She was then cursed to become a peacock by him. Goddess Uma was being taught the meaning of five lettered Mantra Na Ma Shi Va Ya and the glory of the sacred ash by Lord Shiva, during which she got distracted with the appearance of a peacock. Legends state that the place got its name from the fact that Goddess Uma worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of a peacock which is known as Mayil in Tamil. the Vijayanagara kings reconstructed the temple in the Dravidian style of architecture. Post its demolition by the Portuguese in 1566 A.D. Initially the temple was constructed in the 7th century CE by the Pallavas where the current Santhome Church is located. Kapaleeswarar is a combination of two words Kapalam which means head and eswarar which means Lord Shiva. Other name given to the religious site is Sukrapuri as Sukracharya offered his prayers to Lord Shiva at this place to regain his eyes. It is also known as Vedapuri as the four Vedas have worshipped Lord Shiva at this auspicious place. It is said that the Shiva Lingam in the temple is suyambulingam which means it is self-manifested. This cultural marvel attracts huge crowd who throng in to witness its astounding spring festival.

One of the imposing religious sites of the city is the famed Kapaleeswarar Temple that is majestically set in the Mylapore region of Chennai. The financial and administrative epicentre of the state proffers something for every traveller including sparkling beaches, informative museums and historical monuments.

A gem of a city, Chennai stands out as the 31st largest metropolitan area in the world.

Sai baba shirdi photo