Kumaran Kundram, Chromepet

Kumaran Kundram is a rocky hillock in Chromepet, Chennai, crowned by a Murugan temple on the road towards Hasthinapuram. About 80 steps lead up to the shrine, where Murugan stands facing north as Sri Swaminathaswamy, a form held to match the deity at Swamimalai.

The temple owes its start to Chandrashekarendra Saraswati of the Kanchi Mutt, who suggested a Murugan shrine on the hill when he visited in 1956; a Vinayaka shrine went up that year. Two decades later a vel, Murugan's spear, was found while a path was being cleared, and the main shrine was consecrated in 1979. Shrines for Shiva, Sharabheshvara, the goddess and the Navagrahas followed, and a five-tier rajagopuram was completed in 2014. Hundreds walk round the hill on full-moon nights, and Soorasamhaaram and Karthigai Deepam are the main festivals. Opposite the Murugan temple is a small Vaishnava temple to Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal, with shrines to Yoga Narasimha, Prasanna Yoga Anjaneyar and Ramanujar.