Thiruverumbur temple Trichy-Padal petra sthalam

 

Thiru erumbur meaning the lord in the form of an ant hill is  is a very ancient temple maintained by the ASI , dating back to the 6th-7thcentury. There is reference of visits by Appar, in his thevaram.

How to reach:

The temple is situated on the Trichy Thanjavur four lane highway about 12 kms from Trichy . As you proceed the temple is seen on a hillock on the left hand side  

The hillock is about 130 feet high .There are 115 steps to be climbed.  

The car  reaches the foot hills where there is a large temple pond and a pillaiyar temple

 

The steps are not exhausting and the trip is made pleasant by the frolicking goats which climb the hillock easily

The view at the top is serene and peaceful

Legend of the temple:

The land was ruled by Tharakasura who was a shiva bhaktha but he denied access to devas. who were his enemies.To escape the asuras the devas took the form of ants and crawled on the lord. Since the Siva lingam was anointed with oil the ants slipped. So they prayed to Siva who tilted his form to one side  side to listen to the prayers of the bhaktas and also surface of the lingam became like an anthill hence Erumbeshwara erumbu in tamil means ant

As you enter the temple on the top you see the majestic siva temple facing east with its gopuram

.On the right side is the  amman praharam facing north. The goddes is Mathuvanakaeswari or Soundranayaki ( seen  below)

The main sivalingam has a split vertically also hence is considered as Siva sakthi.

The main praharam has hariharan,dakshinamurthy and bala vinayakar in addition to durgai and brahma

There are lots of engravings of the temple history as seen above and below

There is a well maintained garden around the temple.

Temple Timings:
6.30 am to 12 noon and 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm
Temple Telephone Number:
0431 6574738, 9842957568.
Temple Address:
Arulmigu Erumbeeswarar Alayam
Thiruverumbur
Thiruverumbur(P.O)
Tiruchirapalli (Dist)
Tamil Nadu
India.

Mangadu Tapas Kamakshi temple

Today morning I Visited this temple very famous  in Chennai. This is the place that Kamakshi did penance and married lord Shiva.The whole place was a mango Groove and the heat of the tapas started burning the area . So Lakshmi appealed to Shiva and pacified Kamakshi at Kovoor nearby.( see my blog on Kovoor)My blog on Kovoor temple
Legend:
SRI ARDHAMERU SRI CHAKRA
      As already alluded to this was the place parvati did severe penance on one foot to obtain shiva as her husband. Shiva appears as an old man and taunts her .I learnt about that through  Kalidasa's poetry which was a prescribed sanskrit poetry  for me in school entitled "Parvati Bhava Pariksha".As per Shiva's instructions when the  Goddess Left the place without extinguishing the fire the whole area suffered from the unbearable heat for a long time. Sri Adi Sankara of Kaladi came here and installed SRI ARDHAMERU CHAKRAM and extinguished the fire. SRI CHAKRAM in Mangadu is very rare in India.The three famous kamakshi's in porur area are Mangadu Kamakshi, Adi kamakshi in Gerugambakkamn ketu temple (neelakanteshwara temple kethu sthalam see my blog link to my blog on Kethu temple gerugambakkam adi kamakshi) and the Kovoor someshwara temple.
     
How to Reach:
Take the poonamalle highroad from chennai and reach the poonamallee bypass at Saveetha Dental college . Take the  left underpass here and proceed to the signal here take a right and turn into the Kunrathur road and proceed for about a kilometre and  you will see the road to the temple at the right. You can also reach the signal from Kathipara by taking the butt road and cross SRMC and take a left at the end of this road.


