Shri Panchavarneshwarar temple Uraiyur (Woriyur) Trichy; - A padal petra sthalam

Woriyur was the Capital Of the Cholas and this is the main Shiva temple here . I visited this place with lots of expectations . The place was called Thirumukkichuram in olden times.
How to reach:
It is easily reached via salai road. The temple street is called PVS  (Pancha varneshwara swamy) street. The present temple was supposedly built by the pallavas.
Legends:

It was built in the 8th century by the  Pandiya King Varaguna Maharaja II. An inscription dated 885 AD has referred to the donation of gold coins to the village sabha for performing poojas to the temple. Inscriptions in the Rcokfort Thaymanavar temple at Tiruchirapalli also speak of the donations by the pandya king Varagunaa Maharaja II.The temple legend mentions Karikala chola as the chief builder.
The Chola king Veera vathithan was once travelling on an elephant and the elephant became  mad it was subdued by a Cockerel which saved the king hence he built the temple. Even today a Cockerel visits the temple daily evening during pooja.
Kochengat  Cholan who built 78 temples was born in this place and was a great devotee of this lord.
Garuda, Brahma have worshipped here.

Uthanga munivar  received the darshan of Shiva in five hues at different times of the day in this place hence here Shiva is called Panchavarneswarar. There is a separate shrine for this rishi in the inner praharam
View from the outer Gate

There is a huge courtyard with a pond and lots of cows There was a Shivan under the sthala vruksham Vilva tree which the people were doing poojas to.

 
     
The outer courtyard

The Doorway in front of the nandi leads us into the inner praharam
The inner praharam has a huge Sannidhi for Gomathi  ambal on the right facing South.
The main Sanctum has Shiva in the linga form facing east
There are 74 nayanmars statues on the side . The Gosta vigrahas around the main sanctum are Narthana Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy , Ardhanari , Brahma, Durga and Chandikeswarar.
There are separate sannidhis for Vinayaka, Murugan, Gajalakshmi.  The Chandikeshwara here is quite tall about 4 feet. The pillared hall has a number of exquisite carvings like the multi faced ganapathy, Thandava Shiva and Kali below.
 

The temple legend

Allur Shri Panchanadishwarar temple

Allur was the centre of Vedic learning in the past.This is comparatively a big temple in this area but sadly not very popular.The lord here is Panchanadeeswarar with Dharmasamvardhini ambal

How to reach:

Along the Trichy Karur kulithalai road at about 10 kms you can see the temple on the left hand side

There is a Raja gopuram and a big courtyard

As you enter you see The nandi with the main sanctum housing both the Ambal facing south and the shiva lingam facing East

The Kosta vigrahas are not present.

There is a separate shrine for Vinayaka, Murugan  as in other shiva temples

A serene temple.

Jeeyapuram ShriChandrashekareshwara Temple- Padal petra sthalam

This is a padal petra sthalam though I tried twice I found the door closed.

How to Reach:

 The road from trichy to kulithalai will take a left curve and almost climb over the temple ramparts so you can not miss this temple.It is about a kilometer from the Allur temple

Legends:

The temple is supposedly housing a Shiva lingam which is shaped like a Jackfruit and the sthala vruksham is also a Jackfruit tree which at any given time has fruits both from the branches as well as the roots!!

The temple has been sung about by Sri. Thirugnanasambandar . It was built by Kundavai the Chola Princess

A better explanation of the historicity is found here

http://jeeyapuram.blogspot.in/2009/02/sri-chandrasekaraswami-temple-history.html

http://jeeyapuram.blogspot.in/2008/10/sri-chandrasekaraswami-temple-history_22.html

Hope some day The lord blesses me with a detailed darshan

16/5/14 I was blessed!!!

Last friday 16/5/14 I had an occasion to see this temple. The main Garba griha was locked though. It was a huge complex with separate sannidhis for Chandrashekareshwara and Ambal Mrugadharambikai ( Daping the Animal- a deer also known as Maan endhiya valli in Tamil)

The view of the first praharam

The nandi seen in the foreground

Entrance to the main sannidhi which was closed

The main sannidhi has lot of writings all around and have been researched by the ASI

as seen in the history. In a  variation from usual I found a rishabhanatha behind a new dakshinamurthy

 

 

 

The sthala vruksham with a nandi in  front

Plenty of Bhilva fruits in the garden

The western side had a Ardhanari in the back

Notice the inscriptions around this niche all a treasure trove of history

The ambal sannidhi is in the fore ground facing South. The ambal is seen leaning on a deer which was very nice

Vinayagar sannidhi behind the main sannidhi

 

Navagraha in the forecourt of the Main sannidhi

 

A small Lion figurine with two bodies and one face a masterpiece lying forgotten as the temple itself is , avery sad story regarding our cultural heritage!!

Shri Tharukavaneshwarar Temple at Thiruparithurai- A padal petra sthalam

This temple is one of the 275 Padalpetra sthalams in Trichy . Thiruparaithurai means area where paarai trees abound.The place is very famous for the residential school here and it is just  a walking distance from the Mukkombu the area where the Cauvery splits into Kollidam and Cauvery with dams on either side. It is a popular picnic spot.

