Manakula Vinayagar Temple is one of the prime attractions for tourists who are visiting Pondicherry. It is located in the white town and a few meters from the Raj Nivas and rock beach. Vinayagar is the first god to be worshipped in the Hindu religion before starting any work. He removes obstacles that come your way. You will be surprised to see the number of new vehicles queued up, registered in Pondicherry and Tamilnadu in the temple premises for Pooja.
Special Poojas on Vinayagar Chaturthi and English New Year
Vinayagar Chaturthi is celebrated grandly at Manakula Vinayagar Temple with special poojas and abishekams. It will be very crowded during that day; but sometimes, the queue will reach the Nehru street police station and beyond.
English New Year is another day where people wish to get the darshan to start the year in a good way. Temple will offer Special prasadam like Ladoos on those two special days.
Manal in Tamil means “Sand” since the Manakula Vinayagar Temple was located very close to the Pondicherry sea, sand was abundant to that region, and pond means “Kulam” in Tamil, which was there before.
Temple Sanctum and Pragaram
Manakula Vinayagar Temple is built around 8000 sq feet with an outer mandapam. Sanctum, Vimanam, and kodikambam were gold plated. Karuvarai, where the deity is located, is 4*4 sq. feet in size approximately. The whole temple is air-conditioned with centralized air conditioners.
Pragaram is there to walk around the sanctum; on the western side of the pragara, you can worship Sri Bala Vinayagar. On the eastern side, you will see Sri Balasubramaniar. The right side of the sanctum has the Marriage mandapam, where Poojas, hoomams used to be performed.
Golden and Silver Chariots
The golden chariot at Manakula Vinayagar Temple has beautiful artwork. As the name suggests, chariots are plated with gold. It is 10 feet in height and 6 feet in breadth. You can pay the amount of Rs.1400 and book it in advance. You pull these chariots inside the pragara to fulfill your wishes.
Elephant “Lakshmi”
Lakshmi is the name of the elephant of Manakula Vinayagar temple. It is a favorite for the devotees as well as the tourists who are visiting the temple. Temple brought Lakshmi in 1997, and it is living here in Pondicherry ever since. Lakshmi comes in the morning from Easwaran Koil Street, where it has the shelter for this elephant.
It goes for a walk in the morning and the evening. Tamilnadu government organizes a 48-day annual retreat camp for the captive elephants of temples in February and March. During those periods, Lakshmi will be at the Thekkampatti Village near Mettupalayam in the Coimbatore district.
Shops outside the temple
For doing Pooja at this Temple, you can buy pooja items like flowers, bananas, etc., from the shops located outside the temple premises. There are shops for souvenirs where you can shop.
Best Season: Temple is open throughout the year. Ganesh Chaturthi and English New Year will be crowded. So better avoid those days.
Temple Opening Time: 5.45 Am to 12.30 Pm and 4.00 Pm to 9.30 Pm
Entrance: Free