( temple legend)
The whole temple has been renovated a few years ago with marble lined corridors. There is always a rush to enter. Special darshan tickets Rs.50 are available and this queue takes you through the exit route into the main sanctum.
The coconuts are all broken outside and a fast track darshan ensues. The panchaloha idol of Kamakshi is seen standing on one toe (Tapas kamakshi) in the outer prakaram . The main sanctum has a seated kamakshi with the ardhameru in front.The Ardhameru Sri Chakram is the chief divinity in this temple. Kumkum Archana is performed and no abhishekam for Sri Chakram, since it is made up of herbals. Sri Adhi Kamakshi (in Panchalogam) has been installed in the sanctum by Sri Kanchi Paramacharya Swamigal.
There will be a lot of pilgrims doing adi pradakshinam and also angapradakshinam at any given time. on the culmination of their wishes they distribute sweet payasam.
The outer praharam has a sannidhi for Vinayaka and the saptha kannikas The Utsava Murthy are tastefully decorated and kept in a separate sannidhi.
Tapas kamakshi fulfills all our sincere prayers .

Govindhawadi Guru temple near Kanchipuram

I heard about this famous temple recently and visited this place today on myway back from Kanchipuram. It is a famous temple for Dakshinamurthy and a Navagraha kshetra for Guru.
How to reach:
The  temple issituated in the village of Govindawadi on the Kanchipuram Arakonam  state highway. From the Chennai Bangalore highway  cross the left turn to kanchi and proceed  straight .You will see a railway road overbridge
( called Vellai gate railway gate locally).Do not go over  the bridge instead  proceed below the bridge and turn righy towards pallavan engineering college and proceed straight towards arakonam. After about 15 kms you will see the saffron arch of the village take a left turn here an in a couple of Kms you will reach the temple



View from the front

The temple is supposedly 2000 years old and was visited by adishankara as per records in the temple as narrated by the gurukkal.
The main entrance leads to the guru sannidhi which is a  5 foot statue of dakshinamurthy actually  situated in the outer wall of the Kailasnathar sannidhi along side.
The `kalalam' (the tree canopy above the head of the deity) is not there and a panchasanam has been carved out below the Muyalagan (the monster on whom Dakshinamoorty rests his right leg).
The panchasanam - consisting eight simhams' (lions), eight nagams (five-headed snakes), ashta dwarabalaka (eight armed guards), eight gajams (elephants) and `ashta dikhbalakas' (regents of eight cardinal points) - has the koormam (tortoise) as its base.
Though the Dakshinamoorthy idol has been installed south of thesanctum santorum of Sri Kailasanathar (like in any other Siva temple), the construction has been done in such a way that the deity has a separate shrine.
The panchaloka idol of Dakshinamoorthy is also as exquisite as the granite one. The deity is seen seated on the Mount Kailash where the Sanakathi sages are performing penance.
Legend has it that Lord Dakshinamoorthy is said to have appeared before one of his ardent devotees, Thandavarayar, a resident of Govindawadi and bestowed on him His grace and the `scared ash.' Thandavarayar established a religious math at Govindawadi and observed Visaka nakshatram in the Tamil month of Chitirai as Guru Puja day by taking out Viboodhi kavadi from his math and performing special pujas to Dakshinamoorthy. This practice is continued by his descendants.
The Kailasanathar  sannidhi has akhilandeshwari and in both the sivan and amman sannidhis we are allowed very close to the idols.
Exquisite stone carvings - referred to as kumbachara, said to be a form of sculpting promoted by the Chola Kings(http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/08/13/stories/2004081302080400.htm)



There was a free annadanam being  performed in front of the sivan sannidhi


There were idols of Perumal, durgai, Brahma around the main sanctum

Brahma

(Durga )
there was a separate area where ghee deepam could be lit for pariharam It was done in the coconut shell as seen below


Murugan sannidhi behind

View of the Nandi and dwajasthambam in the outer prakaram
Another important aspect exclusive to this temple is that devotees, whose marriage proposals face hurdles because of the influence of Raghu, Kethu or Angaragan, are allowed to perform abhishekam to the naga kanni idols installed at the north-west corner of the temple.
After performing the anointment, they have to worship Dakshinamoorthy to get their marriage proposals through, say the villagers.
A nice temple to uplift our spirits !!

