gallery-parthasarathy.html
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