அருள்மிகு கற்பகாம்பாள் (கபாலீஸ்வரர்) கோயில், மயிலாப்பூர்Arulmigu Karpagambal (Kapaleeswarar) Temple, Mylapore

Sthala Mahātmyam

Karpagambal is the Goddess of the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore, Chennai, an ancient Shiva shrine (a Paadal Petra Sthalam) whose Devi is celebrated as goddess of the wish-yielding tree (Karpaga-ambal, from the celestial Karpagam tree). The sthala legend gives the locality its name: Parvati, through a curse, took the form of a peahen (mayil) and worshipped Shiva here — hence Mylai, or Mylapore, the town of the peahen. A shrine and sculpture depict Karpagambal as a peahen adoring the Shiva lingam, and a caged peacock and peahen within the temple recall this legend. The Goddess is believed to grant every heartfelt prayer, and Fridays and Tuesdays draw special worship. Tevaram poet-saints sang here, and the shrine is linked to the child-saint Gnanasambandar reviving a girl from her ashes. The grand nine-day Panguni Brahmotsavam features the Arupathimoovar procession of the sixty-three Nayanmar saints, the car festival, and the divine wedding of Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal.