Sri Ezhutharinathar temple- Innambur,A padal petra sthalam

Close to Swamimalai near Kumbakonam is this unique Shiva temple which is unique in that Shiva performed an auditing Job here to rescue his devotee..I was looking to visit this temple as praying here will help the educational prospects of children

How to Reach:

On the Kumbakonam to Tanjore road before the turn to Swamimalai look for Thimmakudi and take a right here the road leads to Innambur and the temple is easily found

Legends and Stories:

Once the king asked for the accounts of this temple to be submitted next day. Since the administrator had  not  written down anything he was in despair and aghast at the mammoth task.He fervently prayed to the lord to save him. The next day Shiva went in the guise of the devotee and submitted the accounts he had written. once the administrator became aware of this he knew it was only his lord Shiva the Ezhutharishwara,” One who had written “ who had saved him. We find all the walls vandalised by devotees scribbling their hall ticket numbers.

It is the practice of devotees to bring their young kids  for aksharabhyasam here youngsters will have the alphabet written with flowers or paddy on their tongues

The place has been sung  about by the nayanmars Appar, Sundara, Thirugnana sambandar and Manikyavasagar

As you enter the rajagopuram you are in the front courtyard

On the right is the  the first  ambal sannidhi(Sugandhakunjalambal) . Women who are single pray to her

The main praharam has many small sannidhis with the Shivan sannidhi being the prominent

The majestic Ezhutharishwara is huge with a serene presence. The Vimana  of the main temple is majestic

on the north side is the sannidhi for the second Amman Nithyakalyani who is in the marriage preparation and blesses all eligible girls for marriage

The koshta vigrahas are all displaced from the original construction during renovation Bhairavar and Kala Bhairavar

Suryan and Chandran with the graffiti

Vinayaka and Bhikshandar

Dakshinamurthy (Then mukha paraman)

Kanni moola Ganapathy

Ardhanari

Sivagami and Nataraja

Mahalakshmi

Brahma

Vishnu Durga on the Mahisha

An interesting temple where Shiva audited accounts

Sri Seshapureeshwarar temple at Thirupambaram-a padal Petra sthalam–Rahu Ketu parihara sthalam

There are three major navagraha  parihara sthalams for Rahu and ketu in the Kumbakonam region at Nageshwarar koil, Thirunageshwarm  for Rahu and Keezh Perumpallam for ketu. This is the only temple where both Rahu and Ketu are together manifest in a single idol and it is very famous for relief from Naga dosham too. Snakes are very frequently seen inside the temple and locals say there is no fear of snakebites here as they are all devoid of venom. The   visitors here are plenty and as the priest was jokingly remarking the temple is more famous in  Karnataka and Andhra . There are the ubiquitous touts milling around who will guide you through for a fee.

How to reach:

The temple is situated about 30 kms from Kumbakonam towards Karaikal. It is also about 7 kms from Peralam and Koothanur about 3 kms interior from the main road.It can also be reached from Mayavaram  towards Tiruvarur at Kollumangudi take a right and in 5 kms you can reach the temple The small village kids are so adept that when you stop the car they automatically point to the temple route even without your asking directions!!!

Legends and Stories:

Once when Vinayaka was performing pooja to Shiva the serpent on Shiva's  neck became bloated with ego as he thought he was superior to Vinayaka.Shiva sensed this and cursed all snakes including Adiseshan and Vasuki to loose their venom. To atone for this mistake and to regain their lost powers Anandhan, Vasuki, Dakshan, Karkodagan, Sanga balan, Kuligan, padman, Maha padman the main eight Naga’s and the Naga King Aadhiseshan.came here to do penance.Rahu and Ketu are both snakes one with a body of snake and one with the head of the snake.

As per Shiva’s order all the main Naga Kings worshipped first at “Kumbakonam Nageshwarar”,  “Thirunageswaram Naganathar”, “Thirupampuram Pampura Nathar” and then “Nagore Naga Nathar” on  Shiva Rathri day and got rid of their curses.

The lord here  has been sung about by  various Nayanmars like Thirugnanasambandar,Thirunavukkarasarand Sundarar

This is a parihara sthalam for all naga doshas,kala doshas, sarpa doshas and Rahu ketu afflictions of the horoscope which explains the popularity of the temple

The Gopuram entrance leads us to the main sannidhi of Seshapureeshwarar the magnificent Shivalingam graces the sanctum in all serenity,

The praharam outside is small with a sannidhi for Vandar poonkuzhali Amman( Bhramarambika)  who graces in the standing posture 

Vanni tree is the sthala vruksham with a Vannieshwarar shrine in front

The most important Rahu Ketu sannidhi is found next

Things to buy are easily available in the next shop and all around we find multiple agents/pujaris helping devotees perform pariharams

Durga Sannidhi entrance

Info about the temple and its greatness

The Small Nandi in front of the Shivan sannidhi

Konerirajapuram Sri Umamaheshwara Temple-A padal petra sthalam- Exquisite tall Nataraja and Sivagami Bronzes

This temple is more famously known for its mammoth Nataraja probably the biggest in this part of  the world which is so exquisite and ancient it is also known as Nataraja temple.

How to reach:

The temple is on the highway connecting Kumbakonam and Karaikal about 20 kms from Kumbakonam there is a right turn which leads to the temple in about 2 kms of rickety pot holed road

Legends and stories:

The temple was built by Sembiyan mahadevi the queen of Kandar Aditya Chola  aunt of Raja raja Chola.and mother of Uttama chola who was emperor before Raja raja chola.

King Varaguna pandian ordered for the Shilpi here to sculpt a Nataraja but it was not complete hence a deadline was issued with death as a penalty if it was not completed. Answering the prayers of the distraught sculptor Siva and Parvathi came here and consumed the pancha loha metal and stood as idols here. Each and every small mole, skin tag and vein on the Nataraja is so naturally done

There is a Vaidhyanathan koil behind who is very famous in curing any ill health including Leprosy. Dull students consume the theertham of the pond as Gnana Kuzhambu for success.

The vimana above the sanctum sanctorum is of Ashta Dwarapala design.as the ashta dikpalakas worshipped here

Yama worshipped the Durga here to dispel fear after he was scared after being kicked by Lord Shiva at Thirukadaiyur.

Nala and Damayanthi worshipped here and found the effect of Shani was waning after their visit here, hence Shani is seen in a separate eastern sannidhi with white clothes

                                            The entrance

At this point on either side we have sannidhis for Vinayaka and Murugan

There are ancient paintings with one showing British offering pooja at the entrance of the main praharam

This praharam houses the Exquisite Natarajar and Sivagami sculptures

The entrance to the huge Shiva sannidhi is in the middle. the Shiva Lingam is majestic 

with a huge avudiar

The Kosta vigrahas are all ancient and exquisitely carved from stone. There were also nice carvings showing the Gaja Samhara murthy,bhikshandar, brahma

The Vaidyanathan sannidhi is separate

The Ambal sannidhi (Angavala nayaki or Dehasundari) is on the left and the idol is enchanting and about 3 feet tal

l

The Main praharam also has a separate shaneshwara adorned in white

The Multiple Ganapathys

The rare Chandikeshwara with his consort sundara Kusambikai

I revisited the temple in Dec 2018 after the Arudra darisanam here are the pics