Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 7 (concluding part)

Day 9

In the morning, we finished our ablutions and left for Pazhani (another of the 6 most important temples dedicated to Lord Muruga). The drive was smooth through well maintained highways, and we reached by around 10 a.m. The weather was pleasant – neither too hot nor cold. After breakfast at a restaurant located near the steps leading to the temple, we reached the main entry point to climb the hill. The temple, built around 2^nd & 5^th Century CE by the Cheraas, is located on the top of the Hill. One must climb 400 odd steps to reach the temple of Lord Muruga (known here as Dhandayuthapani).

Lord Dhandayuthaapani

As per Hindu mythology, this hillock was carried from Mount Kailas by Idumban (one of the devotees of Lord Muruga and a guardian of His temples) under the orders of Sage Agasthaya. Once Sage Narada visited Kailas and presented the Gynana-pazham (fruit of knowledge) to Lord Shiva who in turn announced that He will award it to whichever of His two sons who first circumambulates the whole world thrice. Lord Muruga, eager to win the prize, immediately climbed on His mount (The Peacock) and set out on the journey. His brother Lord Ganesh, who had the slow moving Mouse as his mount, introspected and decided that the whole world is within His parents (Lord Shiva and Parvati) and therefore, went around them thrice thereby winning the fruit of knowledge. Muruga, who is the presiding deity over the planet of action Mars, felt upset over this and chose to leave His home and reside in the Pazhani hilltop as a hermit and continues to live there even today. The idol of Muruga here is made out of nine herbs (known as Navapashanam) and is believed to have been consecrated by a Siddha purusha called as Sage Bogar. The idol is unique and beautiful where an emanciated Lord Muruga stands alone with a stick in His right hand, as is carried by ascetics. The idol has properties of curing most deadly of ailments if one consumes the abhishekam theertham.

Instead of climbing the steps, we decided to take the elephant route which does not have many steps. It is more of a gradual ascent. The route to the temple was scenic as we could get the glimpse of the town from the elevation. We could not take any pictures as cameras / mobile phones are forbidden to be taken up to the temple. After we reached the temple, we got special VIP ticket and, after a short wait, we were escorted directly to the sanctum. We sat there and witnessed the abhishekam of the Lord which was a very emotional moment for all of us. To see this form of the deity bereft of any alankaram is a blessing indeed and it will forever be etched in our minds.

Tiruparangundram

After darshan, we came out and I did my afternoon prayers outside the temple. After this we descended and reached down by around 1 p.m. We had some coconut water to quench our thirst as it was very warm by then. We then went to another Murugan temple in the town below. This is the Thiruaavinankudi temple which was in existence even before the temple came up on the hill. Besides Murugan, this temple also has shrines for Ganesh, Shiva, Parvati and Shaneeshwara. People generally visit this temple first before climbing the hill. After a quick darshan here, we visited a shop to look for some items to purchase as a memory of this visit. However, we did not buy anything. After reaching Madurai by afternoon, we had had lunch at a North Indian restaurant called Bhagawati Mohans Bhojanalay before proceeding back to our hotel. The food here was excellent and low priced. It was a welcome change to eat North Indian Thali after many days of eating South Indian stuff. We were quite bored of eating dosa / idli / Pongal every day..

Tiruparangundram Temple

After some rest at the hotel and finishing our evening prayers, we visited the last of the 6 important temples of Lord Muruga called Tiruparangundram. This is located within 8 kms from Madurai city itself. This is believed to be the first Houses of Lord Muruga and was built by the Pandyas dynasty in the 6^th century CE. As per Skand Purana, after Lord Muruga killed the demon known as Surapadman at Thiruchendur, He married His consort Devasena (daughter of Lord Indra) here. Lord Muruga is believed to have worshipped His father Lord Shiva here as Parangirinathar. The temple is located and carved out of a rocky hill and is very different from other temples. The whole temple is built inside the rocky mountain and is very warm during day time. The other deities in this temple include Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesh and Durga.

