Sri Parthasarathy Temple is located at Triplicane, near the famous
Marina Beach,
Chennai. Spread over an area of 1.5 acres, it was built by the
Pallavas in the 8th century. The temple dedicated to Lord
Krishna houses images of the five incarnations of
Vishnu. It also has a small shrine dedicated to Vedavalli Ammai, Vishnu's consort.
Parthasarathy in the sanctum sanctorum is in a standing posture facing east, holding in his right hand the divine conch called the Panchajanyam. His lefthand is in Dana Mudra indicating his divine feet.
One of the features of the temple is the gold image of Tirumaal Nachiyaar. The shrine of Venkatakrishnan is considered equivalent to that at Tirupati. The deity is seen with his consort Rukmini on his right and his brother Sri Balram on his left.
The various deities of the temple are Sree Parthasarathy Perumal, Venkatakrishnan with Sree Rukmini Thayar and with Aniruddhar, Balram, Prathyumnar and Satyaki, Sree Mannathan, Ranganathan with Sree Vedavalli Thayar, Sree Thelliyasinghar or Narasimha, lord Ram, Chakaravarthi Tirumagan with Sree Seethadevi Thayar, Lakshman, Shatrughna, Bharat and Hanuman, Sree Deva Perumal and Varadarajan or Vishnu on Garuda.
The main festivals celebrated here are the Brahmotsavam in the month of Chiththirai (April-May); Thiruaadipooram held for 10 days in the month of Aadi (July-August); and in the month of Markazhi (December-January) the festival called Neerattu Utsavam culminating with Thirukkalyanam.
The temple can be easily reached from Chennai as there are many town buses plying this way. The nearest railhead is Chennai Central Railway Station.
