Famous Temples in India

Religious Significance

According to legend, A Maratha minister Thukkoji was passing through this place, when the axle of his chariot broke here and forced to stay here and worried about the obstacle to his trip. He prayed to Vinayaka and slept. Lord Vinayaka appeared in his dream and told him about his existence as 11 Swayambu idols arranged in Omkara shape under the ground and asked him to excavate them and build a temple. Thukkoji was overwhelmed and gladly performed the task. The mark of chariot wheel is seen on the back of Selva Vinayakar idol. Once when Maha Periyaval and Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal were travelling by this route, the elephant on which the Chinna swamigal was sitting refused to move when it got near the temple. Any amount of coaxing or cajoling by the mahout did not make it budge. It was only then that the Maha Periyaval remembered having made a vow to offer 108 “Setharu Thengai” (breaking 108 coconuts for the Vinayakas) to the Shenbakkam temple which he had totally forgotten about. He immediately requested the accompanying Mutt officials to organize for the same. Once the offering was made, the elephant quietly started moving forward without any protest. Vinayaka was able to remind Maha Periyaval about his prayer through himself (The Elephant).