Shri Kalyana Vikrutheshwarar sametha Madhubhashini Temple at Venjaman koodal near Karur-A padal petra sthalam

Venjaman Koodalur is a sleepy hamlet on the banks of Amaravathy river a tributary of Cauvery in the aravankuruchi taluk. In 1982 the temple was washed away in floods of the Amaravathy and was rebuilt .

HOW TO REACH:

Venjamankoodaloor is about 25 kms south of Karur on the Karur Madurai route. There are boards displaying the exit to the left. There is a textile showroom “Pravesh Retail” with a tea stall that is the landmark . About 5 kms on this scenic village road we come to the temple.The temple is in a low lying area and you have to descent the steps to reach the sanctum

LEGENDS AND STORIES:

The temple is at the confluence of two streams that drain into the Amaravathi hence the name Koodalur. A local chieftain here called Venjaman built the temple hence the name Venjaman Koodalur

Once Sundarar was lost here and demanded gold coins from Shiva for his expenses . This was sundarar’s usual practice. The Lord used to play with him and extract poems in praise before giving him gold. Similarly  Shiva refused saying he has no gold but Sundarar was crafty and forced Shiva who came with parvati as old couple. Shiva pledged his kids with Parvathi and obtained gold to pay Sundarar

The temple has been sung about by Sundarar , Appar has also visited

As you enter you see the Nandi and Dwaja sthamba

There is a small Shivalingam facing the east .Next door is the Ambal sannidhi Madhurabhashini @Panner mozhial ammai “the sweet word ambal”

The outer courtyard has the following

Statues of the 4 nayanmars Sambandar, Sundarar, appar and Manickavasagar

Kanni moola Ganapathy

Lingodhbhavar

Murugan sannidhi

Durga

Ambal sannidhi

Shanishwara

Chandran

Suryan

The pillar in front of the temple

Sri Kalyanasundareswarar temple–a padal petra sthalam at Nallur near Kumbakonam

Also known as Panchavarneshwarar koil the ancient Shiva temple where the main Shivalingam changes hues 5 times in a day and appears in different colours at different times of the day.

HOW TO REACH:

The temple is situated on the outskirts of Kumbakonam on theTanjore road and can be reached from Thirukarugavur it is about 6 kms from this temple and about 10 kms from Kumbakonam. Nallur village is across the railway line and can easily be found

 

The sapthasagara theertha in front of the temple

LEGENDS AND STORIES:

Agasthya worshipped here and saw the divine wedding of Shiva and Parvathi here during his sojourn south of the Vindhyas.

It has been sung about by Appar,Sundarar and also Amara needhi nayanar

The Shivalingam changes colours as the day progresses From 6:00-8:24 a.m, it takes the colour of copper, light red from 8:25-10:48, molten gold from 10:49-15:12, unknown colour from 13:13-15:36 and emerald green from 15:37-18:00.

Kunti was directed by  Sri Narada to have a bath in the tank here and was relieved of her sins.

The Ashtabhuja Durga found in the lower prahara is very powerful and is the kuladeivam for many families.

The temple is under the control of the thiruvavadudurai adheenam

The temple has 3 praharams and the main  praharam is  on an artificial hill

View from the Raja Gopuram

The second praharam has multiple Koshta vigrahas

After seeing this Ganapathy we will climb to the main praharam in the I floor where there is a resplendent Shiva lingam with sculptures of Shiva and Parvathi in kalyana kolam behind. There is also a sundaralingar a lingam anointed by sage Agasthya behind the main lingam . The sannidhi for Ambal Giriraja Sundari (Tripurasundari) is also seen above facing west

There are also various statues of Siva in various episodes of Sivapuranam

Next praharam is the one housing the ashta bhuja Durga

Plaque above the sannidhi depicting the Durga

The Sthala vriksham is the vilwam and it is called the adhi vilvam supposedly the first vilvam tree on earth and worshipping with this leaf is very special

A peaceful temple worth visiting especially for the changing hues of Shiva. In true Vaishnava fashion the priest blesses everybody with a sadari another speciality of this temple

Another view of the  Saptha sagara kulam

Thiruneelakudi Sri Neelakanteshwarar temple-A padal Petra sthalam

I had the good fortune of visiting this temple recently.My paternal grandfather was named after this lord. This temple is praised by Sri Appar in his compositions. When Appar was tied to stones and pushed he prayed to this lord . The place is also associated with kundalini yoga .

How to reach?

This temple is on the main road connecting Kumbakonam to Karaikal. It is 13 kms from Kumbakonam  after you cross the Thirunageshwaram temple this is the next major temple

Legends and stories of the temple:

Sage Markandeya was directed by Narada to pray here to obtain freedom from death though he was saved from Yama at Thirukadaiyur his tapas here pleased the lord to bestow chiranjeevi status here, pleased the sage carried the lord in a palanquin to surrounding 7 villages during chithirai month which is regularly enacted here

Parvati was reunited with Shiva after being killed at Daksha's yagna she reunited here . This place is considered to bring together couples after separation and strengthen the Thali bhagyam  of devotees.

Parvathi prevented the hala hala poison from descending down the throat of Neela kantar  and nurtured him with medicinal oils.The shivalinga is rough here and oil abhishekam with litres of oil also does not cause any shine and miraculously the oils absorbed by the Shivalinga and not a drop remains on the lord!!

The pandavas are supposed to have prayed here and there are  five lingas here in the temple each is considered a moolavar

During the month of chithirai the suns rays fall on the navagraha in the evening in this temple hence in the navagraha sannidhi all the navagrahas are tuned to face the sun in the centre

Brahma prayed to a moksha lingam here to repent for his dalliance with Urvashi, Kamadhenu did penance here to get relief from  Vashita’s curse.Vishwamitra is also said to have done penance here

The temple is sung about by Appar, Thirugnana sambandar and Neelakanta nayanar

Once you enter the main gate you see the dwaja sthambam and Nandi

This gate leads us into the outer praharam where there are many idols

Mukthi lingam of Brahma

Markandeya idol with the sthala purana

The nayanmars Appar, Sambandar, Neelakanta Nayanar

 

The temple is under the control of the Thiruvavaduthurai adheenam

The Main sannidhi has the Shivalingam which is greyish and is of a coarse finish

The koshta vigrahas  Ganapathy has Markandeya Lingam for company

Next is Dakshinamurthy

The Jackfruit tree is also special here. The sthala vriksham is the 5 leafed Vilvam

The ambal sannidhi has two sanctums one for the Tapas Parvati(Bhaktha bheeshta pradhayini) who attained Shiva here and another for Anubhamasthadarii who nursed Shiva back to health

. Both the ambals are about 4 feet tall and enchanting

The Durga enclosure is seen outside

 

The navagrahas Facing Suryan

 

Over all an ancient and well maintained temple with a Pond in front