About Temples In Chennai :
Temples are the places of worship of the Hindus. Since Hindus form a large part of the population of Chennai, it is but natural that of all the religious places of Chennai, temples are largest in number. Many of the temples of Chennai/Madras city are so popular that thousands of devotees throng them to pray and worship everyday. Lets have a quick glance of temples of Chennai city.The temples of Chennai are the peepholes into the splendor of culture, religion and architecture of Tamil state. The Chola and Pallava art and architecture dominates the skyline of the entire state. The Chola kings of the 9th century AD built temples of modest height in granite. Special attention was paid to the sanctum sanctorum where deities were placed in niches as prescribed in the ritual treatises. Rajaraja Chola constructed the most grandiose of the south Indian temples, 85 m in height, which is a marvel of symmetry and structural design. 5 m high dwarapalas (guardians) stand at the entrance. From the 16th century AD, the gopurams (entrance towers) under the Vijayanagar King Krishna Devaraya spiraled to greater heights as much as 60 m. They came to be known as rayagopuras (royal towers) after his name. The bases of these towers were built of stone and the entire superstructure was of brick and mortar, painted and studded with hundreds of stucco figures.

Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple :
Kapaleeswarar temple is situated in Mylapore a suburb of Chennai. The main deity, Lord Shiva, is worshipped as Kapaleeswarar and the Goddess as Katpahavalli. Mention of this temple in the old devotional hymns by Hindu 'Nayanmars' who lived during the 7th century is evident that this temple had been in existence for more than a thousand years. Some scholars cast doubt as to the age of the present building as the architecture and the images in this temple point to a period of about 300 years ago. They believe that the original temple had been in the Santhome area near the sea as recent archaeological excavations in that area point to the presence of a temple during that period. However, this temple has become very famous and attracts thousands of devotees especially during festival days.

Parthasarathy Temple :
Parthasarathy temple is situated at Peter's Road, Triplicane. It is one of the oldest temples in Chennai. It was originally built by Pallavas in the 8th century AD and rebuilt by the Chola and the Vijayanagar Kings in 11th century. The temple is dedicated to Krishna, the eighth incarnations of the Vishnu. It has a colored gopuram and several shrines with beautiful carvings.

Kandaswamy Temple :
The Kandaswamy temple is situated at Cheyur at Madurantakam near Chennai. It is an ancient temple and can be dated back to the 11th century AD. There is another famous temple in Madurantakam dedicated to Eri Katta Ramar.

Vadapalani Temple :
Vadapalani temple is dedicated to Lord Muruga. It is most revered deity of the people of Tamil as the Lord of Tamil. There is a sanctum for Lord Shiva, his consort Parvati and their son Ganesha. Lord Anjaneya is also a popular deity of the temple. Devotees apply butter to Lord Anjaneya and pray for the fulfillment of their wishes.