Aarudra Kapaalishwarar Temple-Erode

 

In one of the stories of Sri Maha periyava he asks a devotee from Erode why is erode named so?. Apparently it is due to the wet skull stuck to the lord’s hands called ,"eera odu" in Tamil after he decapitates Brahma and encounters a curse

Since reading this story I have wanted to see this temple and could make it on Saturday after my trip to Tiruchengode

How to Reach :

The temple is right in the middle of the busy market place in Erode and quite famous. I drove down from Tiruchengode 20 kms away and as usual Google maps took me into small bylaness and one way and in the manikoondu( clock tower) area next to the Perumal  temple we found this temple.

The temple tank is a short distance away  which was recently rebuilt. The weaver community here takes care of the temple and about 5 years ago built a new  mandapam in front of the Nataraja

Legend and stories:

The temple was originally built by king called Lakshmikanthan who while doing a yaga found all his milk buckets getting upturned here. He dug the area and found the Lingam

Durvasa maharishi earlier established the Shivalingam Aarudra Kapaleeshwara in a lying posture here

In 1050 AD the area was ruled by Kongu Cholas and A king called Karikala chola rebuilt the temple as per epigraphic records

Indra is said to do Shiva pooja here daily

A weaver Thandavan was tested by the lord here and proclaimed as a great bhakta and used as an example as one should do charity despite personal limitations

The scene above the pillar tells the legend of Thandvan’s charity which was tested by Shiva – 

A view from the main entrance

. The main Shivalingam is quite small in the Garba graha. He is also known as Choleshwarar , Chendishwarar

There is a Kanni moola Ganapathy with 63 nayanmars in line and inside there is a sahasralingam. next to the Murugan sannidhi  in the back

The ambal sannidhi is in the North Sri Varunambikai graces us from here we can see it behind the pillar on the right in the pic  above

The sthalam vriksham is the Vanni tree found behind and there is a separate sannidhi for Murugan next to this tree

The temple runs a goshala inside the premise

Shri Ardhanarishwarar Temple Tiruchengode–a padal petra sthalam

One of the unique temples ancient and different in South India. It has been recorded in the ancient sangam literature Silappadikaram as the place kannagi attained salvation after burning Madurai. It has been sung about by Gnana sambandar and the Murugan has been sung by Arunagirinathar. Murugan  is called Sengottuvel here. it is one among the 7 padal petra sthalams in the kongu area of Tamilnadu

How to Reach

The town of Tiruchengode is 20 kms east of Erode ,20 kms east of Rasipuram, Namakkal and 40 Kms North West of Karur . I drove down from Rasipuram. The hillock is visible from afar and the red hue gives it the name chengode red hill. There are 2 days to proceed. Either by foot 1250 steps these steps have a snake carved alongside depicting Adiseshan who was responsible for this hillock ( a piece of meru)

pic of the snake on the steps from the net

or by road about 3.5 Kms that takes you to the hill top in about 15 mins . There is a single lane admitting two way traffic and the temple runs a free bus service for pilgrims up and down. 

The temple entrance is from the south and the main idol faces West

LEGENDS AND STORIES:

Parvathi prayed here to get equal rights from Shiva as she felt slighted by Bhringi Rishi who used to ignore her and do prayers to Shiva alone. Once she incapacitated the rishi who used to worship only Shiva but Shiva bestowed another leg to Bhringi to give him mobility.Shiva accepted parvathy's request and  housed her as his left side in his body and is called Ardhanari  or Madhorubagan or Ammaiyappar in Tamil

Adi Kesava Perumal found here inside ordained Parvathi in the Kedara Gowri vratham to attain her Siva-Shakti status

Once there was a fight between Adiseshan and Vayu. Adiseshan was blown off as he grabbed the meru and his head landed here. To depict this  story there is a huge head of snake carved atop the hill  .Link to pics of the snake carved

Temple plan

As you enter you see the dhwaja stambha  

There is a mandapam  we see which is actually behind the main sannidhi

Ganapathy on the south facing side

The North side having Sengottuvel. Murugan sannidhi. with the Sthala Vriksham Vanni tree

The main temple sanctum entrance is on the left from the west side we enter the inner sanctum with the Lord depicted in human form the left side is feminine and draped in Saree, the right side masculine side in a dhoti, both feet are displayed left is adorned  with an anklet. The right hand has a huge club as a weapon. A natural spring bestows water at the feet of the lord.There is usually a huge rush inside and people doing sevas are asked to step up front its a small hall and the special darshan ticket of Rs.25 is worthwhile

There is a Adi Kesava sannidhi with Sridevi and Bhoodevi thayars as you come to the eastern side .

