India Temple Tour: 09/01/2010

275 Thevara Shivasthalam !! Thirukachiyekambam - Sri Ekambareswarar Temple !! Kanchi !!

Jai Sriman Narayana !!

Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!

Thirukatchiyekambam is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva situated in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. This is one of the oldest temples built by the Kings of Pallava and Chola Dynasty, Emperor of Vijayanagara Sri Krishna Devaraya also have made abundance of contributions to this temple. The majestic Rajagopuram of the temple with the height of 172ft built in the year 1509 and the 540 pillared halls in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple was also built by Sri Krishna Devaraya. It is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalam of Lord Shiva represents the Earth. The presiding deity Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Prithvi Linga. There is a Somaskanda panel featuring Lord Shiva, Parvati and Skanda in the main shrine and 1008 Shivalingas in a row are the stunning revelation of craftsmanship.

Presiding Diety - Sri Ekambareswarar/Ekambaranathar, one of the Panchabootha Sthal of Lord Shiva represents Earth also known as Prithvi Linga Kshetram.

Sannidhis - Sri Ekambareswarar, Goddess Parvati with Lord Muruga – Somaskandha Murthy, Goddess Kamakshi /Elavarkuzhali, Sri Nilaathungal Thunnda Perumal

Mangalasasanam - Appar, Thiru Gnana Sambadhar and Sri Sundaramurthy Nayanar sung praising the glories of Lord. Sundaramurthy Nayanar got his eye sight back after worshipping Lord Ekambaranathar in this temple.

Sthala Vruksham - Mango Tree bears fruits of four different flavors which represent four Vedas - Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Veda

Theertham - Kamba Nadi Theertham

Festivals - Ani Tirumanjanam, Adi Kritikai, Avani Moolam , Navaratri, Kartikai Deepam, Thai Poosam, Panguni Uthiram, Chitra Pournami and Vaikashi Vishakam

The legend has that while Lord Shiva engrossed in meditation Goddess Parvathi mischievously covered his eyes which resulted the entire Universe doomed into darkness. The most infuriated Lord cursed Goddess Parvati to be born on Earth. Goddess Parvati took birth on earth and underwent severe penance to attain Lord Shiva as her husband. She continued her severe austerities, she formed a Linga out of sand and immersed in meditation under the Mango Tree in this place. The neighboring River Vegavathi threatened to engulf the Linga, Goddess Parvati embraced the Linga in order to protect from its danger. Lord Shiva was profoundly convinced by Goddess Parvati’s truthful gesture and married her.

Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!

Jai Sriman Narayana!!!

Pictures of India Temple Tour!! My Collections!!

Sri Kanchi Varadar Kovil

Thiruthandi Jeeyar Madam, Near Sri Rangam Post Office.

Sri Ekambareswarar Kovil, Kanchi

Sri Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchi

Sri Ekambareswar Kovil, Kanchi.

Sri Varadaraja Perumal Kovil, Kanchi

Sri Ekambareswarar Kovil, Kanchi

Sri Varadaraja Perumal Kovil, Kanchi

Sri Pandurangan Rukumayee Temple, Thennagur.

Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple, Thennagur

Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple, Thennagur.

Sri Uchi Pillayar Kovil, Trichi.

Sri Uchi Pillayar Kovil, Trichi

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Trichy.

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Trichi

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Trichi.

Our Temple Tour to Kailasanathar Temple!! Kanchipuram!!

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

We - a group of ten members went to Kanchipuram in the year 2009 to visit all the temples. My sister and her two sons, My family,my mom and my DIL,MIL and SIL. We had  an opportunity to be in Kanchi for three days as we had arranged Upanayanam for our son at the Mutt . Our stay at Yatri Nivas near Kamakshi Amman Temple was fantastic. They had A/c and Non-A/c rooms available, we took three A/c rooms for our stay and few more rooms for our relatives too. The heat was unbearable. All the arrangements had been made by our Family Sastrigal - Sri.Venkatesa Sastrigal. Food......stay..........vehicles everything was arranged perfectly.   They serve morning breakfast......mid noon....soft drinks.....lunch......evening snacks....dinner...everthing was well organised. A big vehicle is available for visiting temples and shopping purpose.

