Thirupattur Brahma temple

On a recent return journey from Trichy We were fortunate to see the above temple.
Thirupattur Brahma temple;

 

For the legend and official photos Click here for the official temple website

This is a very rare temple that houses a separate sannidhi fo Brahma .Lord Brahma is usually not worshipped in Temples.

It also houses the jiva samadhi of Shri. Pathanjali maharishi ( the rishi who wrote the yoga shasthras, and also adiseshan’s human form )
Nearby a little distance away in a siva temple  is  the samadhi of Vyagrapaadha the Tiger clawed sage who is usually described along with pathanjali

How to reach::

Thirupattur (or Thirupidavur) is around 35 km from Trichy on the Trichy – Chennai Highway.  While driving from Trichy, take a left near Siruganur  just after MAM engineering college . The road to Lalgudi also branches off at the right here . The temple is about 6 km from the highway through very quaint Indian countryside.  It is at a distance of about 16 km from Samayapuram (Mariamman temple).
This is one of the very few brahma temples I can remember (the one in Rajasthan is another).

 

As you enter the main gopuram you enter the praharam with the Dwaja sthambam and nandi.The pillars of this hall have exquisite carvings

 

A door way to the right leads to the amman temple and the 12  shivas outside. Below is the view of the door from outside from the twelve  shivas temple and old Kailasanathar temple

 

Theis praharam leads to the next which is the garba gruha with Siva as a majestic linga Shri Brahmapureeshwarar

 

. The second Praharam on the right of the main praharm has the Samadhi of patanjali, the Brahma sannidhi is infront of the adhishtanam .This praharam also has various sannidhis for Ganesha,murugan, saptha kannikas , gajalakshmi,navagrahas. There is still construction/ repair  work going on inside here .

The Brahma sannidhi has been re built with mosaic tiles and looks jarring.

The patanjali samadhi is enclosed in a glass partition and is meant for peaceful meditation but with no air circulation  is claustrophobic

 

 

Around thedwaja sthambam on all sides are  are piuctures of narasimha with prahalladha, Hiranya kashyapu etc,

 

A rare ganapathy, narasimha, anjeneya

The temple legend

 

Once ypu leave this complex you see the Amman sannidhi next

 

 

The  ambal here is Brahma sampath Gowri. The temple is simple with a garba gruha and various female Kostha vigrahas . Ambal is standing and very serene

 

Next door is the Pallava complex of the 12 shivas and an old Kailasanatha Temple maintined by ASI presently undergoing repairs. The maintemple has a huge 16 facetted linga in a crumbling temple. The nandi here is exquisite. There is also a Deep pool inside with dirty moss covered water.

 List of shrines

 

  Kailasanathar temple

  

It is believed that when we visit these twelve  shiva shrines the punyam of visiting the main temples shown here is obtained

 

The 16 facetted lingam in th Garbhagruha

The hall outside the temple

 

A very vast and ancient temple with exquisite carvings and Patanjali’s Jeevasamadhi

http://rammesh.kaaninilam.com/tlogs/brahma/rudra.jpg
video from the net  temple history from the priest
for exquisite coverage of  a  blog of the temple click this link

Shri Vedanarayana swamy temple Nagalapuram

Yesterday I had been to tirumala for my annual visit this time I traveled by the Periapalayam nagalapuram puttur road the distance was around 140 kms but the road was free and in surprisingly good shape.After visiting Surutapalli within 5 kms towards puttur we see nagalapuram and the temple is the main attraction of  this place. .
How to reach:
The place is about 70 kms from chennai  via  redhills and Kolkata highway. After  the Karanodai bridge checkpost on the highway look for the left turning to Periapalayam ,Uthukottai and Puthur travel along the road and you will cross Periapalayam. Take a left turn at Periapalayam and cross the bridge next to the amman temple and proceed straight till you cross surutapalli and  within 5 kms you will see the Temple arch. Alternatively on the Tiruvellore tirupati road at puttur byepass take a right turn and you will cross Narayanavanam on the left (ref previous blog regarding Kalyana venkatesa perumal). After about 20 kms you will see Nagalapuram on the left.
The temple is about 70 kms from chennai  via  redhills and Kolkatta highway.It is maintained by TTD . You can see two Gopurams on the west with the lord visible from outside  facing west


History of the temple  :
The temple was built by King Krishnadevaraya. He visited this place before marching north to conquer Gajapati Kings in present Orissa and on his return camped here after worshipping in Tirupati before going to kumbakonam for the Mahamakam as per records unearthed in the temple. The Place was renamed as Nagalamma puram in memory of his mother and later became nagalapuram.
Legend:
There was a demon called Somukhasura who confiscated the four Vedas and held them captive under the sea. Brahma prayed to Narayana who took the form of a fish and killed the asura and released the Vedas. hence he is known as Vedanarayana swamy.

