Historical PeriodEra
Oral / medieval / documented history
📷 Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · source
Deities
Pārthasārathy of Triplicane
Pārthasārathy — Krishna as Arjuna's charioteer
Pārthasārathy — Krishna as Arjuna's charioteer
Hindu / Vaishnava / Sri Vaishnava / Tamil
Pārthasārathy Temple of Triplicane — Chennai's oldest temple (8th c., Pallava) — is a Divya Desam. The deity is Krishna in his charioteer-form for Arjuna in the Mahābhārata, holding a conch but no weapon (as he promised Duryodhana not to fight). The face of the deity bears visible wound-marks from the war, unique among Vishnu iconography. Sung by Tirumangai-āḻvār, Peyāḻvār. The temple's chariot-festival (Brahmotsavam) is among the largest in Tamil Nadu.
India's sacred landscape embraces Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian, tribal, regional-folk traditions — each with its own cosmology and priestly lineage. This entry honours Hindu on its own terms.