As adviced by Sastrigal after the Kappu ceremony, we all set to visit the temples in the evening. It was full of fun and excitement. We reached Kailasa Nathar Temple before the sun set. The Dravidian Architectural style was a real visual treat. We were walking through the praharams little faster as we have to cover few more temples before  get it dark.

We entered the Sree Kovil and met the Sastrigal. A pious old ..... soft spoken...Sastrigal. He explained the history of the temple, daily rituals, method of doing pradhakshinam etc. On the left side of the inner praharam of the Kovil there was a big standing fan.

'Sis pathayodi......nee varuva solli pottirukka.....periya fan'. ' Saravana stores pathrakadeley irukkumey athey mathiri..'

My Sis asked ' Amma...enna inga kovil la Periya fan..a vacchurukka...'.

My mom 'Theriyala Konthey...kettuparen.'

My husband ' Kovil kulla enna kisukisu......'.

Sastrigal asked us in a soft voice 'praharam suthi varela...'.

Yes ....ready...start.

My husband said ' See the place is dark inside, first let me try to get in through this manhole...if it is not painful...I will call you one by one...Is that Ok?'

My Sis 'That's perfect Subu...go ahead'.

I was looking at her... 'adi pavingala....test panna...ennodu athukarar'. My husband went through the manhole on the stonewall to the other side with a little effort. Then my Dad In Law....he did pass the test. Because he walks to Arupadai veedu....'Padhayathra'. Next my Mom, actually we did not notice who were all making it. We were looking at the manhole....was thinking how to go through this small hole.. what will happen if our body got stuck ....no question of retrieve. How did Radha Rani(My Mom) go through the manhole? It  was a big question in all of our mind for many days. She was having severe hip problem and under medication for long time now.

Where were I ?   Yeah....Someone said..'Samiye kooputtugo....poikkindey irungo..' Yes we all started 'Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara'. Next was my nephews' turn, they made it somehow. Next was my Sis turn, her two sons were dragging her thorugh the manhole.

Next was my turn ' Sankara......ippidiye pokanama......vera ethachum route irukka.'

My Sis from inside 'Hey Uma don't think too much vadi ulla' .

' Itho vanthutten...Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara.'

When I went half way through the hole I was totally desperate and started screaming...I felt I got stuck inside...I was not getting myself out......

'Sis.....ennalamudiyala...........thooku....thooku' started crying........

she was already there with her two sons to drag me in. I was panicked looking inside the dark praharam...... faces of my husband, my son, my mom........sister......nephews, they all....got shocked to see me halfway....and they too became restless.

My mom....'Mollava Kannamma......onnum Akathu.......Nangal irukkom.'

I hanged there on the manhole and I started blabbering, 'Mudiyala Amma....Mudiyala'.

My mom said ' Vadi ma konthey....unnala mudiyum....try pannu'.

Finally, I got out the other side safely carried by my nephews and Sis. They all started laughing at me.... next was my MIL turn ....she put herself inside the manhole...not willing to get down......I was just standing at the mouth of manhole ready to carry her.

She said ' enna vidu di ma...nan eranguven...' I said 'Mom there is nothing to hold here...you should hold my hand and get in.' At last, I carried my MIL with the help of my sister and brought her down on the floor. My SIL did not make any drama, I  just needed to give her a hand.

At last, we all landed on the inner praharam and started to move out...it was shocking to see the exit...It was even smaller than the entry.   It was similar to the entry manhole just above the ground level made of stonewall...slowly one by one started to move out. My turn...I started walking through the stairs and got out...

Immediately the Sastrigal said 'Appadi varakoodathu...neengal intha guha vazhiye veliye vango.' I went through the manhole dragging myself.. I was sweating badly and my mother and Sis were calling me and saying something like 'Umakutty..nangalello vanthom paru...neeyum vama.' Finally, I made it...all tired and sweat. Everyone started laughing and Sastrigal asked me to move near the Big.....Fan. Now we clearly understood why the temple has a Big Fan inside the inner Praharam. My Mom's comment 'Aval ..ava ...Appa mathiri....konjam attahasam pannuva.'

