Oondreswarar Temple, Poondi

Oondreswarar Temple, also called the Poondi Temple, stands on the northern bank of the Poondi reservoir, 11 km from Tiruvallur on the Tiruvallur–Thiruthani road. Shiva is worshipped as Oondreswarar and Parvati as Minnoli Amman, and the temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam. Legend says the saint Sundarar lost his sight on arriving here and Shiva gave him a staff (oondru); not knowing the giver, Sundarar threw it away, breaking the horn of the temple's Nandi, and Parvati later appeared to him as a flash of lightning (minnoli).

The original temple is credited to the Cholas, with inscriptions from Rajaraja I, Kulothunga I and Rajendra III, and the masonry structure dates from the 16th century. In 1942 the temple was moved to its present site to make way for the reservoir, under Madras mayor Sathyamurthy. The one-acre complex holds three daily rituals, and Brahmotsavam in Vaikasi (May–June) is the main festival.