As it was raining in the evening there were very few people at this temple. We could get a comfortable darshan here without waiting in any queue.  After this we drove back to the same restaurant (Gowri Shankar) for dinner and returned to our hotel in the night.

Day 10

The last day of our yatra was also very auspicious. Early in the morning around 6 a.m., we visited the world renowned Madurai Meenakshi temple. It was drizzling in the morning and we got drenched as we had to walk a couple of hundred meters from the drop off point to reach the temple. As arranged by us, we were met at the temple by a priest who is based out of Malaysia but who comes many times each year to this temple. He was kind enough to escort us to the sanctum where we got a darshan without having to wait. He also took us to the Sundareshwarar temple situated within the same premises for a darshan of Lord Shiva. We had excellent darshan at the two temples and then returned to our hotel after having breakfast at Gowri Shankar. Later in the afternoon, we had lunch at Bhagawathy Mohans Bhojanalay where we had lunch the previous day. Then we returned to our hotel for some rest.

In the evening, we checked out of our hotel and proceeded to the airport for our flight back home. The flights were delayed due to unseasonal rains in many parts of India. We were provided with light snacks by the airline due to the delay. After a delay of around 3 hours, we boarded our flight and reached Mumbai late in the night. After this, we returned home in an Uber ending our long blessed yatra during which we covered the six abodes of Lord Muruga, the nine abodes of the Navagraha temples plus many important temples of Tamil Nadu and could also complete out Tula Kaveri snanam.

Hope you enjoyed reading this blog and will be happy to provide any information / help to any of you who want to plan a yatra to any of the places covered by us.

Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 6

Day 7

In the morning after breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel where we stayed, we left for Madurai which was our last halt in this yatra. Our new taxi for this leg of the tour was a Sedan – perfect for 3 passengers plus driver. Madurai is about 200 kms from Trichy. The roads were excellent, and the drive was smooth.

First, we went to Samayapuram Mariamman temple which was 18 kms away. It took us about 30 minutes to reach here through superb roads. The Devi here is a form of Adi Parashakti and is made up of sand and clay with extracts of medicinal herbs. She has a distinct red face and is considered very powerful. People come here to pray for various ailments to get cured and offer mavilakku (a lamp made of rice flour, ghee and jaggery) as well as raw salt & neem. As this is not a traditional stone idol, abhishekams are performed for a small stone statue placed in front of Her. This temple attracts large crowds especially on Sundays, Tuesdays & Fridays and has the largest hundi collections in Tamil Nadu after Pazhani. We took a special darshan queue and could finish our darshan of Devi within 30 minutes. Then we left for Madurai.

After reaching Madurai, we had lunch in a restaurant called Gowri Krishna. This a pure veg place and always very crowded due to their excellent quality of food. We had the regular South Indian platter served on a banana leaf. The food was decent and piping hot. After this, we checked into our hotel called Astoria which was a short 5-minute drive away from this restaurant. This is a decent hotel and worth exploring esp. if you have a vehicle with you. We had some much-needed rest in the afternoon as we were tired after a long drive plus heavy lunch. In the evening, surprisingly it started to pour cats and dogs and we decided to stay in the hotel and relax. The roads quickly got flooded due to poor drainage system plus clogging with plastic bags and garbage. Later in the night, it stopped raining, and we again went to Gowri Krishna, which was very close to our hotel, for dinner which comprised of some snacks followed by hot milk.