My son ' Mom...you made it...great...you know something in each move you killed atleast one cockroach on your way...calling 'Jaya Jaya Sankara... Hara Hara Sankara'....Chathak.'

What I am trying to say is that please check the manhole thoroughly before you start moving in. Later my Mom said ' Guha nozhanju vanthena vyadiyellam parandhuduthu'. Our Radha Rani happy and we too.

Kailasanathar Temple - Sthalapuranam

Presiding Deity - Lord Shiva in the form of Lingam

Dravidiyan Style of Architecture depict 64 Siva Gana on the Temple Praharam

Main Festival - Maha Sivarathri

The Kailasanathar Temple is one of the Abode of Lord Shiva located in the temple town, Kanchipuram. It is one of the oldest Pallava Temples situated on the outskirts of modern days of Kanchipuram. It was built by the Pallava King Narasimhavarman II. It resembles the Shore Temple of Mahabalipuram with its Dravidian Style of Architecture. This unique temple structure portrayed 64 aspects of Lord Shiva, you could see it nowhere except in Tamilnadu. The Presiding Diety is Lord Shiva in the form 'Lingam'. It is a large lingam with flat stripes on its surface. The King Rajaraja Chola's visit to Kailasanathar inspired him to build Thanjavur Periyakoil. The Sastrigal explained another interesting fact that the 'Pradhakshinam' would be done through a manhole on the stonewall on the left side of Main Diety, and come out through a manhole on the ground level. The fact is that Lord Shiva :The Destroyer of our all Sins - takes us through the Manhole on the stoneWall with all our Papa Karmas and leaves us fully purified through the other exit. The temple is not much crowded other than the day of 'Annual Maha Sivarathri'.

Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara!!

Our visit to Sri Pandurangan Rukumayee Temple!! Thennagur!!

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

Our trip to Kanchi with all our family members was another exciting experience . As usual we started early in the morning from Chennai to Kanchipuram. We had arranged a Call Taxi in the previous night. We all got ready for the show, except the Cab Driver. Poor Guy, he wandered all the way and finally located our apartment. By the time it was 6' o clock in the morning. Actually we were planning to leave by 5' o clock in the morning so as to escape from the hustle and bustle of the Chennai City. We had specific plans about where to go and when to come back. The rest of the things was left in the hands of our Driver Saab. Unfortunately, we got a fellow who is not familiar to Kanchi and its surroundings. So we took the role of a Guide, as we are familiar to Kanchi and nearby places. Definitely, we did not know how to reach Gnanananda Giri Peedam.

Our Driver Saab was great in speeding the car. The vehicle was spacious enough to relax for our Senior Members. I had given them their morning 'Kappi' before leaving home. They were all in good spirit. 'Appa.....Kadavule....ippadiye maintain pannu'. My father-in-law is very old (79) and very close to my son. They talk like friends each other and joke. I was surprised to see my son putting his hands around the neck of his Thatha and making wits all the way. I was just trying to listen what they were talking about. My son 'Thatha nee Nalla Mark vanguviya school padikecchey..' Thatha said 'Appoellam nanna padippom theriyuma...' . My son ' Nalla mark vangatta punish pannivalo.. enga schoola ellam...lizard mathiri nikka vaippa' Thatha replied ' pedeppa engala.....erumayai (buffalo) vacchu vangara mathiri vanguva..' . My son got confused of what Thatha was saying. He moved to me slowly ' Mom...what's that thatha talking about....pedappa......yerumai vacchu vangara mathiri vanguva...what does that mean?' Ada pavamey....summa iruntha enakku translator joba....Then I explained to him ' While studying at school thatha must have got beatings....like the way he mentioned...he was telling you how the way their teacher beat the children in his school days.(non stop laughing from everywhere). Our seating arrangements goes like this Our Captain (my husband) was sitting next to Driver Saab. We three (Myself , my son and my Dad-in-Law)were seated in one place together, The three ladies (my mom, Mom-in-Law and sister-in-Law) were sitting on the back seat. The Ladies started snoring from background as soon as the vehicle started to flee on the road. Slowly, my son also joined with the Team. My father-in-law is a very disciplined, knowledgeable, and a great devotee of Lord Murga. He sings Thirupukkazh, Thevaram, sambradaya Bajans etc... in good tune at this age too. He shares lot of his experiences with me, as I am the younger one in the family. I am a good listener too. I curiously listen to his explanations and he is a great man I adore. My Mom-in-law is also nice to be with.

