The Parthasarathi temple is one of the very few temples in the country dedicated to Lord Krishna in the form of Parthasarathi. As the charioteer of `Partha` or `Arjuna`, he was known as Parthasarathi, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. The temple is situated at Triplicane. The place Triplicane was earlier known as `Tiruallikeni`, which means `sacred lily tank`. The name was derived from the large rectangular tank in front of the Parthasarathi temple here.
The Parthasarathi temple is situated at place filled with natural beauty. The lush green groves, tall mansions and the imposing temple here were described in the songs of the Vaishnava saint Tirumangai Alvar, who lived during the Pallava age. This temple is very rare and the two main shrines here are built back-to-back. The shrine for Parthasarathi faces east and that of Narasimha is facing west direction.
The Parthasarathi temple has a number of quadrangular sub-shrines for Andal, Vedavalli Tayar and other deities. The temple has an inscription of a late Pallava king named Dantivarman (796-847 A.D.). The temple witnessed a major expansion during the Vijayanagar times in the16th century A.D. The late Vijayanagar four-pillared mandapa to the east of the temple exhibits stone chains or rings of beautiful workmanship.