(view of the outer Gopuram on the west)

(view of the second gopuram on the west)
Beyond the second gopuram we see the The sanctum sanctorum of the lord which is seen from the road also! 

The sanctorum houses an image of the Matsya form of Vishnu, with Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side. A peculiar feature of the idol is that it holds the Sudarsana Chakra in prayoga (ready for release). The lords feet are seen emerging from a fish form. This is Matsya avataram the first avataram of maha Vishnu.
The outer praharam of Vedanarayana perumal has a lot of exquisite carvings of various gods both alone and also as dwarapalakas in the outer prahara along with figures of Lakshmi hayagreeva, lakshmi narasimha and Lakshmi Varahamurthy also!

 

A rarefeature in a Vishnu Koil there is a dakshinamurthy

 

 

 

Another rarity in a Vishnu Temple.

There is a huge ganesa  in the outer praharam  known as Vishwaksenar or Thumbikkai alwar. maybe it was a Shiva temple once

)

( hiranya kashyapu vadanam on one of the pillars)

The Sri Vedavalli thayar sannidhi is seperate and in south west in front of the main sannidhi. Thayar is in the sitting posture and the hallway pillars all show exquisite carvings of various forms of Anjeneya, Narasimha etc.,.
There are two seperate mandapams in the temple In the North west corner  and north side of the temple.

The northwest corner houses  the sanctums of

The Sun   has a special relation ship with this lord. Every year in March end  the lord is bathed for 3 days with direct sunlight .On the first day, sun rays fall on the feet, on the second - on the chest and on the third - on the forehead. This signifies the gradual warming of the lord after many years spent under the sea battling the asura!! In reality it is a marvelous piece of engineering as there is no vent or light source in the roof the sun rays come through the main door only as it is a west facing temple !!
Surya Pooja  happens annually during the temple’s Brahmotsavam the sun's rays fall on the main deity between 1800 hrs and 1815 hrs. , depicting worship by Sri Surya Bhagavan (the Sun God) himself.
See Video report by a TV network :Solar worship of the lord
Rare Bronze idols were found recently here and were appreciated by
Sri Sankara Vijeyendra saraswathy swamigal of Kanchi mutt
See link:Kanchi pontiff Sri vijeyendra saraswathy clarifies on the rare bronze statues found at Nagalapuram
.There was a tremendous boost  to the mind found at this temple!!
(Off side:There were also a few light moments in the form of sign boards in english):

Soumya Damodara Perumal Villivakkam

There is a 600 year old temple very close to the Agastheeswarar temple  


Legend:
THE LAST of Lord Narayana's 12 names mentioned in the "Dwadasa Nama Stotra" is Damodaran or the one who was bound to a grinding stone, known in Tamil as "ural". The name has a special significance, according to Madhurakavi Azhwar, one of the Vaishnavite saints. He says in his Kanninunn Chiruthambu, his only work of 10 verses, forming part of the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, that the Lord allowed Himself to be bound to the grinding stone after playing for a long time with His foster-mother, Yasodha. Another saint, Nammazhwar, mentions Damodara as the Lord of Brahma and Siva in hisThiruvaimozhi verse. 
Andal, the saint-poetess, in her Thiruppavai, goes one step further and says that Devaki, the mother of Lord Krishna, was purified by giving birth to Him. But there are only a very small number of temples to the Lord with this name and one among them is the Sowmya Damodara Perumal Temple in Villivakkam.

(view from the Main gate)
It is a very small temple which houses Damodara perumal in the main sanctum . There a sanctums for Krishna and Madhwacharya flanking it (in front of us as seen in the pic above).Garudalwar sanidhi is seen above in front of the dwaja sthambham,
Swami Damodaran’s Moolavar thirumaeni has a scar in the stomach which is due to the rope tied by Yasodha. Many devotees  pray for progeny here.
The Goddess in the temple is known as Amirthvalli thayar and she is housed in a separate shrine to the right of the sanctum sanctorum. There are shrines for Rama and Krishna along side the thayar sannidhi
(View of the main entrance from next to the thayar sannidhi)

