Sri Visha Mangaleshwarar Mangalambikai temple – A Vaipu sthalam

I stumbled on this temple late in the evening on 17.5.14 . This temple has a very unique U S P in that there  are very unique idols here, the sculptures are exquisite, The temple is associated with a Lingam called Vadamunishwarar  situated about 500 mtrs away which the archeologists say is a medicinal stone and the oil from this Shiva's abhishekam sells like hot cakes. This place has a Kalyana utsavam for Brahma and Saraswathy  a very unique festival.
How to each:
The temple is about 1 km further towards salem from the Thiruvasi temple. It is on the left of the road on a bit of land which is between the Kaveri and the left bank canal.
The temple has sannidhi for Shivan and Mangalambikai.
The unique vigrahas are 6 couples
Surya with his wife,
Lakshmi Narayana,
Kalyana Sundareswarar with Kathyayini. The lord has embraced kathyayini and has also stepped on her toe a marvelous sculpture
Subramanya with Valli Devasena,
Brahma and Saraswathi. The saraswathy here is in Dhyana posture with no veena she is housed as Kosta vigraha instead of a Vinayaka

Durga is Vishnu Durgai on lotus peetam with agni in hand.

The  Dakshina moorthy idol is with veena known as Digichandana in his hand.. This is supposedly good for optic nerve problems, The strings of the veena are supposedly strands of optic nerve which can be strummed only by Shiva!!
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Surya and Chandra are seen on top of Dakshinamoothy to either side with chamaram.The usual sanatkumaras are missing and there is a female bell clapper instead
Surya is seen with his consort and behind there is Lakshmi narasimha also
The speciality is abhishekam to Dakshinamurthy and saraswathy with honey which is sold in the temple. The honey is to be consumed early morning for success in studies.
The ambal sannidhi is small and has a tall ambal Mangalambikai blessing us facing south
There is a huge snake pit outside
The ride to the temple is on a narrow mud bank and is adventurous but motor able. The sculptures are unique and a beauty to behold. Well worth the trouble of travel

Saptharishishwarar temple Lalgudi-Trichy

   This is the temple of my  village Lalgudi.The original name of the place was Thiruthavathurai a land made holy by the tapas of Lakshmidevi. who prayed to Siva for powers and  by Mahavishnu to get the sudharshana chakra and also the saptharishis to absolve them of the curse incurred in not feeding Murugan.. It is a very ancient temple with extensive written records patronised by the Cholas pallavas and has been in existence from the 6 century..There is a separate storage area built in the temple where rare thevarams were found (these are now in the saraswathy mahal  palm leaf library).The temple finds mention in the anbil copper plates unearthed in the last century.
How to reach:
Lalgudi is easily reached by road/train.It is on the Trichy to Ariyalur road about 20 kms from the toll gate.it is also on the Chennai to Trichy railway line.
Legend and connected stories:
The place was referred to by allahuddin khilji as Lal gudi in reference to the red tower of the temple or to the red coloured lingam inside the temple. Original name is Thiru thava thurai in tamil
When the asura king Tharakasura became un manageable Lord Shiva produced 6 sparks which were later to become shanmugha .The six children were seen by the wives of saptharishis who became so engrossed at their antics that they forgot to feed the children who were ultimately taken care of by the sapthakannikais.As a result the rishipathnis were cursed and banished by the rishis for neglecting an opportunity to get a better life.This angered muruga who cursed the rishis .They had to flee from thiruvaiyaru where they were doing yagnas and came to lalgudi where they were asked to pray to lord Shiva who had given boons to Lakshmi and Vishnu earlier at this place. The Saptharisis ultimately merged into the sivalingam which is split at the top with  a reddish hue.( It is a ardhanarishwara  sivasakthi lingam).
The goddess here is Sivakamasundari (@Sreemathy/,perun thiru piratti), she was born to Maangalya maharishi who lived in Edayathumangalam(link to.my blog on this temple https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2024/05/edayathumangalam-shri-mangalambikai.html?m=1 ) a suburb of lalgudi (his house is still in existence in the village and even now the inmates of the house send “poranthathu  seeru” (wedding gifts to the bride) to the goddess on specific days of the Kalyana utsavam).
Thyagaraja swami has spent time here in the temple  and composed the lalgudi pancharatna keerthanas on the amman here

As you enter the temple there are two prakaras one for the sivan and another for the amman.
In the sivan praharam before the sannidhi entrance are the statues for the Saptha rishis

The temple has very large number of inscriptions which speak of the times past.and extensive social structure present at that time in tamil society. The ASI has coped all these and they prove to be an authentic reference for history of the region .

As you go around the main prahara we have certain unique idols.The Dakshinamurthy here is Veena dakshinamurthy  Shiva with a veena in his hand

,there is also a ardha narishwarar in the back instead of the lingodhbavar / Perumal as in other shivatemples ( see below)
A bhikshandar (beggar shiva)
a jwareshwarar who has no form but has a sannidhi.

There is also a sannidhi for Lakshmi who was initially the tapaswini here (“Thiru thava thurai”)
There is a original kapaleshwar form of Siva which was also worshipped earlier here seen at the extreme right
There is also a Dakshinamurthy in a separate  niche  as seen below
The safe house where the thevarams were found this was built as an elevation behind the main sannidhi

Mangalya maharishi  sannidhi


Thyagaraja's keerthanas are engraved here

The amman sannidhi is also huge and has a standing smiling samvardhini sreemathy who is supposed to have fulfilled the wishes of both Lakshmi and Saraswathy.Lots of people buy sarees for the amman after their prayers are answered, The idol is wonderfully attired in a 9 yard saree.with sandal paste anointment. The priest informed us there are nice ear ring and nose ring holes carved in the idol as well as holes for the golusu which can be adorned by the ambal. Since she is always in 9 yards locals affectionately call her ,'maami'. Due to her size as well as the fact she gave boons to Lakshmi and Saraswathi she is also referred to as ,'perum piratti'


The 63 nayanmars displayed

The utsava murthis ( somaskandar and Parvathy)

The Natarajar in the outer praharam is huge (about 5 feet tall)and is resplendent during the pradosha puja which is a major attraction of this temple. During the thiruvadurai utsavam a separate chariot like canopy is carried inside which the Natarajar comes on veedhi ula which is spectacular to see as it involves a high degree of synchronization between the two sets of bearers
In all a very ancient and awe inspiring temple worth seeing for a whole day
The seven great Rishis – Athri, Bhrigu, Pulasthya,Vasishta, Gautama, Aangirasa and Marichi. .
The seven rishis are relatives of the nine planets. As all the rishis reached Lord Shiva here, those facing any problem through any planet are advised to worship Lord Saptharishiswara. . Sun is the grandson of Marichi rishi,Chandra the son of Athri, Mercury is the son of Chandra, Jupiter is the son of Angirasa, Mars comes in the lineage of Vasishta. Hence worship of Lord Saptharishiswara brings relief from planetary problems.
Margazhi Tiruvadhirai in December-January and Mahasivarathri in Masi in February-March are the festivals celebrated in the temple in a grand manner
Tel:0431 2541 329


Pictures from my visit in June 2018