Shri Bhakta Janeshwarar temple, Birthplace of SriSundarar A Sukran (Venus) navagraha sthalam

This is a Padal petra sthalam the eighth in the mid chola country (Nadu naatu cholamandalam). This temple has been in existance over all four yugas  and even before as per the legend and has been the focus of prayer by Surya, Brahma, Mahavishnu, Parvathy,Chandikeshwarar, Sukran(Venus)

How to reach:

The temple is situated between Villupuram and Ulundurpet on NH 45. After Crossing Villupuram proceed for 10kms when you will come to the bridge across the Kedilam river. Here take the service road and take the left turn before the river. Do not climb the bridge . The temple is situated 1.8 kms on this road on the left hand side. It is a huge temple and the present temple was built by the pallavas.

Legends of the temple:

The temple has been in existence over many yugas and Sundarmurthy nayanar was born here as the son of the Sivacharyar of this temple (For more details of Sundara murthy nayanar please refer to my blog on Tiruvennainallur and Thiruthuraiyur via links below

http://drlsravi.blogspot.in/2012/02/thiruvennainallur-sri-krupapureeshwarar.html

http://drlsravi.blogspot.in/2012/04/thiruthuraiyur-shrishishta-gurunathar.html)

Chandikeshwarar in one of his avataras was born here and his father observed the child  pouring milk on a lingam in the forest  without bringing it home. he reprimanded his son  the father kicked the empty milk pots in anger the leg had a deep laceration as a divine curse!!  This is depicted here in a sculpture. I have now got the answer to my query from the Maagaral temple where also there is a depiction of this story see link (http://drlsravi.blogspot.in/2012/04/thiru-maagaral-shiva-temple.html)

There is a peculiar feature of the temple having no Kosta Vigrahas for Brahma and Mahavishnu as these have seperate sannidhis in the second praharam where they have their own Lingams installed along with that of Saptha rishis and Sundarar.

Sukran was relieved of his curse of retrogression here hence Fridays are very important for marriage related issues.

The Dakshinamurthy here is unique in that there is no Banyan tree He is standing with his hand on the Vrushabam behind  as a “Vrishabha rooda”

As you enter the eastern Rajagopuram we see The dwajasthambam with nandi in front. The main Complex is in front . We can see the Sannidhi for sundarar on the left, Varadaraja swamy on the right with Sridevi and Boodevi. The Manonmani thayar sannidhi is found behind also facing east.During the month of Panguni (March-April) from 23 to 27, Sun rays fall on the presiding deity as well as the ambal in the morning.Sundarar sannidhi with his consorts Paravayar and Sangiliar.

  

When you enter the main complex seen above from the north side we are in the second praharam which has the Sannidhis for Vinayaka,Murugan the Lingams worshipped by Sukran,Sundarar, Saptharishis and Mahavishnu.

The Dakshinamurthy is already alluded to

This praharam also has the navagrahas and the Shiva lingam worshipped by Sukran also known as Bhargaveeswara Linga. seen below.

The main sannidhi has a medium sized Shiva lingam with a Nagabharnam .The presiding deity is also known as Jambunatheswarar, Thiruvalleswarar and Thiruthandeeswarar.

The outer praharam has the east facing sannidhi of Manonmani thayar. The Goddess is also known as Navalambikai, Sundarambikai and Rakshambika. 

The sthala vriksham is the Nagapazham / Navala pazham (hence Navalur tree) or Jambuka tree . The ancient tree fell down in the recent Thane Cyclone. The area where it stood is seen below where a new replacement is seen

When the milk ocean was churned, the alaala poison came out which Lord Shiva consumed to protect the lives of all creatures. The drops that fell on earth were transformed into Jumbu fruit trees and came to be known as Jumbuka forest (Navala vanam in tamil hence Navalur).

The Varadarajan Sannidhi is seen above.There are beautiful Vigrahas of Perumal with Sridevi and Bhudevi here.