We reached Kanchi within two and half an hour or so.  The first thing, we  visited our Guru - Kanchi Mahaperiyava, Kanchi Kamakshi Amman Temple, Varadharaja Perumal Kovil and Ekambareswarar Kovil. These visits took nearly 6 hours and we missed to reach Kumarakottam. We all got disappointed as I wanted to take my Dad-in-law to Kumarakottam so long. Somehow it did not work. So we all marched towards to Saravana Bavan for Lunch. We really enjoyed the food and chatted for a while. After an hour or so we were all set to leave to Thennagur.

The trip to Thennagur was full of emotional surprises. We reached this place - My Guruji's place at 2.30 in the afternoon. Our driver saab parked the car near the shops in front of the Sri Pandurangan Rukumayee Temple. The heat was unbearable.    The place was very quite in the afternoon other than a few shops were kept opened.  We walked through the street - My husband, myself with the Driver . Myself and my husband were walking bear legged. We walked up to the Mutt and went inside to enquire about the details of temple timings. They offered us a room to relax and freshen up. Oh yeah..I forgot to tell about our Senior Members. We made them sit comfortably inside the car, because it was too hot to walk around. While I was in the Mutt I met Sri Namaji's nephew and we had a nice talk about Sri Guruji and Sri Namaji.   Meanwhile, I met a Mami.... Saraswathy Mami from Kerala and she narrated the life of My Guruji and introduced us to the temples and the administrators etc... Mami has done a wonderful job of explaining each and everything about the life of Sri. Guruji. She took us to the place where Guruji lived for a few years. .... the place He used to sit for satsang. We took a round tour of the house, the big well.....and she started explaining about Guruji and his final journey. It brought tears in both of our eyes. In a moment, I felt I have missed so much in my life.

We were walking through the village with Saraswathy Mami - she is really great, having all the informations at her finger tip.   She is a real asset to Thennagur. As usual it was evening 'Coffee Time' for us. I have to accept the fact that all were really thirsty. We did  not have a drop of water from 2. pm to 5. pm. I felt really sorry for the Seniors. Our Senior ladies started ' Enakku brown color a irukkumey athu porum.....soodu thangamudiyala....' . Oh yeah I understood it is either Pepsi or Coke. The other one ' Enakk Orange colorla irukkey athu porum...Jilla irukanam'. Yes, it is Fanta. So the demand for the cool soft drinks increased. 'Kshemam...no coffee demand as yet'. Because we did not find any.

On the way through the street my son got attracted to the sites and wanted to shoot some pictures. Saraswathy Mami took us to Sri Pandurangan Rukumayee Temple Praharam.....walking through the beautiful garden full of flowers....we met office bearers and bought some books about Swami Gnananda Giri, Swami Haridas Giri and Sri Namaji. They took us to Nama Sankeerthanam Hall and spent little time over there.   She took us to another block where Swami Gnananada Giri's Paduka pooja along with Swami Haridas Giri and Sri Namaji's were held on a daily basis. We could see Guruji's picture all over the hall.....Guruji ........Pictures of Guruji Everywhere Guruji. The sastrigal who is in charge of the Paduka Pooja came out and gave us the Holy water. He introduced us the Sathguru Gnanananda's Paduka, Guruji's Paduka and Sri.Namaji's Paduka kept in line for the daily rituals.

There was another big surprise waiting for us at the Sri Pandurangan and Rukumayee Temple. Saraswathy Mami led us to the Temple Sreekovil crossing the long halls filled with beautiful pictures of Lord Krishna........My Lord.....it was an amazing sight....she explained about the large expensive wall paintings of Panduranga............Wow.....one should never miss it. If you didn't make it, please make no more delays.   I was thinking of visiting Pandaripuram so long..........to have a sight of Panduranga. Now my wishes have come true...My Pandurangan is very nearby.......I need not go so long to have HIM. We had prasadam from Annadhana Mandapam and continued our journey..............

