Description
Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a temple of Lord Shiva located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The form of Lord Shiva's wife Parvati worshipped at this temple is called Karpagambal. The temple was built around the 7th century CE in Dravidian architecture.
History
The scholarly view that accounts for the discrepancies is that the original temple was built on the shore but was destroyed by the Portuguese, and the current temple (which is 1-1.5 km from the shore) was built by the Vijayanagar kings during the 16th century, using some remains of the old temple.
Facts/Mythology
The temple's name is derived from the words kapalam (head) and eeshwarar an alias for Lord Shiva. According to the Puranas, during a meeting of Brahma and Shiva, Brahma angered Shiva. Due to this, Shiva plucked off one of Brahma's heads (kapalams). In an act of penance, Brahma came down to this site and installed a Lingam to please Lord Shiva.
Festivals/Events/Gatherings