It was a Friday and my hectic work had taken its toll on my mind and body.The body is dictated by mind and whenever my mind is overwhelmed my body often wilts. I decided to take a break from the hectic schedule.Reading the legends of temples and its importance then seeing them and coming back and visualizing these unbelievable temples makes my mind serene and fresh.
We select a place and try to see temples connected to this place. Peralam, usually a unheard and unnoticed place is actually a town of utmost importance because 9 siva temples of great magnitude and splendour are connected to this holy place.
Lots of people go to Bangkok ,Singapore etc just for the sake of going.Momentary relaxation is what we get when we see these places.But a visit to our own places of worship reminds us about the rich heritage and culture we Tamilians have.I honestly feel our rich culture and heritage is fabulous and it has been downsized by our self centered politicians.
My brother's son Kumaran an engineering student who has developed keen interest in mythology and history along with my ever reliable attender who is like my brother embarked on a one day trip towards Peralam. After finishing a personal work at Karaikal we reached a place called Peralam which is 24 Kms from Karaikal.On the way one can see Thirunallar a famous temple which needs no introduction.
LALITHAMBIGAI TEMPLE:
Peralam can be accessed from Mayiladuthurai for people who come from Chennai.Peralam is around 30 kms from Mayiladudurai.We had made a little ground work about the visit and we first stopped at a temple called Lalithambigai temple which is at Thirumeyachur,a two km drive from Peralam..This place is on the route from Peralam to Thiruvarur.As soon as you cross Peralam there will be a right cut with a sign board showing the direction to the temple.A three km drive will take you to this historically important temple.
This temple has many specialties.
The origin of Lalitha sagasranamam supposedly came from this temple.
The interesting story goes like this.Two children Arunan and Garudan were born out of eggs given by the lord to a devout parent.One child Arunan took the form of Mohini.Sun god was tempted by the beauty of Mohini and molested her. Mohini @Arunan went and pleaded to Siva who cursed Suryan to become dark.Because of this, the world turned dark.To regain the lost glory god asked him to pray at Thirumeyachur for 7 months.He did as suggested but he did not get his original colour.He started screaming.Parvathi got disturbed by his screamings and was about to curse him.Siva calms Parvathi and as she calms down,Vasini also called Devathais came from the mouth of Lalithambigai.They sung thousand and eight names of the goddess Lalithambigai.
This was told by Haygrever who is the incarnation of Vishnu to Sage Agasthiyar.
The Miracle:
A recent miracle which was supposedly happened here is Lalithambigai had come in the dreams of a devotee from Bangalore and asked her to put Kolusu for her feet.The pious devotee searched for a place where goddess did not have Kolusu(anklet). When she found that at this temple goddess did not have Kolusu she asked the priest that she wants to gift Kolusu to the goddess.But the priests said that there is no place in the feet of goddess to wear the Kolusu. Disappointed she went back to Bangalore.Once again the goddess came in her dream and said there is hole in her feet to put the Kolusu.She came back and requested the priest to check whether a hole is actually present in the feet of the goddess.There was one and the devotee was able to do what goddess had ordered.This event apparently happened in 1999.
In the temple there is also Ilankovil which means we will see two padal petra sthalams.Usually the Ilankoil is destroyed after the Perunkoil is built but here it is still present.
There is also a statue with Siva and Parvathi standing together with Siva calming the goddess.
We finished seeing the temple by around 5.10 pm and from there we went to a place called Thirupampuram which is 6 kms from Lalithambigai temple.Actually lalithambigai and Thirupampuram temples attract good number of devotees.
Kumaran and Annamalai standing in front of Lalithambigai temple
THIRUPAMPURAM:
Thirupampuram is famous because Raaghu and Kethu are present together.The temple has close association with snakes and hence the Sivan here is called as Pampuranathar.No body dies of snake bite here and the story of this temple is as follows. Once Lord Vinayagar was offering prayers to Lord Shiva. At that time the serpent in the neck of the Lord thought that he too is worshipped by Vinayagar. Knowing this Lord Shiva got angry and cursed the serpents to lose all their Shakthi. In order to retrieve it Aadiseshan and other serpents came to earth in one Maha Shiva Rathri and offered prayers to Kudanthai Nageshwarar in the morning, Thirunageshwaram at the noon, Thirupamburam Pambureswarar in the evening and Nagoor Nageshwarar at the night and got the blessings of the Lord.The temple history suggests that snakes are present at this temple and every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday odors of Jasmine and Thazampu are also present. From Thirupampuram, Sirukudi is at a distance of three km. Its a very small temple and Archagar stays near the temple which is an advantage. A old and nice man.