Sri Kayarohaneshwara temple (Guru temple) Kanchipuram

Before starting my health camp I decided to have a darshan of this temple this was thought to be  adhishtanam of the 13 th pontiff of the Kamakoti peetam but has later been identified as the Katharui kuppam temple  (see my linkAdhishtanam of 13th acharya). The temple is situated in Kanchi itself and is being renovated .

how to reach the temple
At kanchipuram by the side of  the Kanchi mutt is the road to chengalpet.(West raja street) proceed in this road till you see the kachhapeshwarar temple. Take a right turn here.Proceed for about half a kilometre till you reach a place called Pilliar palyam.Before you reach the Kailasanatha temple take a left turn in SVP krishna street and proceed for a km.At the end of this road take a left turn after crossing the Chidambareswara temple. The guru temple will be on the right side. It is more popularly known as Guru bhagavan temple.There is a separate Guru bhagawan sannidhi here.
The temple proper
The temple was undergoing renovation with Balalayam performed.

As you  enter you are in the outer praharam where the construction is going on

The entrance to the inner praharam is on the right just after the thatched shed seen below.
 
In the far side you see the sannidhi of Lingabeshwarar with a naga devathai behind part uprooted by a banyan tree



The sanctum has a shivalingam which is now closed

There is a akhilandeshwari sannidhi in the sanctum with a small Idol bedecked today witha lemon mala

(guru bhagawan sannidhi outside). The temple is more famous as Guru koil in Kanchi
There are sannidhis for Vinayaka and Murugan out side the main sannidhi
The temple is under going renovation as seen below


.

( The vimanam)

On 7/06/15 I revisited this temple after it has been re furbished and here are a few pictures

Navagraha temples in chennai near Porur- Mangadu Velleshwarar koil- Sukran (Venus) sthalam

Today enroute to Kanchipuram I made a brief stop over  at Mangaadu and had a darshan of this very ancient temple.
How to Reach:
Enter Mangadu and take a turn towards the Kamakshi temple when you are directed to the parking lot proceed straight to the end of the road and take a right turn at the end.Follow this road for a furlong and you will land in front of the temple.This temple is behind the kamakshi temple

Legend associated with the temple:
Kamakshi was directed by shiva to be born on earth and to do penence to marry him as she had once playfully closed his eyes and caused total darkness to the whole universe.When she came here she  found Sukracharya the guru of the asuras already doing penence here for atoning his sin in preventing Bali chakravarthy from donating three feet of land to Maha vishnu in the Vamana avatara. Since shiva could not move from here he directed parvathy to wait for him in Kanchi where he marries her.Velli is another name for Sukra hence the name velleshwarar,
Vinayaka in this temple is called Mangani vinayaka ( mango shoot) as he has a mango in his right hand and  paddy in his left hand. (The name Mangadu means mango groove) This is the mango he won from narada the Gnanapazham(fruit of knowledge)
The temple:

As you enter from the east you see   nandi with a cage in front which encloses the paadam (feet) of Kamakshi who came here and left for her temple( you can see the cage on the right in the pic below)

Entrance to the temple is from the south .There are no dwara palakas .The sanctum has a huge Sivalinga mounted on a stage here Chatura peeta unlike the usual aavudiar .There is no seperate  sannidhi for parvathy here as Kamakshi temple is nearby..
Outside the main prahara you see shrines for Vinayaga, murugan, Kasi viswanathan , Visalakshi and Veerabhadrar .

Veerabhadra  was created from siva’s sweat in anger at Daksha’s yagna and Veerabhadra beheads Daksha. who is later fixed with  a sheeps head and you can see a sheep headed daksha kneeling before the Veerabhadrar (see below)

( veerabhadra sannidhi)

Murugan sannidhi

(lingothbavar with Brahma and Vishnu on either side )
Goddess Durga is also  installed with her discus near Lingodbhava. Durga with a Prayoga Chakra (discus) This is  the speciality in the temple.

Maangani vinayakar and guru

(The vimanam)
There  is also a sannidhi for Kala Samhara murthy and  balambigai near the durga and chandishwarar sannidhi

well maintained garden
A visit to the temple is said to propitiate Venus (shukran) and also help ameliorate eye conditions