Thennagur - Dakshina Halasyam

Presiding Diety - Sri Pandurangan Rukumayee

Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple

Presiding Diety - Sri Lakshmi Narayanan

Sannidhis - Pandurangan, Meenakshy Somasundareswarar (Birth Place of Goddess Meenakshi), Navagraha with their consorts, Maa Bavani (known as Tuljabavani in North)

Thennagur is located in Kanchipuram - Vandavasi Highways (Thiruvannamalai District), 110 kilometres away from Chennai. Thennagur has got its new face by Swami Haridas Giri a disciple of Swami Gnanananda Giri, who established the Mutt in the rememberance of His Guru. Swami Haridas Giri well known for spreading Divya Namasankeerthan throughout the world. Guruji gave us the fruit of Namasankeerthan, Pandurangan Rukumayee Temple in Thennagur. During his mission of spreading the Namasankeerthan he established many Bajan Mandalis, Seva Samajams and philanthropic institutions through out the world. Guruji formed The G.A.Trust (Gnanananda Giri Peetam), Thennagur. This organization has undertaken the construction of Holy Shrines like Sri Pandurgan Rukumayee Temple, Nama Sankeerthanam Hall, Annadhana Mandapam, Mahashodashi and Sathgurnathar Sannidhi (Opposite to Sri Pandurangan Rukumayee Temple), Renovation of Sri Lakshmi Narayana Temple with the Sannidhis of 'Kutty Pandurangan' (Small Pandurangan) 'Maa Bavani', Navagraha with their consorts (A rare view) Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple etc... On the way to Sri Lakshmi Narayanar Temple you could see the G.A. Hospital, Gosala, Old Age Home, Ashram and Veda Padasala etc.. Adjacent to Sri Lakshmi Narayana Temple, there is a place ( it is unwise to call it as a Building, the place where Our Guruji has spent his last few years before leaving this material world). Everyone should visit this place and feel the golden moments of our Guruji's presence. Our Guruji left to Holy Abode on 4th September 1994 at Koteeswar near Rudra Prayag in the Himalayas by entering in to Jalasamadhi but spiritually showering His merciful blessings to all of us!! Radhey Krishna!!

Jai Sriman Narayanan!!

Our Temple Tour to Samayapuram!! 2010!!

Om Sri Ganesa Saradha Gurubyo Nama:

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

Our group consists of 6 members, continued our Temple Tour with our guide and Cab Driver Ganesan. As it was a Tuesday the roads as well as the Temple Praharams were filled with the devotees in Yellow sarees. We could see the devotees lay on the floor with 'Maavilakku' on their stomach as their part of offering to Devi. The temple was over crowded with devotees and vendors. Somehow we managed to get in to the main Praharam, literally floating amongst the crowd with no efforts. Our Senior Members found it hard to move on with the crowd. Our Captain (my husband) was in the process of taking good care of us without wandering here and there or missing amid the crowd. Finally, we found the place to stand on the queue. The lady in charge of the queue said ' Amma onnalayellam intha queue la ninnu poka mudiyathu....poyi special dharisanam Ticket vangittu va..' I looked at our captain....he said ' Summa iru....poyi than pappomey....' There were 500/600 people already on the line . I really got upset thinking of when we finish our dharshanam and will be back to Madam for food etc....Because we all were hungry ....(though we had little prasadm in the early morning). My son will create a scene if he did not get food in time. Looked back at him ' parava illa payyan prasannama than irukkan...kadavul punyam'. I got a little energy after seeing our Senior Members spirit to get the Dharashanam of Samayapurath Amman. On the half way, I felt so suffocated and restless and I called my husband 'Brahmana...neengal sollithan intha queuela vanthu mattindo...allatta sugama poyi dharshanam panniruppo...special ticket kedakkumma nu konjam kettu sollungoley.' The lady who is controlling the crowd heard it and said 'Appovey sonneney nee than kekkala....iniyelam onnum panna mudiyathu... appadiye poyittuva.' I felt so sad. My mom came to rescue ' Illaidi konthey.....queue nanna fasta than pokarathu.....namma easya dharshanam mudichuduvo....nangel vayasanaval paru nikkarom...konjam porumaya iru..'. What she said was absolutely true, even the 70's can stand on the queue without much trouble means why can't 40's? The queue moved fast without much delay .....We got near the Special Dharshanam queue and people over there started complaining that the queue was not moving at all and they were waiting so long, prior to us. Finally, we are there at Sree Kovil to have the Dharshanam of Samayapurathu Amman. Tell you, Beauty means Samayapurath Amman. Honestly the ultimate beauty...I don't know how to explain Her Beauty....one should see. After standing on the long queue, it was a real visual treat to see the Beauty of Samayapurath Amman and we forgot all our tiredness. We had a fantastic Dharshanam can't forget in our life time. We had been to Mariamman Temple in Malaysia also.