(Thayaar sannidhi as seen from aandal sannidhi)
Andal sannidhi is seperate on the south side  and Azhwars have a seperate niches in this  as seen in the photos below
There is a seperate Anjaneya sannidhi near the main gate itself. There is  a nandavanam  next to this sannidhi and a pond attached to the south side of the temple.
(Legend of Damodara in Tamil)
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/03/06/stories/2003030601050300.htm

Villivakkam Agastheeswarar temple-Sevvai Kshetram

I had heard of this famous temple connected with the legend of Agasthiyar and the demons Vatapi and Illvalan. Today I could visit the temple

The temple is quite old about 700 AD built by Kulathunga Chola., The gajaprushti vimanam also signifies the swayumbhu nature of the lord. Where ever Agasthiyar visits he will worship  sivlingam and if he can not find one he will build one thus we have many agastheeswarar in and around chennai. In addition it is a navagraha kshetra for Angarakka (Sevvai) who is supposed to have taken a bath in he temple tank and worshipped shiva to get rid of his curse
Way to reach:
On the MTH road in Villivakkam  before the padi flyover is the road to the bus terminus . Just before the bus stand is the east mada street  which houses the temple. There is a Huge pond with overgrown water Lilly's


Legend:
Sage Athri's son Dhurva married Ashwamukhi (Surapadman's sister) She was an asura princess. Their two sons Illvalan and Vatapi became demonic and troubled everybody Sage Dhruva left them and went into the forest .The demons started targeting all rishis and eating them. vatapi would be killed and cooked and served as food  by Illvalan and when the rishis ate the food Illvalan would call out to Vatapi who would come out killing the rishi. Sage Agasthya, known for his strength and valour, digested Vatapi and killed Illvalan and restored peace in this world . Illvalapuram over time has become Villivakkam.The area where he killed the demon is called Konnur(Killing place ( where the temple is situated. he burnt Illvalan nearby in a place called Kolathur (Koluthur) means burning  town made famous now by the election of Stalin!!)
The temple is a very dear one for the localites as evidenced by the number of people coming into various sannidhis and doing arathies themselves!!. There are innumerable Siva lingams scattered all over the temple which occupy almost every nook and corner which re enforces the fact that this temple has been popular for long. Some body there mentioned each lingam represents a samadhi of a saint!!

The Agastheeswarar Temple is dedicated to Sri Shiva as Agastheeswarar Swamy and Divine Mother Shakti as Swarnambikai.
The entrance is south facing and when you enter the inner praharam the goddess is in front facing south. She is in standing posture,.
The entrance of the Goddess shrine has the idols of Lakshmi and Saraswati. The main shrine also houses the Navagraha idols. Guru (Jupiter) is facing the Goddess. As Guru and the Goddess are facing each other, it is believed that those unmarried ladies who worship the Goddess here get the grace of Guru and get married soon.
The main sannidhi of Siva is east facing and is a majestic sivalingam.
The sanctum around the temple has sannidhis for various gods namely

Sri Brahma:

Sri Maha Vishnu

Sri Shiva: as

• Sri Dakshinamurthy
• Sri Somaskandar
• Sri Natarajar

Devi:as

• Devi Kamakshi Amman
• Devi Karumari Amman
• Sri Durgai Amman

Sri Ganesha:

• Sri Ganapati (Raja Ganapathy)

Sri Murugan:

• Sri Valli Subramanian Devyani

Sri Ayyapan:

• Sri Ayyapar

Others:

• Nayanmars
• Sri Chandikeshwar
• Sri Adi Shankara
• Sri Suriyan
• Navagrahas
• Snake Gods

Villivakkam Agastheeswarar Temple - Sevvai (Angaraka) Sthalam. This is a navagraha sthalam ,
There is  a standing Nandi (Adhikara Nandi) with human form and Bull face facing the lingam in a small niche near the door.!!

The outer praharam has multiple sivalingas already alluded to and also houses a small garden


There is a seperate nandi at the eastern side facing the lord before the Dwajasthambam and bali pedal  .
Outside the main temple, there are shrines of Veera Bhadra and Kali which are believed to be as old as the main temple and also believed to be associated with the legend of the sage Agastya.
In short a nice temple visit with rich  local folklore and  a navagraha kshetram for Sevvai (Angarakan-Mars)

Parikkal Lakshminarasimhar temple

Today i visited Villupuram for a camp and sneaked a visit to this famous temple about 25 kms  away. the temple is in existence from 400 AD .

