Chintaamaneeswarar Temple, Karunguli, Near Chennai..

 Sri Chintamaneeswarar Temple, Karunguli, Near Pulicat, Chennai..
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Karungaali is a small village located in the north western side of Chennai. Karungaali has a beautiful temple for Lord Shiva called Sri Chinthaamaneeswarar, amidst scenic surroundings. According to the inscriptions, the temple is over 1300 years old.

The speciality of this temple is that, it has sea in the front side, a river behind it and forest on the other side. It is a very rare sight to see a temple amidst such a natural setting.
To reach Karungaali one has to take the road from Minjur towards Pazhaverkadu (Pulicat). After crossing about 10 kms from Minjur one can reach a village by name ‘Kaattoor’. Take right turn from Kaattoor and drive about 5 km (bad and sandy road amidst many salt lakes) to reach the banks of the river Arani
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After reaching the river Arani, one has to take a boat to cross the river and the temple is on the other side of Arani river, which is Karungaali village. There is only one boat available and sometimes we have to wait for some time for the boat man to arrive. He charges Rs. 10/- for an up and down trip which takes hardly 5 minutes for each way. Alternatively, to reach the temple by road one can also take the Ennore Port Road, which will lead to this temple.
Lord Shiva has 5 faces; Isaanam, Thathpurusham, Vaamadhevam, Sathyojaatham and Agoram. There are 5 Shiva temples near Chennai, representing each of the 5 faces of the Lord. Out of those 5 this temple represents the Agora face of Lord Shiva.
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The other 4 being Ramagiri Sri Vaaleeswarar (Isaanam), Suruttuppalli Sri Pallikondeeswarar (Thathpurusham), Aarani (near Periyapaalayam) Sri Sampangi Pichaaleeswarar (Vamadhevam) and Ariyathurai Sri Varamoortheeswarar (Sathyojaatham). Interestingly, all these 5 temples lie on the banks of Brahmaranya (Arani) river.

Karungaali, where this temple is located, is where the Brahmaranya (Arani) river finally merges into the ocean.
As per the legend, there lived a Rishi (Saint) by name Sattai Muni who performed Thapas (penance) in this place on the banks of Brahmaranya River. It is said that he formed this temple and worshipped Lord Shiva here