Vedhapureesar Temple, Tiruverkadu (near Chennai)
| Location of the temple | Tiruverkadu, near Poonamallee |
| Lord Shiva known as | Vedhapureeswarar, Verkatteeswarar |
| Female deity known as | Baalaambikai |
| Pathigam | Sambandar |
| How to reach | This temple is located about 20 Kms from Chennai. A branch road on the main Chennai – Poonamallee trunk road leads to the temple. An ornamental arch at the entrance of the branch road guides the visitors to the temple. |
| Temple address | Arulmighu Vedhapureeswarar Temple Tiruverkadu Tiruverkadu Post Chennai – 600077 Tiruvallore District |
Temple: Thiruverkadu is nowadays more famous for Devi Karumaari Ammantemple located there which attracts devotees in large numbers everyday. But the Vedhapureeswarar Temple, located about 1 Km from the Karumari Amman temple, is not known to many. From Thiruverkadu bus terminus, a well laid out concrete road named as Sivan Kovil Road leads you to the Paadal Petra Sivasthalam of Vedhapureeswarar Temple.The entrance gopuram is of medium height with 5 tiers. The main sanctum for Vedhapureeswarar is facing east. Behind the main Sivalingam of Vedhapureeswarar inside the sanctum, the wedding scene of Lord Shiva with Parvati is depicted. According to the legend, Lord Shiva is said to have blessed Sage Agasthiyar with a vision of His marriage with Parvati here. The idols of Agasthiyar and Sooriyan can be seen in the inner prakaram on the left side. The shrine for female deity Baalaambikai is on the left side of the main sanctum facing south. There are separate shrines for Chandikeswarar, Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Brahma and Durgai. A seperate shrine for Saneeswaran can be seen in the south-west corner of the outer courtyard and can be reached by turning right immediately after entering the temple through the main gopuram.
Legend: This sthalam is also associated with Lord Murugan. Lord Murugan once took Brahma as a prisoner when Brahma could not explain the meaning for “Pranavam”. Lord Shiva sent Nandi to Lord Murugan with a message to release Brahma but Murugan refused to do so. On coming to know of this, Lord Shiva personally came and convinced His son Murugan and released Brahma. Lord Shiva also punished His son Murugan for his disobedience and ordered him to go to Tiruverkadu and worship Him there for some time. Velayutha Theertham, which is located just outside the east entrance of the temple, is said to have been created by Lord Murugan to worship his father. The shrine for Murugan is located in the inner west proakaram facing east. A sivalingam can be seen in front of Lord Murugan which is a unique feature here in this temple.