Parthasarathy Temple Story – History of the Triplicane Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai

Located at Triplicane in Chennai, Parthasarathy Temple is a popular shrine dedicated to Sri Krishna. The story of the temple is associated with Sage Atreya and King Sumathy. The history of the temple begins with Sage Vyasa gifting the murti (idol) of Lord Parthasarathy to Sage Atreya.

Legend has it that Sage Atreya had this deep wish to have darshan of Sri Krishna. To fulfill the wish, Sage Vyasa asked Rishi Atreya to travel to south to a forest filled with Tulsi plants and offer prayers to the murti of Parthasarathy.

Rishi Atreya traveled along with the murti to south and reached the forest and settled near a pond.

During this period, King Sumathy, an ardent devotee of Lord Balaji of Tirupati, wished to have darshan of Sri Krishna in the form in which he delivered Gita to Arjuna. To fulfill his wish he performed intense austerities.

Tirupati Balaji appeared in the dream of the king and directed him to the Tulsi forest.

The king realized his dream when he met Sage Atreya and had darshan of the murti of Parthasarathy in the possession of the Sage.

Parthasarathy Temple is one of the 108 Divya Deshams. The ancient name of the place was Thiruvallikeni. The place also was a resting place for people who came from Tirupati to have holy dip in the sea during eclipse. The murti and the place also find mention in the Brahmanda Purana.