Jai Sriman Narayana

Samayapuram Mariamman

The temple near the Cauvery River is located 20 km north of beautiful outskirts of Trichy. The Samayapurath Amman also worshipped as Sakthi - Goddesses of Power. The method of worshipping the Mariamman is by offering 'Mavuvilakku' made of Rice flour, Jaggery and Ghee. The famous Annual Festival - Thai poosam celebrate in a grand manner. Samayapurath Amman also known as 'Maha Maya'. In Bagavatha Puram 10th canto describes the birth of Lord Sri Krishna along with 'Maha Maya' ( Sister of Lord Krishna).

There is a strong belief is that Samayapurath Mariamman cures all the diseases like Small Pox and Chicken Pox.

Please listen to Shri. B.Sundar Kumar's and Shri. Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy's Srimad Bagavatham discourse - it is very informative. Both are brilliantly explaining about the Bagavatham one is taking us to high emotional rides and the other one taking us intellectual heights. Both are excellent in their own ways.

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

Abimana Kshetram !! Gunaseelam Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Perumal Temple!!

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

Gunaseelam Prasanna Venkateswara Perumal Temple is one of the Abhimana Kshetrams of Lord Vishnu located on the banks of River Cauvery Trichirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest temples of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that visit to this temple (South Thirupathi) brings abundance of pieties equivalent to Thirupathi Balaji of Andhra Pradesh. Bhavishyothara Puranam describes the grandeur of Gunseelam Temple and the temple histories are beautifully engraved with pictorial descriptions on the walls of inner praharam of this temple.

Presiding diety - Moolavar - Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Perumal With his consort Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi Thayar, Utsava Moorthy - Srinivasa Perumal with his consort Goddesses Sreedevi and Boodevi Nachiyar.

The legend has that Sage Gunaseela with his Guru went to Himalayas. On their way back, visited Thirupathi and Sage Gunaseela was immersed at the beauty of Lord Balaji. Totally absorbed at the enthralling beauty Lord Balaji, Sage Gunaseela prayed to have his perpetual presence at his village Gunseelam too. He undertook severe penance at his hermitage on the river banks of Cauvery. Lord was pleased at the devotion of Sage Gunaseela and appeared before him as Lord Prasanna Venkateswarar with his consort Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi. Lord Prasanna Venkateswara most pleasingly promised to stay there till the end of Kali Yugam. Sage Gunaseela built a temple and started to worship the Lord Prasanna Venkateswara and Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi on the river banks of Cauvery. At the end of Dwapara Yuga, Sage Gunaseela went to Naimisharanya Kshetram with some of his disciples. Before leaving this place Sage Guseela designated his other disciples to perform the daily rituals in his absence. Unfortunately, the Cauvery River engulfed the entire area and the wild animals drawn together for shelter made the disciples to run off from the worshipping place.