There are a number of exquisite sculptures in Vijayanagara style in the mandapam 

The hill abounds with many monkeys which are not scared of human interaction .If you miss a step they will relieve all your edible belongings in a jiffy .Some of them are quite huge

A long time prayer of seeing Madhorubagan was fulfilled after the trip

29/9/25

We had the good fortune to visit the temple 2 days ago. This time it was more relaxed and we spent considerable time in front of the Deity 

Shri Narasimha swamy Namagiri thayar and Anjeneya temples in Namakkal

In childhood travelling frequently from Bangalore to Trichy by road  I remember seeing this huge rock in the centre of the town . A couple of days ago I could re visit this town and had a look at the temples.Since it was around 3 PM the sannidhis were closed. The towering Anjeneya was how ever open to our prayers
LEGENDS AND STORIES:
The ASI which maintains the temple says it is a pallava rock cut temple probably from 500 CE.
Anjeneya once  was carrying a Saligrama from Mandakini river with him and he alighted here as he saw Mahalakshmi praying for Lord's darshan as Narasimha. Since the saligrama must not be kept on the ground  he requested Mahalakshmi thayar to hold it while he finished his bath . As Hanuman was delayed and as previosly informed by her Mahalakshmi placed the saligrama on the ground and the Saligrama grew to be the hillock and the lord gave her darshan as Narasimha with Lakshmi getting enshrined here as Namagiri thayar

Srinivasa Ramanujam the Maths genius was an ardent devotee of Namagiri thayar. In his life story it is recorded by himself that in his dreams complex mathematical equations would be worked out by Namagiri Thayar  which  he would at once wake up and write down in his notebook. He has said all his maths genius was the blessings of Namagiri thayar. His mother was in a quandary whether to allow him to travel to UK in those days. She prayed to the Goddess and picked  paper chits in front of the Goddess and she was given assent to allow Ramanujam to go to UK .
HOW TO REACH:
Namakkal is in the middle of Tamilnadu between Salem and Rasipuram on the Salem Karur highway The Hillock and temple are both in the middle of the town


The Anjaneya  carved from a single rock and is 18 feet tall with a japamala in one hand and wears a sword on his waist band


About 150mts away and across  two roads is the hillock with the Narasimha swamy temple Anjaneya

 faces the temple

ee

As you climb the steps and observe the dhwaja stambha you realise that the whole structure is cleaved 

out of a single rock

As you climb the steps you can see the main Deity Narasimha with Mahalakshmi enshrined on  his chest and not on his lap as in other temples
The garbagruha has many  interesting sculptures of various dasavathara forms like Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana on either sides of moola Virat

The narasimha moola virat  has sanaka and sanandaka whispering in his ears. He also has Shiva on the right and Brahma on the left so all trimurti are represented here.

As you enter on the left side is the separate sannidhi for Namagiri thayar this is the only sannidhi for Thayar.

There are sannidhis for Rama, Krishna, Nammalwar ,Ramanujacharya

On the left side of the main  Shrine is a separate shrine for Shri Lakshminarayana

He are pics of a few interesting sculptures I saw
Dasavatharam in the entrance

Narthana Ganapathy


Board explaining the various sannidhis and method of visiting

29/9/25

Last couple of days I was in and around Namakkal and had the oppurtunity to revisit these two temples

A new pic

Milk abhishekam

Video of abhishekam

Shri Tripurasundari sametha Shri Yamadandeshwara temple–Alagramam near Tindivanam

I had read in some of the devotees experiences with Maha periyava that he had camped at this temple a few times. The name intrigued me and today I could visit.

The other temples where Yama and Shiva are important features are Thirukadaiyur, near Karaikal, Thiru Paingili near Trichy, Srivanjiyam near Kumbakonam.

How to reach:

The temple is surprisingly very close to NH 45 .Between Tindivanam and Villupuram a major crossing is the Kooteripattu junction where the east leads to Pondicherry via mailam,thiruvakkarai and the west leads to Gingee. Turn towards Gingee and in 1 km you will cross the railway line overbridge take a U turn and proceed under the bridge towards south west which is the road to Alagramam. in 4 kms you will see this temple on the left hand side. The temple is undergoing restoration hence I could not see the main lord

Legend:

Yama became anguished at the fear shown by living creatures as he went about doing his job of taking lives, He felt he was accruing sins for no fault of his so he prayed to lord Shiva for redemption.Shiva directed him here and asked him to bathe in the pond which is a manifestation of the Ganga to wash his sins away.Since he is underwater in the pond it is said you can listen to his breath sounds if you meditate inside and in the Garba graha there is a sound of water being inhaled and exhaled .

When Yama is around there has to be Chitragupta nearby hence he also has a sannidhi here but since major construction was going on and most sannidhis were empty and the Garbha graha locked  I could not see specific idols

here are a few pictures

Once it is completed shall visit again

Shri Ambujavalli sametha Shri Aadhi Varahaswamy temple Peramandur near Tindivanam

Varaha swamy temples are very rare in Tamil nadu and when I heard there is one near Tindivanam I made it to the same today. Varaha avatar of Mahavishnu is one of the dasa avataras celebrated for retrieving the earth from the depths of the ocean after an asura called Soma hid her.

How to reach:

The temple is surprisingly easy to reach close to the highway. On NH 45 proceeding from Chennai cross the flyover on the Tindivanam bye pass .As you land down  look for the road to Peramandur and take a right into this narrow road in 8 kms you will reach the temple on the right . near by are a Digambar Jain temple and a Shiva temple

The other way to reach is on the Kooteripattu to Gingee road in about 10 kms you will reach the turning for Peramandur 2 kms on this road will take you to the temple

though the temple is a few hundred years old it has recently been rebuilt about 2 years ago and is very neat and inviting.

it has a small courtyard

As you enter the gopuram you can see the dwajasthambam and Anjaneya sannidhi on the right

the rear side houses the sannidhi of Mahalakshmi  on the left and Andal on the right

As you enter the main temple sannidhi we find the resplendent lord about 5 feet tall sitting with the Ambujavalli Thayar on his left thigh gazing lovingly as depicted in the main entrance

Its a very neat small temple of a very rare form of Mahavishnu