Uthamar kovil- Trichy Guru sthalam

This is a very unique temple where all the three major gods of the hindu pantheon Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are present with their consorts in one temple.It is a very rare temple for brahma.
It is One of the 108 divyadesams and a temple for Shaiva-Vaishnava unity. it is a Divyadesam  next to only Srirangam . It is The only temple where all the 3 moorthies are present with their consorts in separate sannidhis.
All the seven gurus – Brahma Guru, Vishnu Guru, Siva Guru, Sakthi Guru, Subramanaya Guru, Deva Guru, Asura Guru – are present here. This is the only temple where Lord Brahma himself is present as Lord Guru facing South in a separate shrine with the vimanam and Urchava moorthy. In other temples, only Lord Dakshinamoorthy will be present as Lord Guru. So this is a very significant Temple for Guru Worship.
Lord Brahma normally seen only as koshta moorthy in the outer prahara walls of the sanctum sanctorum is having a separate shrine here.
Goddess Saraswathi, seen in a separate temple only in Koothanur, is present here in a separate sannidhi with vimanam.
How to reach:
The temple is situated  near the tollgate area of Trichy on the Trichy Salem road. As you proceed on the highway you can see a railway overbridge . The temple is to be approached below this flyover on to the right side. There are no rajagopurams for the temple
Legends asociated with the temple:

Once when King Janaka was on a pilgrimage he , came here and conducted a yagna here. When everyone was praying with closed eyes, a dog spoiled the sanctity of the yagna items. At the end of the yagna, the rishis forgot the completion sloka of the yagna. A Worried janaka prayed to Perumal and a sage coming that way told Janaka to pray to the Kadhamba tree there. On doing so, King Janaka heard the holy voice that informed about the spoiling of the sanctity of the Yagna by the dog. So Janaka started another yagna with new yagna items which completed successfully. Happy Janaka enquired the identity of the Sage who guided him. The sage smiled and asked to worship the Kadhamba tree again. On doing so, the Kadhamba tree which was nothing but the form of Vedas, spilt into two and Purushothama perumal in sayana pose with Lord Brahma in his Naabi lotus and Lord Shiva in Bitchadanar form by the side gave dharshan. King Janaka then built this temple.

King Sathkeerthivarthan begot a child by praying in this temple so  he did elaborate renovation by constructing the mandapams, praharams here as thanks giving. He started many temple functions as well.

King Dasaratha performed yagas here to beget good progeny hence many childless couples frequent this place.
Siva incurred a brahma hatti dosham when he  choped off the fifth head of Brahma who had become egoistic ( Shiva has had 63 avatarams and this avataram was to show the rishis that ego is  bad and even Shiva can suffer from wrong conduct). The Skull cap stuck to his hand and would not dislodge hence he prayed to Vishnu to help him redeem himself.He devoloped so much hunger that the kapalam (skull ) in his hand would never be full.Shiva prayed to the thayar mahalakshmi who filled his  kapalam and made the kapalam unstuck from shiva’s hand. Since Shiva was a beggar here it is  called Bhikshandarkovil and the satisfying thayar is called poornavalli
(The reason why Shiva took the form of Bitchandar is explained in Sivapuranam as follows:
Once the rishis at Tharukavanam near here (now called Thirupparaithurai in the Trichy-Kulitalai route) were very egoistic feeling that their knowledge and spiritual powers are just sufficient to uplift the people. They felt God is not at all needed since one’s karma only is responsible for the pain and pleasure of him. Equally the rishis’ ladies were also very egoistic thinking that they were the most beautiful of all the worlds including the devaloka and the consorts of the 3 moorthies. Wanting to teach a lesson, Shiva took the form of a beautiful full nude beggar with all his sheen as Bitchadanar accompanied by Vishnu as Mohini.
To teach the lesson first for the ladies, they both went to Agraharam begging. On seeing such a divine personality with a magnetic voice for the first time, the ladies forgot themselves, forgot what they were doing and came to streets to see him. On seeing the beauty of the Mohini (Vishnu), they felt ashamed and embarrassed with their egoistic thinking about their beauty. Followed by the ladies of the rishis, both Bitchadanar and Mohini went to Tharuhavanam, 15 kms from Uthamar koil, where the rishis were doing a yagna.
On getting furious over their ladies getting attracted towards this nude beggar, the rishis did different things like creating an elephant, Tiger etc., through yagnas, sending mantras and vedas to fight Bitchadanar but nothing could stand in front of Him. Shiva finally revealed his true identity and did a furious dance in front of them. On knowing their mistake, the rishis at once surrendered to Bitchadanar. The rishis learnt hard way that learning all the mantras and vedas are only to promote the human lives and to do good to the society.)(from http://shanthiraju.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/visit-to-trichy-and-tanjore-temples/)
Brahma was once tested by Vishnu who hid in a kadamba tree and when Brahma grew anxious at not seeingMahavishnu  he was given a darshan by Mahavishnu in the kadhamba tree
Sage Kadhambar did penance at the banks of this temple tank and got the dharshan of all the 3 moorthies with their consorts. The temple tank is called Kadhamba Pushkarani in his name.
Speciality of this temple’s history :
Sanaga, Sananthana and Sanath kumaras  are given the first teachings on Saivam here and at the same time  Maarkandeya Maharishi was given the darshan of perumal
At this divya desam There is a mangalashasanam by Thirumangai Alwar - 1 Paasuram.
Azhvaar Paasuram
Peraanai, Kurugkudiyum Perumaanai, Thiruthankal
Ooraanai, Karamabanur Uthamanai, Muthilangu
Aaratheninrunthaanai Kandathu Thenn Arangathe….
Azhvaars referring to Lord as ‘Uthamar’
Thirumangai Azhvaar called this Lord ‘Uthamar’ and hence the name ‘Uthamar Koil’. Among the Azhvaars, only Tirumangai Azhvaar and Andal have referred to the Lord as ‘Uthamar’. (Andal in Tiruppavai sings……Ongi Ulagalantha Uthaman Per Paadi……..). Belief is that Thirumangai Azhvaar stayed at this place and renovated the Srirangam temple. Thirumangai Azhvaar said that he could see the Uthamar from Srirangam.
Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswathi  are facing South
Lord Vinshnu as Purushothama perumal in sayana pose and Goddess Pooranavalli Thayar  are facing east
Lord Shiva as Bhikshandar is  facing west and Goddess Sondharya Parvathi, Vadivudai Nayaki facing south.
In the northeast, Vishnu Guru Varadharaja Perumal, Brahma Guru Lord Brahma and Knowledge Lord Goddess Saraswathi are present in separate shrines facing south.
Apart from this, Natarajar, Subramaniyar, Saneeswarar, Andal, Lakshmi Narayanar, Ramar, and Bama Rukmani samedha Venugopala are present in separate shrines.
Perumal  as purushothaman is in the sayana kolam with poornavalli thayar in the sannidhi below
 
