Shri Sukshmapurishwarar sametha Mangalambikai temple at Thiruchirkudi–A pada petra sthalam

On the Kumbakonam to  Karaikal road around Peralam there are a cluster of famous temples within 10 kms of each other connected by back roads. Each is unique in itself. Thiruchirukudi temple is one of the less famous ones. It is situated amidst Thiruparambiyum Thiruvizhimizhalai, Koothanur and thirumeeyechur The Priest lamented he is staying here as it is his ancestral temple and he spends his own  money for even electricity I feel this is a sad state of affairs
How to reach:
The temple is about 2 kms from Thirupambium and 10 kms from Thiruvizhimizhalai .The roads are narrow and there is no regular transport.You can get autos from Peralam, S.Pudur  to visit the temple

main entrance

Legends and stories:
This temple is famous for promoting better understanding between husband and wife.Shiva is Sukshma Purishwara (the sensitive soul attentive to parvathi's feelings) here He shows that letting go of ego  and allowing partners to win is the key to better compatibility

The Nayanmars Thirunavukkarasar and Thirugnanasambandar came here and sung about the temple. The boy saint sambandar was to go to Madurai to defend the king in his debate against the Jain monks and the elderly saint  Appar suggested  the time was not auspicious as per the navagrahas to start but Gnanasambandar sung a song saying these planets are always helping us and there is no such thing as bad effects and started his journey . To drive home this point all navagrahas are seen with Gnanasambandar in their midst. He sang the famous “Kolaru Padhigam “here

Saturn (Sevvai) prayed to Shiva here to be rid of his curse so it is a very famous parihara sthalam for Sevvai dosham and for curing sickness.Hence the lord is also known as Mangalanathar and the ambal Mangalambikai(Mangal=Mars=Sevvai)




The temple by itself is a very small ramshackle place ardently cared for by the priest who lives at the entrance of the temple and it is open all day

Mars(Angarakan) Sevvai in a separate enclosure

Linghodhbhavar

saw this in the enclosure?self portrait ? of the shilpi or a cartoon?

A few village vignettes outside the temple "lock on a thorn gate"  and  a white turkey

local barrier gate made of acacia thorns

Note the added security feature 😃😊😊

A white turkey 

Sri Dhenupureeshwarar temple Patteeswaram- famous Durga and a PadalPetra sthalam

Right in the middle of Kumbakonam this magnificent temple is one of the major attractions.it is more famous as the Durga temple as it houses one of the magnificent Vishnu durgas in its outer praharam.

The Lord of this temple Sri Dhenupureeshwarar ( one who was worshipped by a cow) wanted to see the full majesty of Sri Thirugnana sambandar the boy saint and hence asked Nandi to  stand aside 

How to reach:

The temple is in the south-western part of kumbakonam and  is easily reached on the road to papanasam

Legends of this temple:

The sage Vishwamitra obtained the Gayathri Mantra in this temple only.This was the Ashram of Sage Vashishta who was the custodian of the Divine cow Kamadhenu and he finally conferred the title of Brahma Rishi on Vishwamitra here.

When Parvati selected this place to do thapas for attaining Lord Shiva the divine Cow Kamadhenu sent her calf  - named Patti to help Parvathi.Seeing Parvathi the calf Patti also got inspired and built a mud lingam and started worshipping Shiva by dropping her milk on the linga.Pleased Shiva blessed her and this place was then called as Patteshwaram where Shiva gave a vision to Patti

Devotees pray to Mother Durga for relief from the adverse aspects of serpent planets Rahu and Ketu during the Rahu Kalam times, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays in particular and on new moon, full moon, Ashtami and Navami days and for child and wedding boons and from the adverse aspect of Mars-Sevvai planet.

View of the main Eastern gopuram

Inside the first praharm with the durga temple facing north seen on the right side below

 

The Durga temple complex has multiple statues and the main Goddess has 4 arms and is about 6 foot tall and is on a Mahisha

 

The temple legend with a picture of the main durga

The Shiva temple complex has a huge Shiva Lingam facing east and the atmosphere when I visited at 7 AM was  serene

The usual koshta vigrahas

The Ambal Palvali Nayaki has a seperate sannidhi facing South and is about 4feet tall. The sculptures in the ambal sannidhi are nice and thought provoking