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This 8th-century Hindu Vaishnavite temple in Thiruvallikeni (Triplicane) of Chennai is quite popular and lots of devotees visit this temple in the prime part of the city close to the coast. The presiding deity is Parathsarathy, one of a very few rare temples dedicated to God Sri Krishna as Parathsarathy (meaning the 'charioteer of Arjuna' in the epic Mahabharata). Glorified in the Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of the Azhwar saints of the 6th–9th centuries CE it is an important shrine among the 108 Divya Desams. The fascinating feature of the main stone idol of tall Parthasarathy (Moolavar) here is his big impressive mustache, seldom seen in other temples.
Originally built by the Pallavas in the 8th century there are five shrines -– sandhis in this temple built in different periods. The sanctum enshrines Venkatakrishnan with Rukmini, Balaraman, Satyaki, Anirudha, Pradyumna - seated and facing east. The Utsavar (festival idol) here is that of Parthasarathy. Scars from the arrows of Bheeshma`s bow on Sri Krishna can be seen on the idol. Sri Krishna purposely donned the role of a charioteer and rode Pandava brother Arjuna's chariot in the Kurukshetra war to save him from the impending death facing Karnan or Bheeshmar. It implies God guidance always be with those people who follow the path of Dharma or righteousness.
There is a shrine dedicated to Ranganathar who is in a reclining pose - Aanada sayanam, his consort Vedavalli has a separate sanctum. There are sannadhis for Rama flanked by Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrugna and Hanuman facing east; Varadarajan seated on a Garuda facing east, and Narasimha seated and facing west. There is a separate shrine for Andal, daughter of Periyazhvar of Srivilliputhur and who wrote Thirupavai. She is an avatar of Lakshmi, married Vishnu and merged with him at Srirangam temple.
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There are inscriptions in Tamil and Telugu dating back to 8th century - Pallava period. The Cholas expanded the temple to a large extent and in the 15th century Vijayanagara rulers made considerable contributions and gave endowments.
The temple seems to have been restored during 1564 CE with additional shrines. The temple saw a major expansion during the reign of the Vijayanagara kings like Sadasiva Raya, Sriranga Raya and Venkatapati Raya II (16th century). Many sub-shrines and pillared pavilions (mandapas) like the Tiruvaimozhi Mandapa were added. The temple has two prakarams (narrow corridor around the temple) and a five-tiered rajagopuram (tower). The golden images of Tirumal and Nachiyar, adorn the chest of Venkatakrishnan. It is believed that Sri Venkateswara of Tirupati manifested himself as Parthasarathy here, and hence the name Venkata Krishnan.
Yoga Narashimhar Sannidhi:
There is an important shrine here dedicated to ''Yoga Narashimhar.'' Devotees never miss this popular shrine. A significant aspect of this shrine is people with all sorts of problems - physical, mental, marital, monetary, etc come here and pray with full faith and devotion. They offer salt and pepper as offerings here. I have heard from reliable people that their prayer never goes unanswered and sooner they get a favorable result on account of Sri Yoga Narasimhar's blessings and unique divine power. To achieve success, the most essential things are dedication and faith in God.
Festivals: The annual Brahmotsavam is celebrated in the month of Chatterati (April-May). Vaikuntha Ekadasi celebrated in Margazhi (December-January). Visiting this temple is as good as going on a pilgrimage to Tirupati or Uppiliappan temple near Kumbakonam. Saturdays of Purattasi (September - October) month are considered sacred. Yet another noteworthy fact is it is one of a few temples where Ariyar Sevai is performed during the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival
A visit to Chennai on pilgrimage will not be complete if you do not make a trip to this tradition-bound temple of great antiquity steeped in Thenkalai Vaishnava Sampradaya. (Revised Post:
https://www.navrangindia.in/2015/06/8th-century-trplicane-partahsarathy.html)
https://casualwalker.com/lord-parthasarathy-temple-triplicane-thiruvallikeni-chennai-visit-travel-guide
Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (1991). South Indian shrines: illustrated. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0151-3.
M.S., Ramesh (1993). 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desam Volume 1. Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthasarathy_Temple,_Triplicane
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, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Revised Post June 2015)){kind=link}