Sri Veera Varanadhar (Nethrapureeshwarar) Temple, Kinar near Madurantakam–A vaipu sthalam

During a recent trip on NH 45 near Maduranthakam I was lucky to stumble upon this ancient temple built by Pallavas.It has been referred to by Sri Gnanasambandar in his poem Kannar Thingal.
How to reach:
On NH 45 after chengalpet before Madurantakam look for Karunguzhi on the left. Follow the road to Kinar about 5 kms across the railway gate and you will come to this serene temple.

Legends and Stories

Indra was cursed for lusting after Ahalya a rishi pathni. He was  cursed to develop 1000,”eyes” (Kannu ayiram) .To redeem himself of the curse he prayed here to the lord and was blessed here. The place came to be called Kannayiram  corrupted to Kannur which later became kinar. The lord is also known as Nethra pureeswarar and also as Veera Varanathar ( one who gave boon to veeran @Indra) Inside the sanctum there is a statue of Indra on  Airavatham between Nandi and the Shiva.
As you enter the main gate you can see the South facing entrance of the main praharam with the Nandi and kodimaram to the right with ambal sannidhi on the right

The main entrance leads to the inner praharam with the statue of Indra on Airavatham  in front of the Sivan. There is also a Varadaraja perumal in this chamber alone without his consorts.
Behind the majestic Lingam is large sculpture of Shiva and Parvathy with Karthikeya the Somaskandar in addition to Brahma and Maha Vishnu. Hence this temple has all the trinity at one place.
outside the temple there is the usual kosta vigrahas as shown below
The ambal Amba nayaki is about 5 feet tall in her own sannidhi
The Ambal sannidhi has the attached Navagraha sannidhi

The priest here is of the 20th generation
Contact::K.N.Vatcheeswarakurukal
Kinar gramam
Kanchi dist
TN:603303
Tel:9442177959
He is an Mcom in his 50’s and works as a teacher in school.Please call before going.

Ootathur Sri Sudharathnishawar temple a Vaipu sthalam near trichy

One of the ancient Shiva temples near Trichy this  is a    fairly large temple. It is a vaipu stalam. The saint appar came to nearby  padalur and saw only Sivalingams in this place hence did not step into the temple but sung about this temple from Padalur.The temple was built by RAja Raja Chola .
How to reach:
On the trichy chennai highway after Perambalu rabout 35 kms before trichy we reach Padalur. Enter the service road and take the left turn and folow the road for 5 kms  you will see the temple on the right.
Legends of the temple:
This is the place where the rivers were fighting who is more powerful. Shiva asked nandi to swallow all of them . Only Ganga came out of his mouth. The river Nandiaar is close by and is a tributary of the kolladam river . Hence there are many nandhi s and in the Sanctum we find a Nandi turning away from siva facing the east like the Sivalingam and the teertham here is supposed to be of medicinal value.
There is a seperate Sannidhi with Natarajar and Sivagami ambal carved out of a single stone called pancha nadanam and when tapped gives off a rich note of Om.  The light emitted from this stone is equal to that from the navarathnas. Sivagamis face is tilted to Natarajas side.
As you enter the Rajagopuram we see the main sanctum with multiple pillars and carvings. The Bhairavar is very famous here.

  The Next Praharam has a majestic nandi facving the sanctum sanctorum as seen below. In front of the nandi is a well and there is a tunnel to the Perumal temple from here
 
The main Sanctum has a Shivalingam .When deeparadhana is performed the light is reflected from the sivalingam and it appears as though the light is coming as a jyothi from the lord himself.
There is the usual kosta devathas and sanctums for ganesha and Murugan behind the sanctum. There is also aseperate sannidhi for Lakshmi and saraswathy, The temple has Vishnu durga and a durga with fangs puja here to these dieties gives benefit of marriage.                
The outer praharam has sannidhis for Ganapathy, Murugan and ambal Akhilandeshwari. There is also a dilapidated Kalyanamandapam.
    
Ambal sannidhi
  
A statue of Appar on the wall of the temple to show hw saw the temple but did not visit it.

While coming back i saw lots of wild peacocks in the farm lands
 

Sri Vyagrapureeshwarar temple-Tirupulivanam- Vaipu sthalam

About 5 kms from Uthiramerur temple is this old temple where in Sage Vyagrapada and his wife prayed to and got darshan of Shiva. This is a vypu sthalam where in appar has mentioned the temple in his songs.(There is a confusion whether this temple is spoken of or the one at tirupulivanam near kumbhakonam is spoken of.Though this is the bigger of the two temples)

How to reach:

The temple is 5 kms away from Uthiramerur on the Uthiramerur kanchipuram road and can easily be seen from the road.

Legends and stories:

The uniqueness of the temple here is the Dakshinamurthy which is supposedly a ardhanari.The sanctum of the guru has  Vyaghrapada and his consort,King and Queen who prayed for children at Woraiyur trichy and were directed here by the lord to pray for begetting children, Saint Vyaghrapada is also supposed to have begotten progeny here.

The priest of the temple was instructed to send the garland of the lord daily . He was careless and there was a hair in the garland. When the king questioned him about the hair he says that the Lord has sprouted hair and this is one of them!! when the kind came to check the lord out of compassion to the priest had actually sprouted a head full of hair.This can be seen on the sivalingam today also

The dakshinamurthy here is unique,the right leg is on mugilan the left on a simham ,The left lower hand is pointing towards the right foot .This simha dakshinamurthy is to be prayed for all to by Simha rasi individuals .

Mother Amrutha kuchalambal is supposed to cure diseases.

The temple has a vasantha mandapam outside along with a bali peedam and nandi on the approach road itself 

As you enter the temple rajagopuram entrance you see the amman sannidhi on the right facing South. This is a separate structure away from the main temple. The amman is about 4 feet tall with a smiling face in the standing posture.

The entrance to the temple is through the multi pillared hall which has many beautiful carvings of stone

The inner praharam is peaceful with the main vimanam of the gajaprushti type. The main sanctum has a swayambhu shiva lingam with marks of  tiger claws and a head with a Shikha (Kudumi!)

The koshta vigrahas and Devathas are unique here with a separate sannidhi for the ardhanari dakshina murthy who has an enclosure that needs to be climbed up to . There is also a   narasimhar in the pillar facing the Koshta Varadarajan in the  west.   The small figures are all intricately carved.

Vyaghrapada above and Brahma below

Durga

The features of the idols are so beautiful and proportionate.

A  very intricately carved ganesha in the second praharam

The vigrahas in the pillars of the front hall are also a treat to watch

Nandi on the Chandikeswarar enclosure

Priest:Gunashekaran Cell no:09445111236