After several years the Chola King of Worayur happened to visit Gunaseelam. He heard a mysterious voice commanding him to dissolve the pit by pouring milk. The King brought his army men to perform the enormous task. instantaneously, there appeared Lord Prasanna Venkateswarar with consort Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi and promised to be in Gunseelam till the end of Kali Yuga as desired by him. Later the King shifted his palace from Worayur to Kallur and built a magnificent place to worship known as the present day temple. The daily rituals are being carried out as directed by the Lord Sriman Narayanan/Paravasudevan in this temple.

Whoever worship Lord Prasanna Venkateswara Perumal with his consort Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi and undergo austerities for 48 days would be blessed with physical as well as mental well-being.

This temple remains open from 8.30 AM to 1.00 PM in the morning and 4.00 PM to 8.30 PM in the evenings.

Contact Person: Pichumani Iyengar, Telephone Nos. 04326 275210/ 04326275310 or 9486304251

Jai Sriman Narayana !!

Our Temple Trip to Uchi Pillayar Kovil!!

Om Sri Ganesa Saradha Gurubyo Nama:

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

In my previous posting about the India Temple Tour 2010, I have mentioned the places we visited. I would like to write about the 'Sthalapuram' in detail so that it will be helpful for people who are going to visit this Temple for the first time.

As usual I am going to take your precious time for a while....please bear with me. Our group consists of six members in a row of 14, 40 plus, 60 plus and 70 plus. We landed at Sri Rangam with our compartment and luggages. We have already booked rooms (A/c and Non-A/c) at Thiruthandi Jeeyar Madam, Next to Sri Rangam Post office, Near Rajagopuram of Sri Ranganathawamy Temple. Three days prior to our journey I spoke to Jeeyar Madam Administrator Swami Suryanarayanan about our stay and the food. So the major things have organised. Because, 'intha 14, 60 plus and 70 plus will not keep quiet if they did not get food in time....hmmm.....enna pannarathu' and a Cab Driver to take us in and out of Sri Rangam. (I can provide the details at request). So the stay, food and Sanjaram everything has arranged perfectly. 'Ethilayachum knojam idi vantha enakkuthan otha..' With the Grace of Lord, the driver is ready with his cab at our serivce. Everyone became happy. Stay at Jeeyar Madam was quite comfortable and food was excellent. We (three) got our room in the second floor and the senior members (3) got their room in the First floor. The driver chap was a humble, decent and well known to Sri Rangam. He was the guide for us, till leaving us back to Railway Station. ' Ganesa....nama Enga Porom' He will answer immediately ' Madam...namma ..Ranganatha swamy pathuttu.....Uthamarkovil Porom.' So he will be keep informing us about each and everything on the way. As we have reached late in the night our senior members fallen asleep. So we could not get the Viswaroopa Dharsanam on the First Day morning. As planned earlier, we all set to leave to our temple visit. Our senior members face were not in their usual mood. One said ' Enakku Kappi kedakkanam illatta Mandai ippo Vedikumm' , the other said ' Naan ingey engayachum pathuttu varen Kappi Kedakkumanu'. My heart started beating fast ' Aapthbandhava Kapathu, .... aduthathennavo.... oru Kapikadai kattu'. Taxi driver Ganesan came to our help ' Madam....ingeye nalla filter kappi kadai irukku...kovil sastrigal ellarum ingey than kapi sapuduva'. ' Alright' Our coffee arangetram over. What's next? Temple visit. We covered Ranganayaki Thayar dharshanam, Uthamar Kovil, Gunaseelam and Samayapuram on the first day morning. The same day evening we started at 4' o clock in the evening to Uchi Pillayar Kovil.