Day 8

Pazhamudircholai Temple

We woke up early and left our hotel by 7 a.m. Our first halt was at Pazhamudircholai temple, one of the 6 holy Murugan temple mentioned earlier. This was a 15 km drive from Madurai. As we reached early, there were very few people in the temple. By purchasing a special ticket, we were able to sit in front of the sanctum and witness the morning Abhishekam of the deities – Lord Murugan and His consorts Valli & Devasenai. It was a very satisfying darshan early in the morning and we considered ourselves lucky to be granted this. It is in this temple that the great Tamizh Saint & lady poetess, Avvaiyar, was blessed with the darshan of Lord under a tree. The story goes like this – after travelling a long distance under the hot summer Sun, she stopped under this tree to rest a while. Then a young lad approached her and asked her if he could get for her hot or cool fruits. She scoffed at the idea of hot fruits and told him that cool fruits would suffice. He then gave her some fruits picked from the ground which she blew upon to remove the mud particles stuck to it. So, the lad asked her “Why are you blowing? Are the fruits hot?” Immediately she realised that it was no ordinary boy, and it was the Lord Himself. He blessed Her with His original form before disappearing.

Pazhamudircholai

We spent some time at the temple which has a lot of monkeys in and around it as it is in a dense forest area atop a hill. After this, we drove down to Azhghar Koil which is the abode of Narayana. This is located on the foothills of the Pazhamudircholai Murugan temple. This is a lovely old temple, one of the 108 Divya Desam temples, spread over an area of nearly 2 acres. We had a lovely darshan of the Lord Narayana (known here as Kallazhagar and Sundarabahu Perumal) who is in a standing posture along with His consorts Sridevi & Bhudevi. There are also two large images of Lord Narasimha. The temple also has a unique idol of Chakratazhwar (Sudarshan Chakra) who has a Chakram with 16 hands each hold a weapon. There was one priest here who kindly explained the significance of this Deity and told us that those who worship here don’t need to have any fear of enemies (both external as well as internal). At this temple we also met a person who has quit his corporate life and settled down here to do service to the Lord. He was lamenting that the current generation is more focussed on building personal wealth and there are very few people who are dedicating their lives to protect, preserve and support these grand temples of yore.

Pazhamudicholai

Later we purchased the prasadam from the shop inside the temple and consumed it. It was a thick dosa fried in oil – tasty but very oily. Then we left for Tiruchendur. En route, we stopped at a small restaurant for some breakfast of idlis and tea. We reached Tiruchendur in the afternoon. I found an empty marriage hall to do my afternoon prayers. Then we had lunch at a restaurant. All meals & food items in this town were having onion or garlic. So, we could not get the half-jain (food without onion or garlic) that we were seeking. Then, we took some rest in a shaded area outside the temple waiting for the temple to re-open post afternoon break. As Tiruchendur is situated on the seashore, it was quite breezy, and we did not feel the heat much. Like us there were many yatris who were resting there and there were tea / coffee / snack vendors to cater to the needs of the yatris. We spent our afternoon watching & listening to the peacocks which are available in plenty here.

Tiruchendur Murugan temple is one of the 6 most important abodes of Lord Muruga. It is here that Lord Muruga rested and bathed after conquering and killing an Asura called Surapadma who resided in a fortress in the middle of the ocean. Details of this major battle are given in Skanda Puran written by Ved Vyasa. The most important festival celebrated here  (to mark the above victory) is called Skanda Sashti which occurs for 6 days immediately following Diwali festival. People observe fast during these six days and the seventh day is celebrated with much fervour as it commemorates the wedding of Lord Muruga with Devasena. 

Tiruchendur

We had made prior arrangements with a local priest whom we met at around 4.30 p.m. outside the main gate of the temple. He helped us go straight to the sanctum and get darshan of the deities. Because of his assistance, we could get VIP entrance to all the temples within the complex and come out within an hour. Then, we spent a few minutes at the beach adjoining the temple before proceeding back to Madurai by car. En route, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for some refreshments. I took the opportunity to perform my evening prayers outside the hotel. We reached Madurai late at night and had dinner at Gowri Krishna. After that we returned to our hotel to sleep and rest.

(to be continued...)

Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 5

Day 6

Inside Srirangam Temple

On the morning of Day 6, we woke early to complete our morning ablutions and after this, we proceeded by Rickshaw to Amma Mandapam which is like a ghat constructed on the banks of River Kaveri. There were a lot of people already there – some who had finished their bath, some who were doing their rituals for their ancestors, some who like us were just about to go for the dip in Kaveri. We found that there was hardly much water in the higher riverbank as it is mainly dependent on rainfall. Also, the riverbank near the ghat was little dirty with clothes, bottles, plastic bags etc. strewn around. We had to walk a hundred meters or so in the riverbed to reach a place where Snanam could be done. The ladies had their bath first by taking several dips in the waist deep water. After this, we three gents did our Sankalpam before taking the holy dip in Kaveri River facing the down streaming river. This marked the most important event of this yatra. Tula Kaveri snanam (Having a holy dip in Kaveri in the month of Tula) is considered very auspicious and everyone should try to do this at least once in their lifetimes. After this, we returned to our rooms and had breakfast at the restaurant attached to our hotel. It was a modest spread (pure vegetarian fare) of traditional South Indian snacks like Idli, Vada, Pongal etc. Two members of our group then took a separate car and headed towards Kanchipuram enroute to Chennai.

The remaining three of us then proceeded towards:

Srirangam Temple

Srirangam temple: This is one of the most important Vaishnav temples of India with a special connection to Sri Rama & Ayodhya. The idol here is the same one that was worshipped by the family of Lord Sri Rama since ancient times. When Vibheeshana refused to return to Lanka after the coronation of Sri Rama at Ayodhya, he was persuaded to do so by Sri Rama who also gave him His traditionally worshipped deity to worship. While returning to Lanka in his Pushpaka Vimana, Vibheeshana stopped for his evening prayers at the bank of Kaveri. Once the idol was placed on the ground there, it refused to budge, and no amount of effort could move the idol from there. Reluctantly, surrendering to the will of God, Vibheeshana left it behind and proceeded to Lanka. This temple has been looted and plundered by Islamist invaders several times and the local priests took several pains to save the idol from destruction. It was thanks to their efforts that we can now have a darshan of the same deity that was worshipped by Sri Rama.

Srirangam temple

It was around 10 a.m. when we arrived here after a short drive from our hotel in a rickshaw. It was very warm when we arrived here, and the place was crowded too. We took a special darshan ticket (Rs. 100 per head) to save time. We could have darshan of the Sri Ranganatha Swamy who is in His Anantha Shyanam (lying down) pose within an hour or so from about 8-10 feet. The priest & other officials who are managing the crowd allow you to stand for extra time if you tip them. If the tip is large enough, one is also allowed inside the sanctum. After this we went around the huge temple complex to visit all the smaller temples within its premises. This included the Thayaar temple, Ramanujar temple and Chakrataalwar temple.

It was very hot in the afternoon and we were famished, hungry and thirsty. Based on someone's recommendation, we went to a nearby mess called the Sri Raghavendra Annapoorni Mess where we had a lovely sattvic lunch served on a banana leaf. While the food was just like home made and very tasty and wholesome, it was priced only about Rs. 100 or so per person. We then we returned to our rooms for some rest. Later in the afternoon, we visited the following temples:

Tiruvanaikavu temple

Tiruvanaikavu temple: This was located close to our hotel (about 750 meters) and so we walked down. This is one of the famous Panch bhoota Shiva temple which has the element of Jalam (the other temples being Ekambareshwar temple of Kanchi signifying the Bhoomi, the Nataraja temple of Chidambaram signifying Akasha, Sri Kalahastheeshwar temple of Kalahasthi signifying Vayu and Arunachaleshwar temple of Thiruvannamalai signifying Agni). This is another huge temple which was sparsely crowded as it was early afternoon. Usually, the Shiva lingam here is always covered with water from some underground source. However, this time it was dry as even Kaveri was relatively dry at this time of the year.

Akhilandeshwari Ambal Temple: Situated within the same temple complex is the lovely Akhilandeshwari Devi temple which has a huge idol of Ganeshji facing the main deity from outside the main door. Apparently, this Devi was in an angry mood and anyone who used to come to worship Her used to get affected by it. As recommended by Maha Periyavaa, Sri Chandrasekhar Saraswati of Kanchi, the idol of Ganeshji was installed in front of Her so that She could see Him as soon as the main door was opened. This pleased Her and She became benevolent toward all worshippers thereafter.