At Sattanathar shrine,Thirupampram,other places where Sattanathar is present are Sirkazhi and
Thalaignairu.From this small hillock one can see the Gopuram of Thiruveezhimizhalai.
SIRUKUDI:
The lord is called as Sutchumunathar or Mangaleshwarar.Siva disappeared from Parvathi playfully. Parvathi came looking for him. She took bath in a pond at this place and took some mud and made a small lingam and for worship.Hence the place is called Sirukudi.Tuesday or Agangaran also had some curse which was rectified at this place.
THIRUVEEZHIMIZHALAI:
A seven Km drive through a narrow path from this place will bring you to a beautiful and archaeologically important temple called Thiruvizhimizhalai.
In olden days this place was full of a plant by name Villi plant from which this place got its name.
Another legend says sandal wood,jack fruit and villi plant all together were called as Veezhi and hence the name.
How to explain Mizhalai then?. A person by name Mizhalai Kurumbar who lived in this place used to offer jack fruit for Shiva daily.Shiva was impressed by his piousness and gave darshan to Mizhalai Kurumbar and hence the name Thiru veezhi mizhalai.
Another legend connected to this place is lord Vishnu once prayed to Shiva to regain his lost chakram from a demon who had stolen it. Shiva asked Vishnu to pray from a place where there was lots of Villli trees.Vishnu found this place and offered 1000 lotuses for Shiva.After offering 999 he could not find one more. To compensate for the same he offered his eye,which is still present in God's feet.
In this place there are two places where god has given Padi kasu in gold form for Sambandar and Thirunavukarasar, to circumvent the famine which had gripped this place in olden times.
Shiva here is called as Mappilai Sami and if unmarried guys pray here, their marraige will get fixed.
Temple as such is huge and has stunning looks.People who love architecture will find this place a treasure trove.
The altar where Thirunavukarasar got Padikasu from God for the poor affected by famine.
SITHALAPATHI@THILATHARPANAPURI@NARAMUGA or ADHIVINAYAGAR TEMPLE:
A place called Anniyur is near Thiruuveezhimizhalai temple but we did not go. Instead we went towards Sithalapathi which is around 9Kms from Thiruveezhimizhalai en route towards Poonthottam. Half a km from Koothanur Saraswathi temple a left cut and another half a km drive will take you to this place.
Before going into the legend of this place let me just brief about Pithru dosham or Thiladharpanam. Pithru dosham occurs if some one has not paid rituals for their dead parents.
Pithru dosha, also occurs if our ancestors had died after commiting lots of sins and if they had died without fullfilment of their desires.
The rituals are usually done on Amavasai days.
It is at this sacred place Rama did Pithru dosham for his father Dasartha raja.When Rama did the ritual with four rice balls for his father all the balls turned into worms.To rectify the same Rama asked fror Shiva's advise who advised him to take bath at Araasalur river and do the ritual at this place .When Rama did as suggested by Shiva the rice balls turned into 4 lingams.
Hence this place is considered an importnant place for people who want to do Pithru dosham.
Dasaratha achieved Moksham because of the rituals Rama did and the belief is the same will occur if a son does the same for his father at this place.
Kasi,Rameshwaram,Srivanjium,Thirivenisangamam,Sithalaathy or Thilatharapanapuri,Thiruvengadu and Gaya are other places where Pithru thosham can be done.
Also at this place Vinayaga had a human face and the vinayaga is callled Naramuga vinayagar or Adhi vinayagar.
I never knew this temple is so important and was very happy and grateful god bought us to this great shrine.
Vinayagar with the face of a man.
AMBAR PERUNKOVIL:
We reached Poonthotam at 8.00 pm, a 6 km drive from Peralam and took a right turn towards Karaikal route. A 4 km drive brings you to Ambar Perunkovil.
A very old and huge temple.
It is one of 78 Mada kovils. The legend of this temple is Brahma was converted to a bird and when he prayed to Shiva,Shiva converted him to Brahma again. hence this temple is called as Brahmapuri.
Very near to this temple there is Ambar makalam but by the time we went there it was closed.There is always next time.
Before I wind up I want to share the knowledge of the meaning of Mada Kovil.There are around 70 Madakovils and almost all of them have been built by Kochengatocholan in second century AD.
In those years Madakovil were built with elevated structure which could not be accessed by elephants.
Kochengatocholan is called so because he had red eyes,the break up being Ko - King. Chengato - Red eye.It just means Red Eyed King. He had red eyes because he was in mothers womb for more than ten months.