Pooram Star day in Adi month (July-August) is the festival for Goddess Manonmani. Special pujas are performed to Goddess Manonmani and Durga on Tuesdays, Fridays. Rahu kala puja is observed on Tuesdays for Goddess Durga between 3.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Women gather in large numbers for this Rahu kala Puja.

Special Puja is performed on Fridays for the Linga installed by Sukra with butter, white ghee, beans, white silk.

Thursday Puja is performed to Lord Dakshinamurthy with yellow clothing, yellow flowers, Channa dhal white.  Pradosham days draw huge crowd of devotees.

Note : All the Pictures here were taken after due  permission of the helpful Gurukkal and temple authorities.

Shri.Chandrasekara Kurukkal

Cel no:+919443624585 /+91 9943359480

Res  04149224391

Thiruthalinathar Yoga bhairavar temple , Nindra Narayana Perumal templeat Thirupattur Sivaganga a padal petra sthalam

Yesterday 19/7/12 Enroute to Nattaraskottai from pudukottai I visited this ancient temple . it is one of the pandya desam padal petra sthalam. It has been visited by Appar, sundarar,Gnanasambandar and sung about. It is also associated with Valmiki. The ancient name for his temple is Thiruputhur (ant hill) but it is not corroborated by Ramayana. There is how ever a Sannidhi for Valmiki inside, below the sthala Vriksham Sara konrai. It is about 15 acres .

How to reach:

when you drive from Pudukottai to sivaganga on the Rameshwaram route you will reach Thirumayyam fort. Take the right turn to Rameshwaram and Thirupattur is about 50 kms from Pudukottai.The temple is situated on the main road itself.

Legends of the temple:

Shiva annihilated the demons Andakasura and Sambasura who were the sons of the Demon Hiranyaksha.Since he wanted relief from the sin he went into yoga nidra here and worshipped shri Thiruthalinathar. The concept of Pranavam is said to have been realized here( that Shiva & Pranavam were one and the same) PRANAVAM  is said to have manifested itself as the Konrai Maram the sthala vruksham here

 

Mahavishnu has also worshipped shiva here . There is a separate sannidhi for Vishnu with  Sridevi, Bhudevi a well as Hanuman the Lakshminarayana sannidhi.

Sri Ninra Narayanaperumal Temple:
It has served as a place promoting Vaishnavism. During the rule of King Varaguna Pandiyan II (862-885) a Perumal temple had been existence in this place. Lord Perumal installed in this temple is referred to as Jalasayanathupadarar in the inscriptions of King Varaguna Pandiyan II. In addition to this temple, for the sake of Lord Perumal in the standing posture, another Perumal temple was constructed in the south of Sri Thiruthalinathar temple during the Pandiya period. It contains inscriptions of later Pandiyas dating back to the 13th century. The inscription of King Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan (1216-1239 A.D) refers to this other temple as Kola Varaga Vinnagara Emperumal temple and donation of lands in 1237 A.D to meet daily expenses of the performance of poojas.

The navagrahas are in the sitting posture  here hence they will wait to hear your requests!

Yoga bhairavar is without his vahanam here.The Guru dakshinamurthy here is also without the four disciples

There is also a shrine for Lord Tirunageswarar where people worship during Rahu Kalam time. According to the legend, the prominent snakes Vasuki and Kaarkotakan worshipped Lord Shiva here and hence the separate shrine for Tirunageswarar in the outer 3rd Praharam

Lord Muruga is facing north with His consorts Valli and Deivanai.  Saint Arunagiriar had praised Lord Muruga of the temple in his Tirupugazh hymns.  Lord Nataraja graces in His Gouri thandava dancing form.  Mahalakshmi wanted to see the thandava of Shiva and here he blessed her with that dance

As you enter the temple you see the first praharam with an elephant enclosure and the Peacock strolling around. 