How to reach:

About 14kms from trichy The road leads to the temple . The highway is being widened.The temple is on the left and easily approached.

Legends:

The Saptharishis who were camped here and their wives had become conceited with the powers of their penance so the fruits of penance were not being beneficial to mankind. Shiva and Vishnu descended to teach these people a lesson.Shiva was the handsome nude nomadic beggar Bhikshandar and Vishnu was the Mohini. The Rishis started getting attracted to Mohini where as they became angry when the found their wives following the nude beggar. They started conjuring tigers to attack which shiva killed and wore the skin as a dress. He caught the poisonous snakes unleashed and wore them as ornaments and the Trishul which was thrown at him became his weapon for all times. When the Rishis realised that this was no ordinary couple and realised their mistake and lost their ego. Shiva directed them to Lalgudi where they did prayers to atone .

As you enter the main gopuram there is a long passage way and the Gopuram you see above Inside there is a mandapam for Nandi with life like statues for Appar Sundarar,Arunagirinathar and the king whobuilt the temple

Inside this gopuram is the Main entrance to the temple. The walls of the Doorstep have the history of the temple

The main praharam has the ambal sannidhi on the right facing South with the main Sivalingam in its glorious grace facing east.

The praharam has an unusual Koshta vigraham of Ardhanari Shiva in the West side.

The usual statues of Vinayaka, murugan Durga, Chandikeshwarar,Natarajar and the Nayanmars are present

A visit to the temple can be ended with a beautiful picnic at the Mukkombu!!

Thiru Boologanathar Temple inTrichy

Trichy City has the famous five shiva temples representing the five elements.This is the temple representing Earth.

How to reach:

On East Boulevard road it is an imposing temple easily found out.

The temple is famous for its five sthala vriksham which have been here since ages. It conveys the meaning of oneness with nature with Shiva nurturing the Earth. it has been in existence since 700 AD with Chola pallava and krishnadevaraya’s contributions.

As you enter the courtyard via the rajagopuram you see the nandi  and the Kodimaram

 

The main sanctum houses a shiva lingam facing east and the Jagadambika ambal sannidi facing South on the right hand side.

The outer courtyard has  vinayakar, Murugan sannidhis. The Bhairavar Sannidhi is seperate.

A small and peaceful temple

Pazhur Sri.Vishwanatha Visalakshi Navagraha temple

The temple is more famous as Navagraha temple in this area and was blessed by the Kanchi Mahaperiyavaa . The Navagrahas were sculpted in Mysore and were installed here about 80 years ago. The peculiarity of this navagraha installation is that the Navagrahas are present in a separate hall with their consorts and the Rasi if each Navagraha is sculpted below. It is a very famous parihara sthalam.

How to Reach:

This is the next big temple on the Kulithalai trichy road after Mutharasanallur.There is an arch announcing the way to the temple at about 3 kms from Mutharasanallur.

There is also a small village road from Mutharasanallur connecting Pazhur without crossing over the railway line.

You can see the main entrance leading to a small sanctum inside with the Shivalingam in a small sannidhi facing east  and the Small sanctum for the ambal facing South The hall to the right is the navagraha enclosure

 

Another view of the Navagraha enclosure

The priest was busy doing some Homam  with a family and the temple was deserted . The Sivan and Ambal were so small and Doll like.The Setting was remarkably peaceful and serene

Nandrudayan temple Nara mukha Ganapathy , Ganapathy with a Human face!!

This is a unique temple that has a sannidhi with Vinayaka having a Human face.The temple has been spoken of by Kanchi Mahaperiyava for its Nara mukha Ganapathy ( Human faced Ganapathy).It is a very old temple which was originally part of the Rockfort temple complex. It is now undergoing renovation . It is not known to many people locally too!.

How to Reach:

The local population do not seem to know the temple. Ask for Murugan theatre one of the oldest movie theatres in Trichy. The temple is about half a furlong further down on the same side as the theatre. It is almost dwarfed by the surrounding structures and you can easily miss it.

The locked door leads to a small chamber which is actually the back side of the main sannidhi. There is an Anjaneyar installed here facing the road. When you go around and reach the other side of the room you can see a majestic five foot Ganapathy with the usual elephant head . this is the Moolavar. There is a nandi unusually in front of the Ganesha. Maybe a case of the son borrowing Dad’s vehicle !!!

To the right of the main Sannidhi is a small room with a huge 3-4feet tall roly poly god with a human face the Nara mukha Ganapathy!

(Pic courtesy from a whatsapp post )

Inside are also statues of Adi shankara, Sadashiva Brahmendra and three Nayanmars which are usually found when these people have visited and stayed in these temples!!

The friendly flower seller in front of the temple volunteered to open the temple for me as the priest was not there that day. She bade me to wait , crossed the road and got the keys to this lovely temple so that I do not miss this lovely temple.

The main entrance to the temple is on the side away from the road and is now being renovated.