View from Uchhi Pillayar Temple

After this, we visited the Uchhi pillayar temple (also called the rock fort temple) of Lord Ganesh situated on the top of a rocky hill. This is in the main town of Trichy which we had to reach by crossing over a bridge over the river Kaveri. This is a 7^th century temple which can be reached by climbing 400 steps. On the way up, one can also visit the Taiumaanavar Shiva temple. This has a legend where Lord Shiva took the form of a mother to take care of the child of one of His bhaktas. The main Ganesh temple is small and has a distinctly beautiful Ganesh idol who is fully covered with sandal paste. From this temple, one can get a nice view of the town and also be able to see the Srirangam temple gopuram.  While we climbed down it rained for some time. We then had dinner in a restaurant (Vasant Bhavan) at the foot of the hill and then took a rickshaw back to our hotel for resting the night.

(to be continued....)

Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 4

The ideal time to visit Tamil Nadu is December to February. We had done this yatra in the last week of Oct, 23 and first week of Nov, 23. We chose this time as Tula Snanam (the main purpose of our yatra) is done during this period. The weather during our yatra was reasonably pleasant throughout with a few showers occasionally. Luckily for us the afternoons were also not very hot while the mornings and evenings were very nice. 

Day 5

Sarangapani Koil

In the morning, we decided to cover local temples at Kumbakonam which is rightly called as the temple city with its lovely & grand temples in every nook and corner. One needs a week to 10 days to visit all the temples in this city. Due to paucity of time, we only covered the following temples which were located within a 2 km radius from our hotel and hence easy to reach. Luckily none of these temples were crowded and we could have a peaceful comfortable darshan everywhere. Each of the temples we visited were majestic and large sized with proper layouts and architecture. I am unable to go into details due to lack of time and it is impossible to really understand the beauty of ancient temples of Tamil Nadu unless one sees it with one’s own eyes.

Some of the temples covered were:

-        Sri Sarangapani Swami Temple : dedicated to Lord Vishnu it is a grand temple but with very few devotees early in the morning when we visited it. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams (holy temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu spread across Bharat Varsha and revered by the 12 poet Saints or Alwars). This temple is located along the banks of River Kaveri. It is here that Goddess Lakshmi was born as Bhargavi, the daughter of Maharishi Brighu. The temple tank is located opposite the Western entrance of the temple.

-       Arulmigu Chakrapani Temple : dedicated to God Vishnu. Here Lord Vishnu is said to have appeared in the form of Sudarshana Chakra to put down the pride of Surya Bhagavan, who subsequently became His devotee. Like Shiva, Lord Chakrapani also has a third eye on His forehead. This is one of the most prominent temples in Kumbakonam.

-      Adi Varaha Perumal Temple : This temple is dedicated to an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He blesses His devotees along with His consort Goddess Ambujavalli. Inside the sanctum, the Adi Varaha Perumal can be seen with His consort Bhoomi Devi on His lap and Adi Seshan can be seen in a standing posture. There is a separate shrine for Goddess Ambujavalli.

-      Kasi Vishwanathar temple : This temple was located bang opposite our hotel. Here Lord Shiva and His consort Goddess Visalakshi are worshipped here. The temple is located in an area of 2 acres and has two Gopurams. The western Gopuram is 70 feet tall. The famous Mahamaham tank is located next to the temple. As per legend, the nine sacred rivers of Bharat varsha worshipped Shiva at Kashi to be absolved of the sins of people who bathe in them. Lord Shiva directed them to bathe in this tank and worship Lord Kumbheshwar to get rid of their sins. Legend also has it that Lord Rama and Lakshmana worshipped Shiva here during their search for Sita.

