Manakula Vinayagar Temple.

Manakula Vinayagar Temple is an ancient temple of Lord Vinayaka (Ganesha), in Pondicherry. It is a grand and beautiful temple. It is a famous pilgrimage place and a tourist destination.

 Between 1987 and 1996, I visited Pondicherry a few times on official work and during every trip, I visited this temple. After many years I have recently visited this temple for the first time with my wife. The attached photographs are from this visit.

This magnificent temple was built before the 15th century, long before the French settled in Pondicherry. The temple derives its name from two Tamil words 'Manal' meaning sand and 'Kulam' meaning pond. There was a pond close to the temple and due to its proximity to the sea (the temple is just 400 meters West of the Bay of Bengal), the pond had a lot of sand and the temple came to be known as the temple beside the pond of sand and hence the name Manakula Vinayagar temple.

At this temple, God Ganesha showers blessings in all his forms. Resting on a golden chariot, the idol of Lord Ganesha is breathtaking. Devotees strongly believe and have experienced that their prayers and wishes are granted by praying here.

One will be amazed by looking at the intricate paintings at this temple. Renowned painters have created different events from Hindu mythology, from the birth of Lord Ganesha to his marriage to Siddhi and Riddhi, the killing of demons, and a few more such historical scenes.

According to a myth, a Frenchman made several frantic attempts to remove the Ganesha idol from the temple. But each time the idol was removed, it reappeared on its own! Astonished by the power of the idol, the Frenchman converted as an ardent devotee of the lord.

This is a must-visit temple, when in Pondicherry (now called Puducherry).