Dhenupureeswarar Temple, Madambakkam

Dhenupureeswarar Temple in Madambakkam, a suburb of Chennai, was built between 956 and 973 CE under the Chola king Parantaka II, father of Raja Raja Chola I. Its main sanctum is apsidal, curved at the back like a sleeping elephant, rather than square. It is thought to have been strengthened in stone under Kulothunga I, and Chola sculpture, carved pillar bases and Vijayanagara inscriptions survive. It is a monument of national importance, conserved by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The deity's name comes from a legend in which the sage Kapila, reborn as a cow (dhenu), poured her milk over a linga buried in the ground until villagers dug it up and Shiva granted liberation. The self-manifested linga faces east, with the goddess Dhenukambal in her own south-facing shrine. Much later, devotees found the temple in ruins beside farm fields after the seer Chandrasekharendra Saraswati told one of them about it, and they cleared and renovated it. Festivals include Pradosham, Panguni Uttiram and Navarathri.