Vadapalani Murugan Temple

Vadapalani Murugan Temple in Chennai grew from a small hut where Annaswami Nayakar, then in poor health, worshipped a picture of Murugan he had been given at Palani. He began building the temple around 1865 with help from Rathinasamy Chettiyar, who later named it Vadapalani, and Bagyalingam looked after it in turn. The Rajagopuram was added in the 1920s, and support from film stars helped its following grow.

The main idol resembles the one at Palani, and this is the only temple where Murugan is shown wearing footwear, with his left foot forward. The eastern tower rises 40.8 metres and carries 108 Bharatanatyam poses, while stucco figures tell stories from the Skanda Purana. The complex has a golden chariot, a temple tank, a hall for weddings and a sacred fig tree on which devotees hang little swings when praying for children.