In the evening 4' o clock we started to leave the room. As usual Coffee Time for our Senior Members. Ganesan was kind enough to take us to good Kappi stall. On the way he said ' Madam...nama... Malaikottai Uchipillayar Koil porom....konjam padikettu irukkum...yeri sami dharisanam mudichuttu vango'. I started looking at my Senior Members face. One said ' Nan kezheye Samiyapathu thozhuthukkaren..' The other said ' Ennala Yera mudiyathu sollitten'. My mom (she is a retired School Teacher) ' Nan yeruven pathukko....enakku avaritta konjam kekkanam....' I asked ' Radha Rani ( sellama koopuduvom) nee yenna kekka pora...' 'Nan kekkaporen....ennamattum yen ingey vacchirukka...eppo koopadapora....Kashta paduthama kootindu po sollaporen..' I just wanted her mood to cheer up. ' Radha Rani...nee mothalila kettaye athukku avarala onnum seyyamudiyum thonala....Karmava tholachu theerthudu.....Rendamathu kettaye ....good question...he will consider definitely...don't worry.' We started climbing up the stairs Mom said ' Di konthey (calling me) nee yeruveyo pakkattum......onndu pinnalaye nanum vanthuduven'. I started climbing up and it was exhausting....turned back and looked for Mom. I burst into laugh...She was climbing stairs, two legs in one step and two hands on the other. My husband and My son were ready to take up the new venture with good spirit.

Jai Sriman Narayana!!

Sthalapuranam:

Presiding Diety: Manikka Vinayakar - On the top of the hill

Sannidhis - Thayumanavar ( Lord Shiva)/Mathruboodheswarar/Sevvanthi Nathar and Mattuvar Kuzhali or Sugandha Kundalambikai (Ambal)

Theertham - Cauveri, Shiva gangai and Brahma theertham

Sthala Vruksham - Vilvam

The Rockfort temple, known as Dakshina kailasam, is situated on the banks of the river Cauvery with a height of 273 feet and 417 steps to climb. The name of the place came from Thirisiran, a King who ruled this place. At the foot of the Rockfort is there is a beautiful temple tank (Theppakkulam) with a pavilion which is used during the float festival of the temples. The hill top view of the town , the busy roads and small cottages around, breathtaking view of cauvery and Kollidam rivers, the road and rail bridges across the rivers and the temple towers of Srirangam and Thiruvanaikaval.

The history goes.... Kailasam was disturbed by Vayu Bagavan and thrown in to three places and this is considered one among them and that is the reason it is called Dakshina kailasam. The other two places are Kalahasthi and Tirikonamalai (Srilanka). There is a saying that Lord Shiva took care of a pregnant girl called Rathnavathi during the delivery time in the form of the girl’s mother and so He is known as Thayumanavar.

The Kulla Muni Agasthya, Arjuna, Hanuman, Rathnavathi, Rama, Saptha Kanniar, Saptha Rishis and Sarama muni had worshipped Shiva at this place.Sarama muni worshipped Shiva with sevvanthi flowers brought from Naga lokha and hence the Lord is called as Sevanthi Nathar. Lord Shiva also called Mathrubootheshwar .

Before entering to Shiva temple, there is a big hall with 100 pillars, full of beautiful paintings and carvings. One of the 64 Shiva moorthams known as Gangala moortham is seen here. Below the Siva temple there are two Pallava cave temples with sculptures of the 6th and 7th centuries. Navukkuarasar and Sambandhar had sung hymns on Shiva of this temple. The vimanam is covered with gold. The Goddess is known as Mattuvar Kuzhali or Sugandha Kundalambikai and has a separate shrine.

Legend says Vibishana - the brother of Rakshasa King Ravana surrendered to Lord before the Rama Ravana yudham taken place. He was a deep devotee of Lord Rama - so as his name mentioned in Srimad Sundara Kanadam (Saranagathy Sastram) as ' Vibhishanohi dharmathma'. At the time of Lord Sri Rama's Pattabhishekam, Lord presented Vibhishana with his 'Kula Dhanam' idol of Lord Ranganadhar which was worshipped by Sri Rama Himself. Vibhishana wanted to install the idol in his kingdom - Sri Lanka. On his way, he requested the help of Lord Ganesha and gave the idol to Lord Ganesha to hold it for some time to finish his evening rituals like Sandya Vandhanam. Ganesha agreed but after a while he placed the idol down. When Vibhishana finished his rituals and back, saw the Idol down on the ground. Vibhishana gave a Big 'Kottu' on his head. Lord Ganesha vanished, went to the hill top and started laughing at Vibhishana. Vibishana could not lift the idol from the ground. He returned back to his place empty handed and in turn, Ranganadhar agreed to face South towards the direction of Srilanka.

Jai Sriman Narayanana!!