Navagraha temples around Chennai Porur Kunrathur - a Quick reference

 

The Navagraha temples are all situated close to Porur Kunrathur road. It is possible to cover them all in half  a day. The temples open by 7 AM and close by 12 noon . Evening  they are open between 4 to 7 PM. It would be best to start with the  Mangadu Sivan koil first  finish the Poonamallee Vaidyswaran koil and then proceed to Ramanatheshwara koil and then proceed  in two ways.Either you can complete Kovoor, Kunrathur Somamangalam in one direction and return back to Kovoor then proceed to Gerugambakkam , kolapakkam and Pozhichallur or go vice versa from kovoor to Gerugambaakkam etc and return to kovvor to proceed to kunrathur and somamangalam. The road between Gerugambakkam and Pozhichallur will test your spine as it crossed the Adayar river causeway . Similarly the road to Somamangalam from Kunrathur skirts the Chembarambakkam tank Parrallel to the Bangalore highway and in rainy season will be inundated and slushy.

Happy Temple hopping!

 

Guru Jupiter Ramanadheshwara temple Wireless road Porur Guru sthalam Ramanadheshwarar

Sukran Venus Mangadu Velleshwarar koil Sri velleswarar Sukran

Chandran Moon Somamangalam Somanatheshwara koil Sri Chandran sthalam

Shani Saturn Pozhichallur Agastheeswarar koil Shanishwarar

Suryan Sun Kolapakkam Agastheeswarar koil Suryanar

Kethu Gerugambakkam Neelakanteshwarar Koil Ketu sthalam

Budhan Mercury Kovoor Thirumaeneeswarar koil Budhan sthalam

Rahu Kundrathur Thiru Naageshwarar koil Rahu sthalam/2011/04/naageshwarar-temple-kunrathur.html

Sevvai Mars Vaidheeswaran koil Poonamallee http://drlsravi.blogspot.in/2010/07/vaidhyeeswaran-temple-in-poonamalle.html

A few handy tips from wikipedia about the Navagrahas

Character	Guru (Jupiter)	Shukra (Venus)	Shani (Saturn)	Rahu (north node)	Ketu (south node)
Consort	Tara	Sukirthi & Urjaswathi	Neeladevi	Simhi	Chitralekha
Color	Gold	White/Yellow	Black/Blue	Smoky	Smoky
Gender Associated	Male	Female	Neutral	Female	Neutral
Element	Ether	Water	Air	Air	Earth
God	Indra	Indrani	Brahma	Nirriti	Ganesha
Pratyadi Devataa	Brahma	Indra	Yama	Durga	Chitragupta
Metal	Gold	Silver	Iron	Lead	Mercury
Gemstone	Yellow Sapphire	Diamond	Blue Sapphire	Hessonite	Cat's Eye
Body Part	Brain	Semen	Muscles	-	-
Taste	Sweet	Sour	Astringent	-	-
Food	Chickpea	kidney beans	Sesame	Urad (bean)	Horse gram
Season	Winter	Spring	All Seasons	-	-
Direction	North East	South East	West	South West	-
Day	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	-	-

Character	Surya (sun)	Chandra (Moon)	Mangala (Mars)	Budha (Mercury)
Consort	Suvarna & Chaaya	Rohini	Shaktidevi	Ila
Color	Copper	White	Red	Green
Gender Associated	Male	Male	Male	Neutral
Element	Fire	Water	Fire	Earth
God	Agni	Varuna	Subramanya	Vishnu
Pratyadi Devataa	Rudra	Gowri	Murugan	Vishnu
Metal	Copper	Silver	Brass	Zinc
Gemstone	Ruby	Pearl/Moonstone	Red Coral	Emerald
Body Part	Bone	Blood	Marrow	Skin
Taste	Pungent	Salt	Acid	Mixed
Food	Wheat	Rice	Pigeon pea	Mung bean
Season	Summer	Winter	Summer	Autumn
Direction	East	North West	South	North
Day	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday

Kanchi mutt periyavaal adhishtanams blogs

Given below are the links to the blog pages of the various known adhishtanams of the periyavaals of the Shri Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, Click on the link to visit the blogs concerned.

Acharya	Related blog page link
2 3 68 69	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2018/05/adhishtanams-in-kanchi-mutt.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2018/04/adhishtanam-of-shrijayendra-saraswathi.html
11 13 16 37 46 54	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2014/06/adhishtanam-of-12-th-kanchi-acharya-sri.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2016/08/sri-meenakshi-sundareshwarar-koil.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2012/05/pandrethan-shiva-temple-srinagar-j-k.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2013/09/sri-bhuvarahaswamy-temple-srimushnam.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2014/04/sri-sundareshwarar-sabhai-tiruvannamalai.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2012/10/sri-nallinaikeshwarar-temple-ezhichur.html
55, 61	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2010/06/adhishtanams-in-thiruvotriyur-chennai.html
57 ,  59	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2017/03/adhishtanams-of-kanchi-seers-sri.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2010/06/thiruvenkadu-and-govindapuram.html
58	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2010/06/vizhupuram-and-vadavambalam.html
60  62,63,64	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2011/12/adhishtanams-of-kanchi-seers-keezhambi.html https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-kanchi-mutt-kumbakonam.html
65	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2010/06/adhishtanam-at-elayathangudi.html
66,67	https://drlsravi.blogspot.com/2010/06/adhishtanams-at-kalavai.html

