Manakula Vinayagar Temple
, Puducherry
Bhagwan Ganesha, Manakula Vinayagar Koil is a Hindu temple in Pondicherry. Located in the White Town of Pondicherry, Manakula Vinayagar Koil is more than 500-year-old. With the fact of being one of the oldest shrines in the region, Manakula Koil is counted amongst highly revered as well as the most popular Hindu temples in Pondicherry.
Timings
The temple remains open from Monday to Sunday from 5:45 AM to 12:30 PM and 4:00 PM to 9:30 PM.
Architecture
The legend associated with Manakula Vinayagar Koil goes like this, some 300 years ago, there was a saint with the name Thollaikkathu Siddhar who successfully established samadhi inside this temple compound. Since then the temple of Manakula Vinayagar is considered to be auspicious when brings an infant to this temple.
Another legend that rotates around this temple tells that the French people constructed a fort at this site in the year 1688 and the Manakula Vinayagar Koil was located right behind this fort. That time, the site was engirdled with sand and shore on which the temple has got its name.
