Known in thevaram as oena – kaanthan – thali , this is one of the 5 temples sung in thevaram in kancheepuram town itself . this can be reached by taking kancheepuram – arakkonam road , just after crossing sarva theertham , take a right to go to rice mill. then take another right to go to panju pettai electric sub station. temple is opposite to the station.
another way to reach is to go around the famous ekambareswarar temple , go to the north western corner of the temple and that road will lead directly to the electric sub station. that way the temple is only about a kilometer from ekambareswarar temple.
layout
a small temple with an access road of about 100 yards from the sub station. a medium sized pond is in the front right side of the temple. no water but all shrubs. no maintenance at all
a 3 tiered raaja goepuram greets us from the only entrance on the east. once you enter , oenaeswarar and kandhaeswarar sannidhis are placed side by side.
on the mandapam enclosing oenaeswarar sannidhi , 4 main naayanmaars are placed in a small mandapam. the only prakaaram has usual sannidhis. well kept temple overall.
kandhaeswarar is to the left of oenaeswarar inside the main prakaram.
jalandharaeswarar sannidhi is like a separate temple adjacent to the 2 main sannidhis. it is said to be a later inclusion.
when sundharar visited , only oenaeswarar and kandhaeswarar sannidhis seem to exist.
no goddess ( ambaal ) sannidhi typical of kanjeepuram temples. the only ambaal is kaamaatchi in her own abode.
a broad area is available outside the temple where cars can be parked.
sthalapuranam
vaanaasuran was an asura who ruled this area. his army chiefs oenan and kaanthan have come here to worship the lord.. they installed lingams on their name and worshipped. hence the name oenakaanthan thali. thali in tamir means a stone temple.
another asura jalandharan worshipped here as well and he has installed one in his name as well.
sundharar came to this temple and praised the lord with a thevara padhigam.
he did that to get gold. while he was singing the hymns , it is said that on the 5th one , the lord went hiding behind the tamarind tree inside the temple .
knowing this, with the help of vinaayagar , sundharar went to the tree and continued the hymns.
hearing this , shiva made the tamarind fruits fall as gold fruits it is said in the legend..
not much else is known about this temple.
nearby temples
- kailasanaathar temple is a world heritage site and is about 150 yards from this temple. lots of tourists visit this temple.
- ekambareswarar temple is located 1 km to the north of this temple ( thevaram ).
- thirukkachi metrali is about 1 km to the south of this temple ( thevaram ) on the same pillayar palayam neighborhood of kanchipuram. it is also undergoing renovation and main deities cant be seen.
- kachi anegathangaapadham , a temple worshipped by anegatham , an elephant is about 3 km to the south of here close to kailasanaathar temple ( thevaram )
- kachchi nerikaaraikkadu now called as thirukkaalimedu ( thevaram ) is about 5 kms towards walajah road.
- kaanchi kaamatchi amman temple is very famous and is about 1.5 kms near the center of the town.
- kachchabaeswarar temple is in the center of the town
- varadharaaja perumaal temple ( divya desam ) is about 5 kms from towards walajah road and is the other part of town known as vishnu kaanchi.
- kaanchipuram sankara matam is about 1.5 kms away close to ekambareswarar temple. it is one of the adhvaitha matams established by aadhi shankarar.
countless number of temples are scattered in kanchipuram town itself and around a 20 km vicinity.