      Adi Kumbheshwar temple : This is another important Shiva temple which gave the town its name of Kumbakonam. Lord Shiva and His consort Mangalambigai are worshipped here. This temple has 4 Gopurams and the Eastern gopuram is 128 feet tall. It has a 16 pillared hall which has the 27 stars and the 12 zodiacs sculpted in a single stone. The present temple was built in the 9^th century.

-       Arulmigu Ramaswamy Temple : This temple, dedicated to Lord Rama, was built in the 16th Century. It is enshrined within a huge granite wall. The main Gopuram of the temple has five tiers. There are beautiful sculptures depicting various Hindu legends from the various Puranas etc. The main deities sculpted in black granite are quite tall and very beautiful to look at. This is one of the prominent temples of Kumbakonam and a must visit destination.

     Thepperumanallur Shiva Kovil : This temple located about 6 kms away from Kumbakonam became famous when a few years back a snake was observed & recorded doing Shiva puja by carrying a Bilwa leaf and placing it on the Lingam. It is said that this phenomenon occurs regularly especially during eclipse time. Sometimes the snake is also seen lying on top of the Lingam. One of the unique features of this temple is the alankaram / decoration of the Lingam with a large number of rudraksha beads / malas. Recently, they had used more than 10 lakhs of rudraksham beads to decorate the Lingam. Here Lord Shiva is worshipped along with His consort Goddess Vendanthanayaki. It is believed that a single visit to this temple qualifies the devotee for moksham. 

After this we had lunch at our hotel and then took some rest in our rooms. In the evening, we left for Trichy via the following temples. 

Swami Malai : This is one of the 6 most important temples dedicated to Lord Muruga (son of Lord Shiva and Parvati). It this trip we could manage to visit all the 6 temples. Earlier we had visited Tiruttani temple on Day 2 of the trip. This temple is situated about 5 kms from Kumbakonam and is at a height (one must climb about 200 steps to reach the main temple.) It was here that Lord Muruga extolled the meaning of the Pranava Mantra (Aum) to His father Lord Shiva and hence got the name Swaminatha. The temple is said to be in existence since 2^nd Century BC. As it wasn’t much crowded being early afternoon, we could have a quick darshan and leave the place in less than an hour.

Thingaloor Chandran Navagraha temple : This was the last of the Navagraha temples to be visited. Prior to going there, we visited a small village nearby called the Ganapati Agraharam where there is a small quaint Ganesh temple. At the Chandra Navagraha temple, we visited the Shiva temple and then visited the Chandra temple. We prayed for the mental well being and peace of mind for all our family and friends here. After this, on the way to Trichy we visited the following temples.

Thiruvaiyaru Panchanadeeshwarar and Dharmasamvardhini Ambal Koil : These are grand temples for Lord Shiva and Ambal where the famous annual Tyagaraja aaradhanai is held. Thousands of famous Carnatic musicians come here and have a joint concert singing many of the important compositions of Saint Tyagaraja. It was dark when we arrived. The number of Bhaktas were not many and we could get a good darshan of Both Bhagavan Shiva and Devi.

After this, we reached Trichy late in the evening and checked into a hotel called Grand Arcadia. This was a decent hotel but not as grand as Rayas Grand at Trichy. Rooms were compact and service was average. After checking in, we drove to a nearby restaurant for dinner before retiring for the night. We also signed off our car that we had used all these days because in the next leg of the journey our group of 5 was splitting and heading in different directions.

Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 3

Day 4

After a refreshing sleep in one of the best hotels of the trip (Rayas Grand, Kumbakonam), we woke up and after our morning rituals, came down for a sumptuous breakfast in the restaurant attached to our hotel. After this, we left for visiting nearby Navagraha temples as follows:

- The first destination was Suriyanar Koil Navagraha temple which was about 16 kms away. It took us about 45 minutes to reach the temple dedicated to Lord Sun. The main deity is Shiva and Lord Surya along with His consorts Usha Devi and Pratyusha Devi are within the temple complex. People visit this 11^th century temple to improve their health and prosperity as also to get relief from any afflictions caused by this planet. This temple also has separate small shrines for the other eight planetary deities. After worshipping here, we proceeded to our next destination. 

