Karaneeswarar Temple, Saidapet

Karaneeswarar Temple is an old Shiva temple in Saidapet, Chennai, right beside Saidapet railway station, managed by the state's HR&CE department. Shiva is worshipped as Karaneeswarar and the goddess as Swarnambika, the Golden Mother. Legend tells that Indra, seeking to free the divine cow Kamadhenu from a curse, was told to build a Shiva temple between Mylapore and Thiruvanmiyur; he commanded the clouds (kar) to bring rain and green pasture, installed a linga, and was rewarded with the title Gopathi, lord of cows. His tank, the Gopathi Saras, is believed to cure illness for those who bathe in it on full moon days.

A seven-storeyed gopuram leads into two prakarams, with shrines to Ganesha, Karthikeya and Vedagiriswara on the way to the main shrines, and images of Dakshinamoorthy and the Nayanmars inside. There are also shrines to Palani Andavar, Virabhadra and Surya, a standing Ganesha with Siddhi and Buddhi on the tank steps, and a flower garden. Pradosham days draw large crowds, the ten-day Brahmotsavam falls in Chithirai with daily talks on the Thiruvasagam, and the temple is decorated for Shivaratri.