page_title: Vedapureeswarar Temple, Puducherry
section_title: Festival
hierarchical_section_title: Vedapureeswarar Temple, Puducherry / Festival
caption_attribution_description: English: Vedapureeswarar Temple, Pondicherry
context_page_description: Vedapureeswarar Temple in Puducherry, in the South Indian union territory of Puducherry, is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple was demolished by the French troops in 1748. Shiva is worshipped as Vedapureeswarar and his consort Parvathi as Tiripurasundari.
  A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower. A Dewan named Dewan Kandappa Mudaliar expanded the temple with the help of public contributions in 1788.
  The temple is open from 6 am - 12:30 pm and 4:30 - 8:00 pm on all days. Four daily rituals and many yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Brahmotsavam festival during the Tamil month of Vaikasi, Annabishekam during Aipassi and Sivarathri during Masi being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Department of Hindu religious institutions and Wakf of the Government of Puducherry.
context_section_description: The temple follows Saivite tradition. The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: Kalasanthi at 8:30 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:30 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., and Arthajamam between 8:30  - 9:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Vedapureeswarar and Tiripurasundari. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The temple is open from 6 am - 12:30 pm and 4-9:00 pm on all days. The temple has many festivals in its calendar, with the Brahmotsavam festival during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May - June), Annabishekam during Aipassi (October - November) and Sivarathri during Masi (February - March) being the most prominent. Saint Ramalinga Swamigal (1823–74) has sung praises about the Murugan in the temple.
caption: Aerial view of the temple
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