- The temple of Agnishwarar (Shiva) is situated very close to the previous temple (3 kms) at a place called Kanchanur. This temple is also one of the Navagraha temples with Sukra (Venus) as the planetary deity who is believed to be within the stomach of the idol of Shiva. We prayed to Lord Shiva and to Lord Shukra to be blessed with their grace and to be rid of afflictions, if any. The temple complex is big and has a small goshala within the complex where we could feed the cows. After this, we proceeded to our next destination.

- We had to cover about 35 kms to reach Alangudi to visit the Guru temple situated there. This is a holy place surrounded by 3 rivers – Kaveri, Kolidam and Vennaru. Lord Shiva here is known as Apatsahayeshwarar (One who helps during difficulties) and His consort is known as Elavarkuzhali. The temple is big (about 2 acres) and is holy as many of the Saivite Saints have written and sung about this deity. Guru Bhagavan is in the form of Dakshinamurthy who is worshipped with yellow flowers and blesses His devotees with wisdom, holy company, and the spiritual path.

Cat replacing Nandi? 

After this darshan, we came back to Kumbakonam and had lunch at our hotel. Post that we took a siesta for an hour or so. If the afternoon, we had a cup of coffee to refresh ourselves and shake off sluggishness for the second part of the day.

- In the afternoon, we drove down to the Thirunallar Shaneeshwarer Navagraha temple which was about 35 kms away located in Karaikal which is a part of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. When we arrived, although early it was dark and it started to pour cats and dogs. The rains were so heavy that we could not step out of our vehicle. The roads quickly got flooded due to clogged drains and mini traffic jams started occurring as drivers struggled with the deluge. Luckily, we entered the main street leading to the temple which was entirely covered with concrete canopy at a high level. This ensured that that road was relatively dry, and we could step out of the car. We walked to the temple which was crowded. We had darshan of the main Lingam and the idol of Shaneeshwarar. I also took the opportunity to do my evening prayers at the back of the temple. After spending some time here, we left this place and proceeded back to our hotel in Kumbakonam.

We reached our hotel in time for a quick dinner before retiring to our rooms for the night. This completed day 4 of our yatra.

Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 2

Day 3

Vaitheeshwaran Koil

On the morning of Day 3, we left early for Vaitheeshwaran temple where our co-yatris had booked for abhishekam of all the deities (Lord Shiva, Ambal and Lord Karthikeyan). At that hour there were not many devotees in the temple. We had a lovely darshan of the abhishekam sitting in front of each of the sanctums. We also had darshan of Lord Ganesh and Lord Angarika (Mars - This is one of the Navagraha temples in and around Kumbakonam). Here, Lord Shiva is known as Vaitheeshwaran (which means Lord of Medicines or Doctor). It is believed that people who come here and pray are cured of all illness of the body as well as the mind. Our co-yatri had some rituals to perform like lighting a lamp (made with rice batter) with clarified butter and offering flowers etc. After this, we mixed jaggery, salt and pepper in the temple pond which is the tradition of this temple.

Lighting the ghee lamp

The priest gave us huge amount of prasadam – six small buckets containing medu vadas, lemon rice, tamarind rice, curd rice, salted rice (ven Pongal) and sweet rice (Chakra Pongal). We took all the prasadam to our hotel, packed our bags and then checked out and proceeded towards Chidambaram. Before leaving the hotel, as we had not had any breakfast, we were so hungry that we ate all the vadas from one bucket (approximately 40 vadas between the five of us !!).