Shiva’s consort here is Soundarya Nayaki or Vadivudai Nayaki.  .  

Brahma and Saraswathi.are in seperate sannidhis inside the main praharam
There is a seperate Hanuman in front of the Vishnu sannidhi who is very powerful in granting wishes.Jayaveera Anjaneyar with his left leg in front



Thursdays are very crowded and best avoided . I went on a wednesday and itwas peaceful.
The annual brahmostavam for Perumal is in Chithirai (April) and that of Shiva during Vaikasi (May). The utsava vigraha of Lord Ranganathar of Srirangam is being brought to the Kadhamba theertham here during the Masi festival.
Worship benefits:
Here Lord Brahma got his privilege as the creator of all lives and so by worshipping Lord Brahma one is sure to get all his wants.
Here Goddess Lakshmi as Pooranavalli Thayar ended Shiva’s hunger by filling the begging vessel of Shiva and so by worshipping the Pooranavalli Thayar, one will be free from hunger and poverty and will be blessed with all ishwarya.
By worshipping Goddess Saraswathi present in a separate sannidhi one will be blessed with knowledge and education.
By worshipping Bitchadanar who ended the egos of the rishis, one will be free from his ego and bad wills.
Temple timings:
6am – 12.30pm and 4pm – 830pm
Temple Address
Uthamar Koil
Manachanallur Taluk
Bitchandar Koil
Trichy 621 216
Read more http://templesoftamilnadu.co.in/2010/04/30/uthamar-koil-or-bitchandar-koil/

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

Sri Bangaru kamakshi temple Tanjore

Recently on a visit to Tanjore I happened to see this temple which is run by the Kanchi kamakoti peetam in Tanjore,

History:

The Bangaru kamakshi  idol in Thanjavur was originally in the Kamakshi temple at Kanchi. (It was  one of the 5 kamakshis inside the  kanchi temple).Due to the invasion of Kanchi by  hostile powers the then sankaracharya (Shri Chandrashekara saraswathy IV-1746-1783)of the  kanchi kamakoti peetam shifted base to Tanjore and later to Kumbakonam. The  solid gold idol from kanchi was initially shifted to Udayarpalyam and later to Tanjore..It seems the idol was wrapped with cloth and the shiny surface was smeared by black punugu ( secretion of the Civet cat) covered with a cloth and smuggled out in a palanquin as  if it was a child with small pox.The feet of the idol are symbolically installed  in Kanchi temple ,Bangarukamakshi ( golden kamakshi! yes it is a solid gold figure)has been re  installed at tanjore. Even today the idol is routinely smeared with punugu and appears black. During annual navarathri abhishekams also it does not wash off!!

How to reach?

The temple is a km behind the big temple and easily accessed by a straight road,

Next door is the navaneetha krishna temple with krishna rukmini sathyabhama and kodhai. It is also a peaceful temple

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 !!