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In the suburbs of Chennai, near Tambaram, is a dusty place called Selaiyur. Few people know that the original name of this place was Silaiyur - the place with so many Silais or idols. In Selaiyur or Silaiyur, there is a temple at every corner, some of them surprisingly ancient. During a visit to Selaiyur to pay respects to the Ahobila Mutt Jeer, who is residing there for his "Chaturmasya Vratham", we visited some of the temples in the vicinity.
One was a temple where the granite pillars are ancient but the idols themselves, of Adikesavaperumal and Amirthavalli Thayar, are relatively new. This temple has a "Deepa sthambam", which is a typical feature of a village temple as opposed to a town temple. There is also a palanquin dated 1094, indicating that the temple is nearly 1,000 years old. According to the priest, the idol of the Lord was installed first. The idol of the Goddess was found in a nearby spot some years later and installed.
There are also shrines to Sri Rama, with his consort. Directly opposite is a shrine to Lord Anjaneya, who is facing Lord Rama. With more and more devotees visiting the temple, there are plans to install the idols of Nammazhwar, Kaliyan, Andal and
Manavalamamunigal.
The temple is open from 0730 hrs to 0900 hrs and from 1730 hrs to 1930 hrs.
Abirami Amman temple:
 Just a few hundred yards away is the Abirami Amman Temple, which is over 250 years old. The kumbabhisekam for this temple was performed in 1975. The main deities are Abhirami Amman and Amirthakadeeswarar, similar to the famous Abirami temple in Thanjavur district. There is just one priest who serves the various shrines in the temple. He talks to us as he runs here and there performing arathi for the benefit of the large crowd, which has come to the temple because it is an "Adi Vellikizhamai" (Friday in the month of Adi).
According to the priest, there are 14 Ambal (Devi) temples in Selaiyur. In this particular temple, the idols were found when some digging was going on. The Nandi in this temple faces the Goddess, as she is in "Siva Shathi Bagam". The central courtyard is occupied by a mandapam in which the 16 Aishwaryams or Lakshmis are depicted. There are separate shrines for several deities, including Durga, Ganapathi, the Navagrahas, Anjaneya and
Subramania.
As we finish the prayers and are leaving, the old woman who sold us flowers for the "archanai" says, "This temple needs a Rajagopuram. Only if there is a Rajagopuram is it good." These sentiments, one is sure, are echoed in so many temples in Chennai and in other parts of Tamil Nadu.
Ambujam Anantharaman
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