Putlur Angala Parameshwari Amman Temple

Putlur Angala Parameshwari Amman Temple, also known as the Putlur Amman Temple, is a Hindu temple in Putlur, a village on the outskirts of Chennai, India. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Angala Parameshwari, an incarnation of Parvati, who is believed to have taken the form of a large anthill resembling a pregnant woman.

Location
The temple is located in Ramapuram locality of Putlur, a village in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, around 38 km west of Chennai. The temple is 850 meters away from the Putlur railway station.

The temple
The main deity at the temple is known as Poongavanathu Amman. The goddess appears in the form of a natural anthill resembling a woman suffering from labour pain, lying with her mouth open. Owing to the presence of Shiva inside the sanctum sanctorum, the idol of Nandi is present in front of the sanctum instead of a lion found normally in a Devi temple, which is considered a rarity. There are shrines to Ganesh, Nataraja, Madurai Veeran, Subrahmanya, Dakshinamurti and the philosopher-saint Valluvar near the sanctum sanctorum. Nataraja is known by the name Thandavarayan. The sacred tree of the temple is a neem tree located in the outer corridor. Other shrines at the outer corridor include a sacred anthill and shrines of goddess Karumari, Ganesh, and Nagadevas (serpent deities) under the sacred tree. Devotees believe that worshiping the goddess fulfills their wish for a child.



Important festivals include Shivarathri, Masi Magam, the Fridays in the Tamil month of Aadi, and new moon days.

The temple had given rise to the name of the village "Putlur" meaning "the town of anthill" (from the Tamil term putru meaning "snake hole").