Shenbakkam Selva Vinayakar Temple - Near Vellore
Shenbakkam,
a small village near Vellore, on the route of Chennai to Bangalore in South
India, is famous due to its rare temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha.
Lord
Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva, is named as Selva Vinayakar in this temple.
Shenbakkam Selva Vinayakar temple has totally 11 Pillayar (Ganesha) idols. The
highlight is not the number of idols but the shape of those idols. All the
idols are shapeless and formless. They are considered as Swamyambu - meaning
which formed on their own. You cannot find a proper shape for any of those
Ganesha idols. That is the highlight of this temple.
The original name of the village was Shenbagavanam as there used to be a lot of Shenbaga trees. The name got diluted to Shenbakkam later. As per a legend, Adi Shankara on his way to Virinjipuram Margabandeswarar temple visit, he came to this site and installed Sri Chakra. However, the Chakra is nowhere found in the current temple. It is also believed that all the idols were buried into the ground in due course. It is believed that the axle of the chariot of a Marati minister named Thukoji broke down here and the blood was oozing out from the ground. Ganesha appeared in the dream of Thukoji and disclosed his presence. Thus, the idols were discovered and the temple was built.
Shenbakkam Vinayakar temple has a tank outside the temple structure and a small tower. Munjur (mouse) is the vaahan of Ganesh. In this temple, in front of 11 swayambu Vinayak idols, there are four mice and one elephant standing as vaahans. Another highlight of the temple is that the flag staff is present right inside the main shrine. Behind the 11 Vinayak idols, there is a shrine where Meenakshi, Sundareswarar, and Mariamman are found. The temple also houses the idols of Dakshinamurthy, Nalvar, Chandikeswarar, Viswanathar, Vishalakshi, Dakshinamurthy, Vishnu and Murugan with Valli-Devasena. There are a lot of "sudhai" idols in the temple walls depicting various forms of Ganesha. Some of them are really rare forms such as Five faced Ganesha, and Ganesha on peacock. There is a shrine where all the metal utsav idols are kept. Navagraha is also found in the temple.
The original name of the village was Shenbagavanam as there used to be a lot of Shenbaga trees. The name got diluted to Shenbakkam later. As per a legend, Adi Shankara on his way to Virinjipuram Margabandeswarar temple visit, he came to this site and installed Sri Chakra. However, the Chakra is nowhere found in the current temple. It is also believed that all the idols were buried into the ground in due course. It is believed that the axle of the chariot of a Marati minister named Thukoji broke down here and the blood was oozing out from the ground. Ganesha appeared in the dream of Thukoji and disclosed his presence. Thus, the idols were discovered and the temple was built.
Shenbakkam Vinayakar temple has a tank outside the temple structure and a small tower. Munjur (mouse) is the vaahan of Ganesh. In this temple, in front of 11 swayambu Vinayak idols, there are four mice and one elephant standing as vaahans. Another highlight of the temple is that the flag staff is present right inside the main shrine. Behind the 11 Vinayak idols, there is a shrine where Meenakshi, Sundareswarar, and Mariamman are found. The temple also houses the idols of Dakshinamurthy, Nalvar, Chandikeswarar, Viswanathar, Vishalakshi, Dakshinamurthy, Vishnu and Murugan with Valli-Devasena. There are a lot of "sudhai" idols in the temple walls depicting various forms of Ganesha. Some of them are really rare forms such as Five faced Ganesha, and Ganesha on peacock. There is a shrine where all the metal utsav idols are kept. Navagraha is also found in the temple.
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