The Sannidhi for  Bhairavar and Vishnu are in this praharam facing west and east respectively. The Bhairavar temple has an unique epoxy coating to prevent damage to the carvings. 

The next sannidhi has Sivagami Amman sannithi on the right here facing east

The Sthala vruksham, Murugan sannidhi , the vinyaga and Valmiki sannidhis are situated behind the main temple.     

The Carvings here are exquisite as are the Ramayana scenes below

 

Lord Shiva is in the main sannidhi as a swayubhulingam here.

The temple is quite big with  a well maintained ambience.

Thiru kannathal temple Nattarasankottai

On 19/7/12 I had the chance of fufilling my 5 year old prayers of visiting this temple at Nattarasankottai in Sivaganga district.It is a famous temple built and maintained by Nagarthars and is famed to help people for eye related problems. I expected to find a crowded temple especially in the month of adi and was pleasantly surprised to find it clean, large with exquisitely carved images and with very friendly helpful attenders.The carvings were all so beaytiful.
How to reach:
The temple is situated in Nattarankottai which is almost a part of Sivaganga. The temple can be reached from Madurai, or from Pudukottai. It is about 4 kms from Sivagangai from Melur on the madurai side. I went from Trichy via  Pudukottai. It was exactly 125 kms. from Pudukottai reach tirumayyam on the Rameshwram road and take the right towards Thirupattur and cross Thirukoshtiyur to reach Mandiyampattu. In about 3 kims at 117 kms from trichy there is a board showing the left turn to the temple before Sivaganga. 8 Kms on this road is the temple.
History and legends:
The temple has been built by the Nagarthars as a way of fulfilling their vows to the Goddess.The Goddess Kannudainayaki was present in this place for many years.It was in the 18 th century a temple was built for her. There is a big pond in front and the temple itself is spacious.
It seems a yadava man who was daily walking here with milk on his head daily used to stumble on a stone and spill the milk on the stone. Enraged one day he decided to dig out the stone when it started bleeding and they discovered amman idol.
Excerpts from From the wikipedia:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nattarasankottai)
The deity, Kannathal alias Kannudaya Nayaki Amman is famous for her powers in giving the boon of eyesight to the devotees with eye defects and other ailments. She is seen with eight hands and has an udukkai (a percussion striking instrument) and muvizhai sulam in her hands. Her left leg stamps the Asura by name Mahishan. As per mythology, Kannathal emerged with blessings she obtained fromLord Siva (the God of Creation,Sustenance and Destruction of evil, in Hindu Mythology) to vanquish Mahishan, who was giving trouble and anxiety to the people. Mahishan had a rare blessing from Brahmadeva that he will not die in the hands of men and he will only be executed by a woman. After heeding to the voices of the tortured people and Devathas, Kannthal appeared in Simmavahanam (Lion as vehicle) and executed him by stabbing in his heart. She is praised by many a number of devotees who have experienced her blessings. One could find names like 'Kannappan' (for male children), 'Kannathal', 'Kannammai' and 'Kanmani' (for female children) abundant in the community. Mavilakku, a flour made offering for the Goddess is offered by the devotees to appease her and to get her blessings. Vaikasi Visakam festival, celebrated for 10 days, is famous for the temple and on the 8th day, the Goddess in the form of KaliattaKannathal decorated by 'Kazhuthu Uru' (a Nagarathar Ornament) is taken in the silver adorned chariot around the temple.
Special government buses ply during these days from Madurai. The temple is famous for its architectural marvel and Golden Kumbhams over the Temple tower. Kaliattam, a festival celebrated once in 60 years was celebrated in 1996 with much pomp and pageantry. The first 'Kumbabishekam' (Consecration of the temple) took place on September 12, 1938, the second on September 6, 1976 and the third on May 1, 1989. The temple is efficiently managed by the village Nagarathars. 'Sevvai Pongal' during the Tamil month Thai, is a festival that is celebrated by Nagarathars of this village, during which tickets will be pooled and drawn and based on that places near the temple are allotted to all the nagarathar families for making Pongals. Non-Nagarthars also contribute a lot to this festival. Other festivals of the temple include 'Muzhalkuttu Thiruvizha' during the Tamil month of Aadi, 'Navarathri' during the Tamil month of Purattasi and 'Thailakkappu Utsavam' during the Tamil month of Thai. There are many temples in Nattarasankottai of which a Sivan temple is also famous. AshtamiThiruvizha and Sivarathri are the famous festivals of this temple. In addition that Nattarasankottai has lot of temples is covered this town like Ayyappan, Sivan, Perumal, Hanuman, Ramar, many marriammans etc.
The famous poet Kambar, who translated Valmiki Ramayana to Tamil, spent his last days in Nattarasankottai and his tomb is situated here. Not many public know of his tomb. The renowned town of Kalayarkovil which is famous for Kaleeswarar temple, is situated few miles away. The famous Kollangudi Vettudaiyar Kali temple is also nearby.