Introduction:

This is one of the four Narasimha temples in this region. The others being Anthili (near Thiru Kovilur), Poovarasan Kuppam (15kms North of Panruti) and Singiri (12kms South of Pondicherry).(ref my previous blog of Poovarasan kuppam)

The main Vigraham is Said to be a Swayambu Murthi, the idol, according to some scholars, was installed by Vyasaraja.The Anjaneya idol, found inside the sanctum sanctorum, was also installed by him and it is one of the 732 idols installed by the saint all over the south.

One may wonder how this fearful form of the Lord can be appealing to His ladylove but the numerous temples for Lord Narasimha in Tamil Nadu, especially in the northern districts of Chengalpet, Vellore, Chidambaram and Kancheepuram,only show that He is a much worshipped deity. There are also temples where the Moolavar and Utsavar idols are those of Narasimha and one among them is Parikkal,

How to reach the place:

Proceed along the Chennai -trichy highway and after crossing Villupuram at about20 kms you will see a huge anjeneya statue on the left hand side .Directly opposite this is the road to parikkal.  Take a right from the highway .The temple is situated between two rivers Thenpennai and The Garuda Nadhi flows two km north of Parikkal. As it is situated between two rivers, it is considered as holy as Srirangam.

Three kms along this road brings you to the temple which is easily approached.

I approached the temple at about 12:45PM just before closure and being peak summer I burnt my feet on the concrete road and developed blebs before I reached the Temple entrance !!

History and Legends associated:

A king called Vasantharaja ruled this place with his capital at Vridhachalam .He was Constantly troubled by Parakalasura (said to be a relative of Hiranyakashipu), As per prayers of the king Lord Narasimha is said to have appeared here and killed the Asura.He then prayed to Lakshmi devi to pacify the Ugra Narasimha and she also came down hereto pacify the lord
Kanakavalli Thaayar is said to have sat on his lap, cooled him down and provided darshan to Vasantharaja, the Devas and the Rishis at this place.
. The temple that one sees today is said to have been built by Veera Narasimha of Karnataka using granite. Parikkal Lord Narasimha is said to be the Kula Deivam for many Madhwas of Karnataka.

(view of the Dwajasthambam with Garudalwar sannidhi in the fore ground)

when you enter the main sanctum you see the Lord with the thayar on his lap. Unlike in most of the Narasimha temples, the Utsavar idol here is also that of Narasimha in standing posture with Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side. There is also a small idol of Lakshminarasimha in the sanctum sanctorum besides that of Sudarsana. Today was Guru peyyarchi hence there was a crowd and Luckily I managed to squeeze in for a darshan.

The praharam has a seperate sanidhi for Kanakavalli Thayar in the North west corner.

The south west corner has a sannidhi with two anjeneya vigrahams (Bhakta Anjaneya and Veera Anjaneya)  and there was paddy strewn in front where people were writing their names in it.The first alphabet writing before school education is also a very popular prayer activity here I was told.Anjaneya gets the 2nd right of Thirumanjanam after Lord Narasimha (in other temples, Thaayar is the one who gets the Thirumanjanam after the Lord).

In the north side of the Prakaram there is a shrine for Lord Varadaraja of Kancheepuram. A big portrait of Lakshmi Narasimha in the main Mandapam attracts devotees. There is a well inside the temple known as "Naga Koopam" and bathing in its water cures one of many ills. Garuda and Gomukhi Theerthams are the other water sources. The  holy tree is "Magizham." There is an ancient Deepasthampam" in front of the temple, which faces east.

This is a Prarthana Sthalam – Three kinds of worries for human beings- Debts, Enemies and Diseases - are said to go away if one offers prayers at the Parikkal Narasimha temple.

Inscriptions on the temple walls:Confirming the rich history behind this temples are the several inscriptions found on the outside walls of the temple dating back several hundred years, prominent among them include the fish shaped inscriptions. This leads one to two inferences: One, the Pandya kings, whose symbol was a ‘Fish’, may have contributed to this temple in a big way. The other is the story relating to Vasantharaja, who one night saw in his dreams fishes near this place…an indication of impending victory in his battle against the asura.
Some of the other prominent inscriptions:
13th Century AD inscription indicating contribution by Pallava king Koperichingan
14th Century AD inscription that describes the contribution of Thiru Bhuvanam Chakravarthy Konerinmai Kondaan
Another inscription shares light on the tax exemption in nearby villages -Thiruvennai Nallur, Aanathur and Sithanthur and using these funds for the improvement and maintenance of this temple
Raja Raja Chozhan I is said to have constructed the temple tank
Renovation of the temple by Pallava and Nayak kings

video of the temple from the net

Viruttam in Kapi ragam on Parikkal Sri Lakshmi Narasimha

Temple Time : 6am-1pm and 4pm- 8pm
Priest Contact: Krishnamurthy Bhattar @ 96004 55395

