Kachchaleswarar Temple

Front Entrance, via Wikimedia

Kachchaleswarar Temple, also known as the Great Kachali Pagoda, is a Hindu temple located in Armenian Street, Chennai, India. Constructed on land belonging to dubash Kalavai Chetty in 1725, the temple belonged to the left-hand castes and was the site of the first major conflict between left and right-handed castes in the then Madras city.

The temple is modelled on the Kachaaleshwarar temple at Kancheepuram. Kachaaleshwarar (Lord Shiva) is the main deity and Soundaraambikai, the consort deity.

The temple was built in 1725 by Kalavai Chetty, a 'dubash' working for the British East India Company, on a land belonging to him. A huge retinue of dancing girls were attached to the temple in the earlier days. These dancing girls resided in a quarter adjoining the temple. A plaque in the temple records the year of the first kumbhaabishekam (consecration) as 1728. Post-Independence, a mahaa-kumbhaabishekam (great consecration) was held on 8 July 1962. A major renovation of the temple began on 20 February 1984 and another great consecration was held on 9 July 1989.

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