Preparation of the lamp

It took us more than an hour to reach Chidambaram although the distance is only about 30 kms. We went straight to the temple where we were met by a known Deekshithar (these are the priests who manage the temple in all aspects). He helped us get a proper darshanam of the Lord and Ambal in the two temples. He also asked us to wait for the afternoon puja after which we would be able to get the darshan of the Chidambaram Rahasyam (CR). Of the pancha butha lingams (Lingams associated with various elements like Water, Earth, Fire, Air and Space), Chidambaram is associated with Akasha or space. There is no Lingam here and all worship is done to the Nataraja idol. The CR is essentially an empty space in the sanctum which is always covered by a curtain and opened only during specific times. In that empty space, one can see a few stings with golden bilwam. The empty space signifies that the Lingam is all encompassing and that the entire Universe is Shiva Himself. We saw the afternoon Abhishekam followed by the aarti accompanied by the sounds of the two large bells of the temple.

Temple Pond VK

We wanted to wait in the temple complex and eat the prasadam collected from VK but we were told that the temple does not allow any devotees to stay in the premises after the noon puja. So, we left the temple and proceeded towards Seergazhi temple. En route, we stopped in the side of the road where we had a good shade of a large tree. There, we ate the prasadam received from VK temple – tamarind rice, lemon rice et all. As we couldn’t finish the prasadam, we gave it away to some labourers on the road who were happy to receive the prasadam.

We reached Seergazhi temple by 3.45 p.m. and as the temple was closed, we waited outside the gate and had lovely fresh coconut water from a vendor outside the temple. At around 4.30 p.m., the temple gates opened, and we went in along with a few other local devotees. The priest took some more time to come and prepare the sanctum for the darshan. This is a huge Shiva temple whose outer walls were very high – approx. 40 feet high. Like all ancient temples of TN, this too has a large area for circumambulation and worship. We had a blissful darshan without any jostling / pushing as there were very few people around at that time. 

Seergazhi Temple outer wall

There are three Shiva temples in three stories here but we couldn’t go to the higher stories as they were closed at that time. There is a huge, beautiful temple pond in the complex. This temple is associated with Saint Gyana Sambandar who was fed milk by Parvati Devi on the banks of the temple tank. After this, this child became a great & eloquent poet who composed innumerable songs about Lord Shiva including the famous Thevaram. Without spending much time here, we proceeded further as we had a long distance to cover after this.

From here, we proceeded towards the famous Thirukadaiyur Shiva temple. It is also known as the Amritaghateshwar – Abirami temple. Although this is a Shiva temple, it also has a Vishnu temple within where one can have darshan of Amrita Narayana and Amrita Valli (Lakshmi). This is one of the holy places of Saivism and legends of Sage Markandeya and Abirami Pattar are associated with this temple. Many people celebrate their Sashtiabdapoorthi (completion of sixty years of age) here.

Temple tank Seergazhi temple

We quickly finished our darshan and proceeded towards the next Navagraha temple in our list - Thiruvengadu Budhan Navagraha temple. This is where the Lord Mercury is worshipped by people by offering white / green coloured clothes. This Lord gives wisdom and helps sharpen the intellect. Like all Navagraha temples in TN, the main Diety is Lord Shiva only. And the planetary Lord will have a smaller sanctum within the complex. Here Lord Shiva is worshipped as Swetharanyeshwar and His consort Parvati is known as Brahmavidyambigai.

Thirukadaiyur Temple

We had a good darshan of the deities and I took the opportunity to do my evening prayers here. After this, we proceeded towards Keezha Perumpallam Ketu Navagraha temple. People affected by Ketu dosham or going through Ketu dasa come here and offer prayers to the Lord to reduce the affliction. Here too Lord Shiva is the main diety and the sanctum of Lord Ketu is within the complex. It was dark when we arrived here. We had a quick darshan of the deities and offered our prayers and prayed for all friends and family to be treated kindly by Ketu. After this, we proceeded towards Kumbakonam.

On the way, we stopped at a good restaurant in Mayiladuthurai called Annamithra. It was on the main road and the food quality was excellent. We reached Kumbakonam around 10 p.m., tired and exhausted. We checked into the Rayas Grand hotel and crashed into the bed for the much-deserved sleep. Thus ended Day 3 of our TN Yatra.

Thirukadaiyur Temple

Thirukadaiyur Temple