The Main entrance leads into a multipillar hall with eloborate carvings

The temple main praharam is east facing and you are led into a praharam with the main garbagruha in front.
The Amman is in the standing posture with 8 upper  limbs and is smiling,
View from behind the garbagruha

It is  a small and peaceful temple which gave me immense peace

Sri Vyagrapureeshwarar temple-Tirupulivanam- Vaipu sthalam

About 5 kms from Uthiramerur temple is this old temple where in Sage Vyagrapada and his wife prayed to and got darshan of Shiva. This is a vypu sthalam where in appar has mentioned the temple in his songs.(There is a confusion whether this temple is spoken of or the one at tirupulivanam near kumbhakonam is spoken of.Though this is the bigger of the two temples)

How to reach:

The temple is 5 kms away from Uthiramerur on the Uthiramerur kanchipuram road and can easily be seen from the road.

Legends and stories:

The uniqueness of the temple here is the Dakshinamurthy which is supposedly a ardhanari.The sanctum of the guru has  Vyaghrapada and his consort,King and Queen who prayed for children at Woraiyur trichy and were directed here by the lord to pray for begetting children, Saint Vyaghrapada is also supposed to have begotten progeny here.

The priest of the temple was instructed to send the garland of the lord daily . He was careless and there was a hair in the garland. When the king questioned him about the hair he says that the Lord has sprouted hair and this is one of them!! when the kind came to check the lord out of compassion to the priest had actually sprouted a head full of hair.This can be seen on the sivalingam today also

The dakshinamurthy here is unique,the right leg is on mugilan the left on a simham ,The left lower hand is pointing towards the right foot .This simha dakshinamurthy is to be prayed for all to by Simha rasi individuals .

Mother Amrutha kuchalambal is supposed to cure diseases.

The temple has a vasantha mandapam outside along with a bali peedam and nandi on the approach road itself 

As you enter the temple rajagopuram entrance you see the amman sannidhi on the right facing South. This is a separate structure away from the main temple. The amman is about 4 feet tall with a smiling face in the standing posture.

The entrance to the temple is through the multi pillared hall which has many beautiful carvings of stone

The inner praharam is peaceful with the main vimanam of the gajaprushti type. The main sanctum has a swayambhu shiva lingam with marks of  tiger claws and a head with a Shikha (Kudumi!)

The koshta vigrahas and Devathas are unique here with a separate sannidhi for the ardhanari dakshina murthy who has an enclosure that needs to be climbed up to . There is also a   narasimhar in the pillar facing the Koshta Varadarajan in the  west.   The small figures are all intricately carved.

Vyaghrapada above and Brahma below

Durga

The features of the idols are so beautiful and proportionate.

A  very intricately carved ganesha in the second praharam

The vigrahas in the pillars of the front hall are also a treat to watch

Nandi on the Chandikeswarar enclosure

Priest:Gunashekaran Cell no:09445111236