The Kapaleeswarar Temple situated in Mylapore, Chennai is one of the ancient temples in India. The original temple was submerged under the sea & the current temple structure was a later construction. The Moolavar is Kapaleeswarar & Amman is Karpagambal.

In front of the Kapaleeshwarar Temple entrance is the temple tank, which is full of carp (or possibly catfish. Opinions vary). Many people come to feed the fish with packets of fish food (puffed rice) which can be bought in vendor stalls in the vicinity of the tank. It’s fascinating to watch them feed, the water seems to boil with fish, and many are pushed up out of the water by their larger fellows underneath them, and they flop around on the surface before finding a gap into which they can plunge.

There are separate sannadhis for several deities such as Vinayagar, Annamalaiyar, Murugar, Saneeswara. There are several other deities such as Durgai, Dakshinamurthy, Chandikeswarar located within the main Sannadhis of Kapaleeswarar & Karpagambal. The temple tank lies opposite the tower.

Karpagambal is said to have worshipped the Lord in the form of a peacock (Mayil in Tamil) & hence the area came to be called Mylapore.

Thirugnanasambandar, is said to have brought back to life the maiden Poompavai, daughter of Sivanesa Chettiar ( a Siva devotee) who was desirous of marrrying him, at Mylapore. The saint poet Tiruvalluvar lived here. The bronze idols of the 63 Nayanmars, the saints who were devotees of Lord Siva are placed in the Kapaleeswarar Sannadhi. Every year the Arupathumoovar festival is conducted & the 63 nayanmars are taken in procession.

This temple holds much history and richness of tradition which makes the place to be visited for sure.