Navagraha temples in chennai near porur –Thiru Naageshwarar Temple Kunrathur-Rahu sthalam

As already written by me in the previous post the temple was built by Sri Sekkizhaar who wrote the popular ‘Periya Puranam’. This temple is a famous Rahu ketu parihara  sthalam near chennai.
The temple is situated right behind the bus stand of kunrathur and very easy to find.(Kunrathur can also be easily reached from Porur where if you follow the extension of Arcot road you will reach the town in 4 kms or you can also reach it from Mangadu/poonamallee)


(The approach road to the vada thirunaageshwaram temple which is seen in the far distance)
Legend:

Sekkizhaar was born in Kunrathur itself. The king made Sekkizhaar his minister at his capital. Sekkizhaar was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and was regularly worshipping Lord Shiva at Thirunaageswaram near Kumbakonam.
During later stages, Sekkizhaar built a temple for Lord Shiva at Kunrathur which is very similar to the Thirunaageswaram temple. He installed the deity (Shiva Lingam) with Naagaabaranam (snake as an ornament) around the Shiva Lingam and named the Lord as Sri Naageswarar.
There is a huge temple tank just outside the temple

(The main entrance to the temple)

view as you enter
The first praharam as you enter houses the Kamakshi devi sannidhi in the standing posture on the left hand side.Goddess Sri Kamakshi is facing south .The next praharam houses the Sivalingam in all its resplendence The Naga aabharanams around the shiva is what makes him special here to ward off the evils of Rahu and Ketu.Sri Naageswarar is seen facing east
Sri Sekkizhaar also has a separate shrine inside the temple.


There is a seperate navagraha sannidhi in the outer praharam

Nandi seen on a seperate pedestal facing the main sanctum

View of the temple from outside

Nagai mugai ambal sametha Kandhazheeswarar temple

This temple on the foot hills of the Kunrathur temple is truly enchanting. It was built by Kulathungachola II with generous modifications by Chera and Pandya kings as per inscriptions found here. The temple is opposite the residence of sekkhizhiar the Chola prime minister and author of the periapuranam fame who it seems sat here and composed many poems of the peria puranam here.(The dilapidated house can still be seen)
The temple is unique that the main entrance leads to Ambal sannidhi( seen in the back ground here) unlike in other siva  temple and the ambal is facing south.

The kumbabishekam was done about 40 days ago and there was a special puja yesterday with a 1000 sanghu abhishekams and homams  the ambal was decked with sandal paste and was truly enchanting
Legend: The Sivalingam here was prayed to by Subramania on his travels and hence he is called Kandhazheeswarar.The other reasons for the names are
In pure tamil Kandhu stands for tree. The story is there used to be  a very
ancient tree right at the spot where the Linga is today. People used
to worship the tree as it was considered very auspicious. Once the
tree withered away they constructed a temple at the same place and
hence the name Kanhdaeshwar.

Also in tamil Kandhe stands for evil. Kandhaeshwar is the destroyer of all evil
Another meaning for kandhu is infinity. Since the linga in pure form
is a beam of light with no beginning and end, Surya worshiped Lord
Shiva in this place and hence the name Kandhaeshwar. There is a
separate worship place for Suriya in this temple.

All these different interpretations are found in different puranas.
But according to periya puranam the last one is the correct
interpretation of the Lord's name.
As you enter the main gate you see sannidhis for Vinayaka and murugan on your left
As you enter the main temple you can see the goddess Nagai Mugai amman(Smiling face) sannidhi  which is truly enchanting. Equally enchanting is the huge sivalingam bedecked with flowers in the main sannidhi.
The Gajaprushti vimanam signifies early chola influence and a swayumbhu lingam .Next to the main sannidhi are the utsava Moorthies of Muruga and valli devasena.
The outer courtyard has been neatly paved with tiles and it was very peaceful.



( A panel depicting Kannappa nayanar fresco found during the renovation)

Navagraha sannidhi seen on the lotus

A view of the dwajastambham and balipeedam seen in the western courtyard
we had a lovely morning experience. unfortunately the perumal koil next door was locked so we could not see it as it was being renovated.. The next stop was the Vada Naageshwaram an 800 year old temple built by the chola prime minister!