From Peralam - Thirumeyachur- Ilankoil- Thirupampuram - Sirukudi - Thiruveezhimizhalai-Anniur - Sithalapathi - Koothanur Saraswathi - Ambar- Ambar makalam ,can be easily covered.It has to be covered exactly in the order which I have mentioned.
All these temples are open from 6am and close by 1 pm.They reopen by 4 pm and close by 8-30 pm.
We select a place and try to see temples connected to this place. Peralam, usually a unheard and unnoticed place is actually a town of utmost importance because 9 siva temples of great magnitude and splendour are connected to this holy place.
Lots of people go to Bangkok ,Singapore etc just for the sake of going.Momentary relaxation is what we get when we see these places.But a visit to our own places of worship reminds us about the rich heritage and culture we Tamilians have.I honestly feel our rich culture and heritage is fabulous and it has been downsized by our self centered politicians.
My brother's son Kumaran an engineering student who has developed keen interest in mythology and history along with my ever reliable attender who is like my brother embarked on a one day trip towards Peralam. After finishing a personal work at Karaikal we reached a place called Peralam which is 24 Kms from Karaikal.On the way one can see Thirunallar a famous temple which needs no introduction.
LALITHAMBIGAI TEMPLE:
Peralam can be accessed from Mayiladuthurai for people who come from Chennai.Peralam is around 30 kms from Mayiladudurai.We had made a little ground work about the visit and we first stopped at a temple called Lalithambigai temple which is at Thirumeyachur,a two km drive from Peralam..This place is on the route from Peralam to Thiruvarur.As soon as you cross Peralam there will be a right cut with a sign board showing the direction to the temple.A three km drive will take you to this historically important temple.
This temple has many specialties.
The origin of Lalitha sagasranamam supposedly came from this temple.
The interesting story goes like this.Two children Arunan and Garudan were born out of eggs given by the lord to a devout parent.One child Arunan took the form of Mohini.Sun god was tempted by the beauty of Mohini and molested her. Mohini @Arunan went and pleaded to Siva who cursed Suryan to become dark.Because of this, the world turned dark.To regain the lost glory god asked him to pray at Thirumeyachur for 7 months.He did as suggested but he did not get his original colour.He started screaming.Parvathi got disturbed by his screamings and was about to curse him.Siva calms Parvathi and as she calms down,Vasini also called Devathais came from the mouth of Lalithambigai.They sung thousand and eight names of the goddess Lalithambigai.
This was told by Haygrever who is the incarnation of Vishnu to Sage Agasthiyar.
The Miracle:
A recent miracle which was supposedly happened here is Lalithambigai had come in the dreams of a devotee from Bangalore and asked her to put Kolusu for her feet.The pious devotee searched for a place where goddess did not have Kolusu(anklet). When she found that at this temple goddess did not have Kolusu she asked the priest that she wants to gift Kolusu to the goddess.But the priests said that there is no place in the feet of goddess to wear the Kolusu. Disappointed she went back to Bangalore.Once again the goddess came in her dream and said there is hole in her feet to put the Kolusu.She came back and requested the priest to check whether a hole is actually present in the feet of the goddess.There was one and the devotee was able to do what goddess had ordered.This event apparently happened in 1999.
In the temple there is also Ilankovil which means we will see two padal petra sthalams.Usually the Ilankoil is destroyed after the Perunkoil is built but here it is still present.
There is also a statue with Siva and Parvathi standing together with Siva calming the goddess.
We finished seeing the temple by around 5.10 pm and from there we went to a place called Thirupampuram which is 6 kms from Lalithambigai temple.Actually lalithambigai and Thirupampuram temples attract good number of devotees.
Kumaran and Annamalai standing in front of Lalithambigai temple
THIRUPAMPURAM:
Thirupampuram is famous because Raaghu and Kethu are present together.The temple has close association with snakes and hence the Sivan here is called as Pampuranathar.No body dies of snake bite here and the story of this temple is as follows. Once Lord Vinayagar was offering prayers to Lord Shiva. At that time the serpent in the neck of the Lord thought that he too is worshipped by Vinayagar. Knowing this Lord Shiva got angry and cursed the serpents to lose all their Shakthi. In order to retrieve it Aadiseshan and other serpents came to earth in one Maha Shiva Rathri and offered prayers to Kudanthai Nageshwarar in the morning, Thirunageshwaram at the noon, Thirupamburam Pambureswarar in the evening and Nagoor Nageshwarar at the night and got the blessings of the Lord.The temple history suggests that snakes are present at this temple and every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday odors of Jasmine and Thazampu are also present. From Thirupampuram, Sirukudi is at a distance of three km. Its a very small temple and Archagar stays near the temple which is an advantage. A old and nice man.