Sri Nallinaikeshwarar temple Ezhichur- Adhishtanam of Shri Vyasachala Mahadevendra saraswathi the 54th pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti peetam

I had read a lot about this temple being 1200 years old and being rebuilt after 1948. The kumbabishekam was performed in June 2012 . This is in addition the jeeva samadhi adhishtanam of Shri Sri Vyasachala Mahadevendra Saraswati the 54 th  Pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti peetam.
(Pic taken from the official website of the kamakoti peetam)
Today we went visiting this temple which was very peaceful and easily accessible from Chennai. It is about 55 kms from Chennai near oragadam.
How to reach:
Ezhichur is close to oragadam near Sriperumbudur.
1) from Chennai proceed on GST road after Perungalathur take the first  over bridge  turn right towards Wallajahbad.This is a six lane highway that goes all the way to Oragadam. Near the Renault factory over bridge you will see the road from Sriperumbudur joining. Proceed straight and then in about half a KM  take the  first small road to the left to Ezhichur . This can easily be missed. There is a provision store and bus stop on the main road. If you cross this the next building is the Maha meru peetam. So make sure you do not miss this peetam. On the left road proceed for about 2 kms and you will see a left turning cement paved road which leads you to the Temple.
2) On the Chennai Bangalore highway ,In Sriperumbudur  Just after The Rajiv Gandhi memorial there is a road to left 6 lane which leads to Oragadam. This will meet the oragadam KOOT road turn right here and take the first left to Ezhichur

Legends and History of the temple:
The temple has been in existence since a very long time. It was initially built by The Cholas and later when the Vijayanagara kings were in power the temple Ezhichur and Vennagaram were presented to Shri Vyasachala Mahadevendra saraswathy the 54 th pontiff of the Kanchi kamakoti mutt. This has been found recorded on stone edicts which were unearthed during renovation and also in the copper plates in possession of the Kanchi Mutt and also verified recently by the ASI.
The temple tank is called Surya Pushkarani and was built  by Lord Surya when he came to worship shiva here
The Temple also houses the Adhishtanam of Sri Vyasachala Mahadevendra Saraswati the 54 th  Pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti peetam.
The hereditary trustee Mr..Ramamurthy said there were almost 31 samadhis in the Temple premises which are still to be unearthed properly.
For more details visit http://www.dharsanam.com/2008/03/ezhuchur-sri-nallinakkeeswarar.html.
As you enter the compound there is a vinayaka temple on the right  called Vazhithunai vinayakar
In front of this shrine is the unique Rajo guna Nandhi

The uniqueness of the Nandhi is that he has blunt horns ,sharp ears and is supposed to be in Yogic meditation. He is chanting the Om namashivaya and Listening to Gayathri manthra here. The Idol is beautifully carved with shawl,Bells around the neck, Rudraksha mala and the Nose rope  with the tongue licking the right Nostril. You can see the right back hoof and the tail curled from beneath the Nandi on to the left side . So three hoofs are seen .
( picture from http://www.dharsanam.com/2008/03/ezhuchur-sri-nallinakkeeswarar.html)
The main sanctorum houses a huge Shiva lingam with a massive avudiar . The lingam is about 5 feet . The Hall also houses sannidhis for Murugan and Deivambikai ambal . Murugan faces north and Ambal faces south seen on the right below.
There are many sthala vrukshas here. The main are the Azhinjal tree or the angora tree see my blog for further details (http://drlsravi.blogspot.in/2012/05/sri-nooreteashwarar-koil-chinnakavanam.html)


The Palmyra tree and the Arasa maram  which is usually the seat for Dakshinamurthy


This palm tree behind the adhishtanam of shri Vyasachala mahadevendra saraswathy shows a palm  tree which will not grow taller than the temple  as seen in the last 3 generations as per Shri.Ramamurthy trustee.
There is a Vilva tree also behind.
The Sides of the garba gruha have the usual Narthana ganapathy and Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu and Brahma and Durga as the Koshta vigrahas.
The South east corner has a Vinayaka temple
and between this and the main temple is
the adhishtanam where in there is  Chandramouleeshwara
There is also a separate sannidhi for Vallalar seen on the southern side


It is a very peaceful temple with lots of antiquity. For details contact
Shri Ramamurthy Hereditary trustee Cell No:+919442555187
for more details and for supporting the temple and activities please visit the official  site of the temple here
http://www.srinallinekeswarartrust.com/

From the Kanchi calender 2018

54. Sri Vyasachala Mahadevendra Saraswati
1498 - 1507 A.D.
आचाय - 54 - ासाचलमहादेवेः
काीकामेराया ··· िसिम ् ॥ १०७ ॥
अयमनवर ··· साचलम ् ॥
Born as the son of Kāmeśvara and Kamalāmbā
of Kāñci, the one named Kupanna who having
received the initiation and preceptor-ship with the
name Mahādeva, conducted the lectures on Bhāṣya
ably for twenty-one times in nine years rejoicingly,
attained siddhi on the pratipad of black fortnight in
the month of Āṣāḍha of the year Akṣaya.
As he stayed ever in the Vyāsācala, he is known as
Vyāsācala and the author of Vyāsācaliya and other
works. He attained siddhi in Vyāsācala.

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