TempleFree entry

Parthasarathy Temple

#6of 10 places to visit in ChennaiChennai, Tamil Nadu

Also known as Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple · Thiruvallikeni Temple

Quick answer

Opening hours: 06:00–12:00 and 16:00–21:00. Entry is free. Allow 1 hr. Best time: 06:00 – 08:00.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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Photo: Destination8infinity / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Opening hours: 06:00–21:00; 06:00 – 12:00 and 16:00 – 21:00 daily, as of 2026, verify at the temple noticeboard since darshan sessions can shift around festival days.
Entry fee: Free
Time needed: 1 hr
Best time of day: 06:00 – 08:00
Best months: Dec – Mar
Address: Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane High Road, Triplicane, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600005

About Parthasarathy Temple

Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane is dedicated to Krishna in his form as Parthasarathy, the charioteer who guided Arjuna in the Mahabharata, and ranks among the 108 Divya Desams considered most sacred in Vaishnavism. The temple traces its founding to the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, who reigned in the 7th century CE, making the original core one of the oldest religious structures still in continuous use anywhere in Chennai. Later Vijayanagar-era rulers added shrines and expanded the complex in the 15th and 16th centuries, so the granite mandapas and gopurams visitors see today represent several centuries of overlapping construction rather than a single building phase.

Best time of day: 06:00 – 08:00. For the quietest darshan and clearest view of the gopuram carvings in early light.

Parthasarathy Temple timings

Opening hours: 06:00–21:00; Mon–Sun 06:00–12:00 and 16:00–21:00; 06:00 – 12:00 and 16:00 – 21:00 daily, as of 2026, verify at the temple noticeboard since darshan sessions can shift around festival days.
Closed on: Open every day

Mon–Sun	06:00–12:00 and 16:00–21:00

Good to know: Hours extend for the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival in December–January, one of the temple's largest annual events.

Opening hours compiled from sriparthasarathytemple.tnhrce.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Parthasarathy Temple ticket price

Entry fees for Parthasarathy Temple
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	Free
Foreign visitors	Free
Children	Free
Camera	Free

General darshan is free, as of 2026. An optional special-darshan ticket for a faster queue may be available at a marked counter during festival periods; verify at the counter.

Prices compiled from sriparthasarathytemple.tnhrce.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit Parthasarathy Temple

Quiet
Busy
Very busy

06:00 – 08:00
Early DarshanBest time to go
Local worshippers dominate; the sanctum queue is short and the outer mandapas are calm enough for unhurried viewing of the carvings.
Quiet
08:00 – 11:30
Morning Peak
Family groups and visiting pilgrims arrive in volume, and the footwear rack and sanctum queue both see their longest waits.
Busy
12:00 – 16:00
Midday Closure
The temple closes to general darshan between sessions; only the outer courtyard remains accessible to visitors passing through.
Quiet
17:30 – 20:30
Evening Peak
Evening pooja draws the day's largest crowd, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays, with queues extending onto Triplicane High Road.
Very busy

History of Parthasarathy Temple

Narasimhavarman I, the Pallava ruler also credited with the rock-cut monuments at Mahabalipuram, is traditionally credited with establishing the original shrine at Triplicane in the 7th century CE, though the temple's present form owes far more to later expansion than to any single Pallava-era structure surviving intact. The temple is celebrated in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the canonical collection of Tamil devotional hymns composed by the Alvar saints in the early medieval period, confirming its importance to Vaishnava worship well before the Vijayanagar rulers who later financed its major gopurams and pillared halls in the 15th and 16th centuries. The complex houses shrines to five forms of Vishnu under one roof, an arrangement local tradition attributes to the temple's role as a pilgrimage stop consolidating multiple regional devotional traditions, though the precise sequence of when each shrine was added is not fully documented.

Rules & etiquette at Parthasarathy Temple

Footwear must be removed at the entrance before crossing into the temple compound, with a free rack available near the main gopuram. Photography inside the sanctum sanctorum is prohibited, though the outer mandapas and gopurams may generally be photographed. Men are commonly expected to remove shirts before entering the inner shrine areas during major rituals, a convention applied more strictly during festivals than on ordinary days. As with most Tamil Nadu HR&CE temples, access to the innermost sanctum is generally understood to be for Hindu worshippers, while the outer courtyards remain open to all visitors; checking with temple staff on arrival avoids any confusion. Triplicane's streets around the temple are dense with traffic and street vendors, so parking well away from the immediate gopuram entrance and walking the last stretch is often faster than trying to park close by.

Tips for visiting Parthasarathy Temple

1
Parthasarathy Temple is easiest to combine with a walk through the rest of Triplicane, one of Chennai's oldest residential quarters, where narrow lanes still hold early-20th-century agraharam houses close to the temple walls. The Vaikunta Ekadasi festival in December or January is the single busiest period, when the temple's northern gate — normally kept closed — opens specifically for the occasion, drawing large crowds who queue for hours to pass through it. Early morning visits, before 08:00, give the clearest view of the carved gopuram figures without the queue congestion that builds by mid-morning. The temple sits close enough to Marina Beach and Vivekananda House that a single morning covering all three on foot or by short auto-rickshaw hops is a realistic plan for visitors based in central Chennai.

How to reach Parthasarathy Temple

The red star is Parthasarathy Temple; the numbered pins are the 8 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane High Road, Triplicane, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600005Directions in Google Maps

From Chennai International Airport (MAA)
₹420–₹580
14 km · 35–45 min
Prepaid taxi/app cab).
From Chepauk MRTS Station
₹30–₹50
1 km · 5–10 min
Auto-rickshaw); walkable in 12–15 minutes.
From Chennai Central Railway Station (MAS)
₹130–₹190
6 km · 18–25 min
Auto-rickshaw, negotiated).

Nearest airport

From Chennai International Airport (MAA)

approximately 14 km, 35–45 minutes by road.

Nearest railway station

From Chepauk MRTS station

approximately 1 km, 5–10 minutes.

Parthasarathy Temple FAQs

Is entry to Parthasarathy Temple free?

Yes. General darshan carries no entry fee as of 2026. An optional special-darshan ticket for a faster queue may be sold at a marked counter during busy festival periods.

Who built Parthasarathy Temple and when?

The Pallava king Narasimhavarman I is traditionally credited with founding the original shrine in the 7th century CE. Vijayanagar-era rulers later expanded the complex significantly in the 15th and 16th centuries.

What is the best time to visit for the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival?

The festival falls in December or January and is the temple's busiest period, when the normally closed northern gate opens for the occasion. Arriving well before dawn is necessary to avoid the longest queues.

Can non-Hindu visitors enter Parthasarathy Temple?

Yes, for the outer courtyards and gopurams. Access to the innermost sanctum is generally reserved for Hindu worshippers, so confirming with temple staff on arrival is advisable.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places