Virupakshiswarar Temple lies in a narrow by-lane off the Bazaar Road in
Mylapore. This is an ancient temple dedicated to
Lord Shiva who is worshipped here as Lord Virupakshiswarar.
The sanctum sanctorum faces east with a Nandi and a Dwajasthambha in front. It enshrines Lord Virupakshiswarar in linga form and is believed to be
swayambhu (self-manifested form). The shrine for Goddess Visalakshi is seen adjacent to this shrine. There is a separate shrine near the main entrance for Lord Muruga, referred to as Arumugaswamy as this image has six faces. He is seen seated on his mount with a peacock and with his consorts Valli and Deivayanai.
Numerous processional deities of
Nataraja and Sivakami, Somaskanda, Bikshadana, Chandrasekhara, Subramanya with Valli and Deivayanai and the Tamil Saiva saints (Nayanmars) — Thiru Navukkarasar, Sundaramurthy Nayanar, Thiru Gnanasambandar and Manikkavachakar are there in the temple. There are also other shrines for Lord Varashakti Vinayaka (Lord Ganesh), Lord Sani,
Navagrahas and Chandikeshwarar. Besides, the temple has numerous ancient Tamil inscriptions dating from the 11th century to the 16th century.
The main entrance to this temple is through the southern gateway and there is also another entrance from the west, approachable from the main Bazaar Road. Festivals celebrated here are Brahmotsavam in the Tamil month of Masi, Pradosham, Kartigai Deepam, Shivratri and Skanda Sashti festival dedicated to Lord Muruga.
