Manakula Vinayagar Temple

The temple website states that the shrine stood before the French settled in Puducherry and that Jesuits and missionaries tried, without success, to demolish it. It adds that around 1700 the French authorities prohibited pujas and festivals at the temple, especially on Fridays, and that the Hindus who worshipped here objected and moved to Moratandi in English territory. Wikipedia similarly records attempts to destroy the temple during the tenure of Governor Dupleix, which were abandoned after strong protest.

According to the temple's sthalapuranam (local legend), the French, who lived in this part of the town, tried to remove the deity and even threw the image into the sea, but each time it returned to the same spot; devotees believe this is why the temple stands where it does. Historian T. Ganesan, writing for Sahapedia, notes that the temple is said to have formed part of the fort the French built in the late 17th century, and describes it as the only temple in the French quarter of Puducherry.

In more recent times the temple has been renovated with devotees' donations. The website records that the vimanam was covered with gold plate and a maha kumbabishekam held on 24 January 1999, and that the golden chariot first ran on 5 October 2003. Wikipedia, citing The Hindu, notes a further renovation and consecration in 2015.

Architecture and sacred features

The temple website describes a compact complex of about 7,913 sq ft with an outer mandapam, a raja gopuram, a gold-plated flagstaff about 18 feet tall, a front mandapam, a maha mandapam and the sanctum, whose vimanam is fully covered in gold plate, using about 10 kg of gold according to the temple. The four-armed presiding deity holds the goad and noose in the upper hands. Around the sanctum are shrines to Bala Vinayagar and Balasubramaniar (Murugan) under silver vimanams and a small shrine to Chandikeswarar. Sahapedia describes the main tower as a two-tier brick and cement structure about 24 feet high, and records a small crystal linga, said to have been found in farmland near Senji.

The temple is noted for its art. On the southern prakaram wall, the website lists rows of sculpted forms of Ganesha (33 in one row and 25 in another) and stone inscriptions of hymns, including Subramania Bharati's Vinayagar Nanmanimalai. The ceilings and front mandapam carry paintings of Ganesha's life, such as his birth, the slaying of the demon Gajamukhasura and his marriage to Siddhi and Buddhi; Sahapedia also notes ceiling paintings of Purana stories. The golden chariot, described by the temple and Wikipedia, is 10 feet high and 6 feet wide, made of teak covered with engraved copper plates and about 7.5 kg of gold.