Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai, India

This was the firt of many temples we visited in Tamil Nadu, and the detail of the sculpture is spectacular--both breath taking and overwhelming--I spent hours looking at my photos in close up to appreciate what I could not see quite as well from the ground level. They are exquisitely detailed and life-like. Zoom in! The temple is of typical Dravidian architectural style, with the gopuram overpowering the street on which the temple sits. The original dates back to 700 but this location is believed to have been built in 1566 after Portuguese destruction of the original (the French and the Portuguese were in Chennai before the English took hold in the mid-18th century).

The temple's name is derived from the words kapala (head) and Ishvara, an epithet of Shiva. According to the Puranas, during the meeting of the deities Brahma and Shiva at top of Mount Kailash, Brahma failed to show the due respect to Shiva. Due to this, Shiva plucked off one of the five heads (kapala) of Brahma. In an act of penance, Brahma came down to the site of Mylapore and installed a lingam to please Shiva.