At Sattanathar shrine,Thirupampram,other places where Sattanathar is present are Sirkazhi and
Thalaignairu.From this small hillock one can see the Gopuram of Thiruveezhimizhalai.
SIRUKUDI:
The lord is called as Sutchumunathar or Mangaleshwarar.Siva disappeared from Parvathi playfully. Parvathi came looking for him. She took bath in a pond at this place and took some mud and made a small lingam and for worship.Hence the place is called Sirukudi.Tuesday or Agangaran also had some curse which was rectified at this place.
THIRUVEEZHIMIZHALAI:
A seven Km drive through a narrow path from this place will bring you to a beautiful and archaeologically important temple called Thiruvizhimizhalai.
In olden days this place was full of a plant by name Villi plant from which this place got its name.
Another legend says sandal wood,jack fruit and villi plant all together were called as Veezhi and hence the name.
How to explain Mizhalai then?. A person by name Mizhalai Kurumbar who lived in this place used to offer jack fruit for Shiva daily.Shiva was impressed by his piousness and gave darshan to Mizhalai Kurumbar and hence the name Thiru veezhi mizhalai.
Another legend connected to this place is lord Vishnu once prayed to Shiva to regain his lost chakram from a demon who had stolen it. Shiva asked Vishnu to pray from a place where there was lots of Villli trees.Vishnu found this place and offered 1000 lotuses for Shiva.After offering 999 he could not find one more. To compensate for the same he offered his eye,which is still present in God's feet.
In this place there are two places where god has given Padi kasu in gold form for Sambandar and Thirunavukarasar, to circumvent the famine which had gripped this place in olden times.
Shiva here is called as Mappilai Sami and if unmarried guys pray here, their marraige will get fixed.
Temple as such is huge and has stunning looks.People who love architecture will find this place a treasure trove.
The altar where Thirunavukarasar got Padikasu from God for the poor affected by famine.
SITHALAPATHI@THILATHARPANAPURI@NARAMUGA or ADHIVINAYAGAR TEMPLE:
A place called Anniyur is near Thiruuveezhimizhalai temple but we did not go. Instead we went towards Sithalapathi which is around 9Kms from Thiruveezhimizhalai en route towards Poonthottam. Half a km from Koothanur Saraswathi temple a left cut and another half a km drive will take you to this place.
Before going into the legend of this place let me just brief about Pithru dosham or Thiladharpanam. Pithru dosham occurs if some one has not paid rituals for their dead parents.
Pithru dosha, also occurs if our ancestors had died after commiting lots of sins and if they had died without fullfilment of their desires.
The rituals are usually done on Amavasai days.
It is at this sacred place Rama did Pithru dosham for his father Dasartha raja.When Rama did the ritual with four rice balls for his father all the balls turned into worms.To rectify the same Rama asked fror Shiva's advise who advised him to take bath at Araasalur river and do the ritual at this place .When Rama did as suggested by Shiva the rice balls turned into 4 lingams.
Hence this place is considered an importnant place for people who want to do Pithru dosham.
Dasaratha achieved Moksham because of the rituals Rama did and the belief is the same will occur if a son does the same for his father at this place.
Kasi,Rameshwaram,Srivanjium,Thirivenisangamam,Sithalaathy or Thilatharapanapuri,Thiruvengadu and Gaya are other places where Pithru thosham can be done.
Also at this place Vinayaga had a human face and the vinayaga is callled Naramuga vinayagar or Adhi vinayagar.
I never knew this temple is so important and was very happy and grateful god bought us to this great shrine.
Vinayagar with the face of a man.
AMBAR PERUNKOVIL:
We reached Poonthotam at 8.00 pm, a 6 km drive from Peralam and took a right turn towards Karaikal route. A 4 km drive brings you to Ambar Perunkovil.
A very old and huge temple.
It is one of 78 Mada kovils. The legend of this temple is Brahma was converted to a bird and when he prayed to Shiva,Shiva converted him to Brahma again. hence this temple is called as Brahmapuri.
Very near to this temple there is Ambar makalam but by the time we went there it was closed.There is always next time.
Before I wind up I want to share the knowledge of the meaning of Mada Kovil.There are around 70 Madakovils and almost all of them have been built by Kochengatocholan in second century AD.
In those years Madakovil were built with elevated structure which could not be accessed by elephants.
Kochengatocholan is called so because he had red eyes,the break up being Ko - King. Chengato - Red eye.It just means Red Eyed King. He had red eyes because he was in mothers womb for more than ten months.
All these temples are open from 6am and close by 1 pm.They reopen by 4 pm and close by 8-30 pm.
