Thirumayilai

Mylapore மயிலாப்பூர்
Neighbourhood
MRTS station, Mylapore
Mylapore Show map of Chennai Mylapore Show map of Tamil Nadu Mylapore Show map of India
Coordinates: 13°02′01″N 80°16′07″E / 13.0336°N 80.2687°E / 13.0336; 80.2687Coordinates: 13°02′01″N 80°16′07″E / 13.0336°N 80.2687°E / 13.0336; 80.2687
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Chennai District
Metro	Chennai
Ward	147
Talukas	Mylapore
Government
• Body	CMDA
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	600 004
Vehicle registration	TN-06
Lok Sabha constituency	South Chennai
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Mylapore
Planning agency	CMDA
Website	www.chennai.tn.nic.in

Mylapore (Mayilāppūr) is a cultural hub and neighborhood in the southern part of the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Thirumayilai.

Mylapore is known for its tree-lined avenues, Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Katcheri seasons and Ramakrishna Math among many others. Portuguese invaded and demolished the original Kapaleeshwarar Temple and built San Thome Basilica which houses the tomb of Thomas the Apostle.

The word Mylapore is derived from Mayil arparikum oor, which means "Land of the peacock scream". Historically, peacocks have been known to thrive in the area, which is evident from the several statues in the Kapaleeshwarar Temple towers and in the emblem of the San Thome Basilica. Thirugnanasambandar has also mentioned about mayil (peacock) in his songs in Tevaram. Mylapore is also known as Thirumayilai. Thiru means 'holy' or 'sacred' and is traditionally used in front of names in all parts of Tamil Nadu like Thiruneermalai (Lord Ranganatha), Thirunageswaram (Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva), Thirumayam (Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva), Thirumayilai (Lord Adikeshava Perumal and Lord Kapali Eshwaran), Tiruvanamalai (Lord Shiva), Thiruchendur (Lord Muruga), Tiruchirappalli (Lord Sriranganathar), Thiruttani (Lord Muruga), Tiruchengode (Lord Shiva), Thiruchitrambalam (Lord Shiva), Thirumanancheri (Lord Shiva), Thirunallar (Lord Shani Eshwaran), Thiruporur(Lord Muruga), Thirukkadaiyur (Lord Shiva), Tirukalukundram(Lord Vedagiriswarar temple), Thirukarugavur (Lord Garbharakshambigai temple), Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Tiruvallur and many more.