Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Hindu temple in Mylapore, India

Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a Shiva temple in Mylapore, Chennai, built in the 17th century in Tamil style. Its east gopuram, about 40 m high, was completed in 1906 and is covered in painted stucco figures; a smaller western gopuram faces the sacred tank. Inside are separate shrines to Kapaleeshwarar and Karpagambal, and a caged peacock and peahen.

The present temple was built in the 17th century, after the Portuguese destroyed an earlier shrine when they pushed Mylapore inland from the shore. Its 120 ft east gopuram, covered in stucco figures, was added in 1906. Inscriptions inside date to the 12th century, and the Nayanar saints Sambandar and Arunagirinathar praised a Kapaleeshwarar temple that stood by the sea.

Priests wearing white dhoti robes carry flame lamps before the deity while worshippers arrive with flower garlands and coconuts as offerings. Vendors outside sell jasmine strands and incense sticks that visitors purchase for rituals in the courtyard.

Visitors should cover shoulders and knees and remove footwear at the entrance before entering the inner courtyards. Morning hours before 9 AM tend to be less crowded, while festival days and Fridays draw more worshippers.

The temple keeps a live peacock and peahen in a cage, standing for the legend that Karpagambal did penance here as a peahen. The vahanas used in processions include a peacock, a bandicoot, a goat and a parrot, and a golden chariot is a recent addition.