Ancient · Hindu · India

Parthasarathy Temple

Chennai (Triplicane), Tamil Nadu · 13.0540°, 80.2765°

Venkatakrishna (Parthasarathy) PerumalPallavaDravidianDivya Desam

Sacred since

500 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

6th c. (Pallava); expanded 15th c.

Pallava

History & significance

One of the oldest structures in Chennai, this Divya Desam was raised by the Pallavas under Narasimhavarman and expanded by Chola and 15th-century Vijayanagara rulers. It uniquely houses five forms of Vishnu, with Krishna presiding as Parthasarathy, Arjuna's charioteer.

Sthala katha — the legend

The face of the main image bears mark-like scars, believed to be Bhishma's arrows taken by Krishna while driving Arjuna's chariot in the Mahabharata war.

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