Mahabharatha, the epic is not just another story. Some call it a myth, some a work of fiction. Rather, it is a guide to the human race on how to lead a life to eventually reach the Lord’s feet and enable us to attain Moksha. Sriman Narayana took his 9thincarnation in the previous Dwapara Yuga as Krishna and His life is a very interesting story, right from his birth on the supposedly inauspicious Ashtami night all the way up to the Epic War – Maha Bharatha. The Lord gives us various life learnings in this incarnation and they are valuable to everything we do in our daily lives.
When it was decided that the Kauravas, who had kept the Pandavas away from taking over the Kingdom and were even forced to live in hiding for a year, both the teams reached out to Lord Krishna for support and help them win respectively. Duryodhana, the Kaurava King wanted all weapons, manpower, animals like horses, elephants and so on and all resources that were available to which the Lord obliged. Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Padavas sought Him to be by their side to which the Lord smiled. The essence of this, is that no matter what we have in our lives, we finally need the guidance and blessings of the Lord with us always.
In the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Lord Krishna plays charioteer and thus the name Partha Sarathy, Sarathy meaning the one who drives. There are various interpretations to the epic war, such the two who fight are within us who are Parthas, the bad and the good, while The Lord resides in our hearts and guides us in our every step. HE suggests a way of living, acts as a guide when we make mistakes and advises steps to recoup our mistakes.
Bhagavad Gita which evolved from the Mahabharatha, is the best book one could ever lay their hands on. It has so many anecdotes, so many real-life situations and experts have always agreed there is no better resource to clarify our doubts than the Gita. I have read many parts of the Mahabharatha across various books and articles and have also heard a number of discourses by scholars. Every time I hear the Mahabharatha, I discover a new thing about life and take a leaf out of the book, quite literally.
Summary of the Gita
The Lord says, “what is yours today was someone else’s yesterday, will be someone else’s tomorrow” and “you brought nothing, you take back nothing” among various other things.
Legend
It is said that Lord Krishna, after the Epic war was over performed Pattabhisheka – ordained Dhramaraja as the King and came to this location where He blesses his ardent devotees. The 10 feet idol of Lord Krishna has a mostache, a rarity for Sriman Mahavishnu, and faces East.
The temple also has separate precincts for Sri Yoga Narasimha facing West, Sri Nitya Varadaraja Perumal, Goddess Mahalakshmi and Goddess Aandal. It is said that the Utsavar idol has marks of the arrows that were aimed at the Lord during the Epic war.
Among the 106 Divya Desam temples on Earth, Tiruvallikeni Sri Parthasarathy is the presiding deity of the city of Chennai (formerly Madras). Various Kings are said to have maintained the temple and have contributed immensely for the upkeep of the temple over centuries.
Main Festivals;
Sri Krishna Jayanthi - Tamil Month - …………. English Calendar Year - ………….
Temple Timings:
6am to 12.30pm; 4.30pm – 8.30pm
Google Link
How to reach:
Railhead:
Chennai Central Railway Station (7 kms)
Chennai Egmore Railway Station (7 kms)
Tambaram Railway Station (27 kms)
Bus Stand:
Koyambedu Bus Station (15 kms)
Airport:
Chennai Airport (16 kms)
By Road:
The Temple is situated in the heart of the city at Triplicane. City buses are available to reach the place, so are Autos & Taxis. There is limited parking for self-driven cars and is almost impossible to get one during the peak hours and weekends. Also, the roads leading to the temple are quite narrow.
The Marina Beach is less than 2 kms from the temple. There is a huge Temple tank on the eastern side of the temple where Teppotsavam is held from time to time.
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