About Temple:
Thirumullaivayil is situated at the northwest suburbs of Chennai and is about 12 kms from the Padi Junction. One can reach Thirumullaivayil after crossing Ambathur and taking right driving about 5 kms.Thirumullaivayil has an ancient Shiva Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva called Sri Maasilaamaneesarar. Among the 32 temples which are sung by Nayanmars in Thondai Mandalam, Thirumullaivayil stands 22nd of them.
History:
The Goddess here is Sri Kodiyidaiamman.Legend has it that, there were two evil kings called Vaanan and Onan who belonged to the community called Kurumbars. These two Kurumbars were giving constant trouble to the then ruling king called Thondaimaan.Thondaimaan, waged a war against Kurumbar to suppress them from creating trouble to his peaceful kingdom. These Kurumbars fought against Thondaimaan with the help of Sri Bhairavar. The King Thondaimaan, returned unsuccessfully after fighting with Kurumbars. On his way, when he was riding on an elephant, he found that the jasmine creepers encircled his elephant’s leg and obstructed his way. The king angrily whipped his sword on the creepers and blood started flowing from the place where he whipped.
The Sthala Viruksham for this temple is Vellerukku which is seen at the outer praakaaram.
Temple Tank:
Suddenly, there was a splash of blood, and the king found that the blood was oozing out from what looked like a Shiva Linga that he accidentally cut down. The king felt deeply sorry and prayed to Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared before him, accepted his apologies, and in addition, promised him that he will send his bull Nandi to help him fight the demons.
The king once again invaded the forest, and this time with the help of Nandi, destroyed the demons and set people free. The king constructed a temple on the spot where he destroyed the demons, and this temple is what we know as the Masilamaniswarar temple in Thirumullaivoyal. In fact, Thirumullaivāyil is so named because it was once a dense forest full of mullai shrubs
