Virudhachalam based Sivasthalangal

 Virudhachalam:

After reading about Siva temples which are considered equivalent to Kasi, I decided to see these temples.I zeroed on Virudhachalam .I googled for temples around Virudhachalam and  ended up getting a Potpouuri of Siva temples around Virudachalam.

It was a pleasant Sunday morning and I left Pondicherry by around 6 am and crossed Cuddalore by 6.45 am. You have to take Chidambaram road and after travelling around 5kms a right cut with a sign board directing to Virudhachalam is well visualised. After a rugged road for 5kms the state highway then transforms into a nice road and a pleasant ride of  55kms will take us to Virudhagireswarar. The temple  construction has been in two phases and it is a fascinating story.

Kuberan's daughter while flaunting her array of jewels dropped a erring.The erring was very important for her as she had sentimental attachment to it.The erring was picked by a naughty bird and dropped it on the lap of Vibashista Munivar.The Munivar unaware of the windfall coming his way kept the erring in a safe box.

Kuberan's daughter was peeved at the loss of the erring and she decided to trade  her entire jewellery to get back the erring.On hearing this the Munivar gave the erring  and got the jewellery from Kuberan's daughter.The Munivar sold the jewellery and with the money he got from the jewels he built the temple.This has happened in 7th century. The outer pragarams was built by Sembian Madevi,  a Chozha Princess of 10th century.

The temple is in the banks of river Manimutharu.The river and the temple has an interesting association with the life of Sundarar. Sundarar got 12,000 gold coins from Shiva after  singing songs praising Shiva.When sundarar wanted to take these coins to Thiruvarur, Shiva instructed him to drop the coins in the river.The tide took the coins to Thiruvarur which Sundarar collected from a tank called Kamalayam.

This temple is also called  as Thirumudukundram or Pazha malai.It just means a grand old mountain.

When Brahma wanted to create hills and mountains in the earth, Pazhamalai was omnipresent covering the entire earth.At Brahma's request Shiva made the mountain submerge under the river with only the top being visible.The hill itself is the manifestation of Sivan.

Legends of this temple does not end here,the Vinayagar here is called as Mattru Uraitha Vinayagar and he got the name because he checked the purity of the gold coins Sundarar got from Shiva.

This temple is supposed to be equivalent to Kasi because people who breathe their last here are blessed with god and goddess chanting the Shivaya Nama in the ears of the deceased.

 The temple is quiet,beautiful,well maintained and well attended.

From the inside of the temple.

A serene view of the Gopuram

Pennadam:

Kalikamba Nayanar is a great Saivite. He used to feed Siva bhakthas after washing their feet. His wife used to pour water and Kalikambar used to wash the feet of the Shiva bhakthas.Once a servant who used to work for Kalikambar came in the guise of Shiva bhaktha and sought food.Kalikambar's wife recognised the person and hesitated in pouring water. Kalikambar got angry and severed  his wife' s hand.From here there are two versions. One version says that the servant was Shiva who burnt all of them and took them with him and another version is Shiva appeared and gave the hands to his wife.He then told them that there should be no caste in this world and no discrimination between rich and poor.Every one who embraces Shaivism and becomes a disciple of Shiva are considered equals.

The temple is very peculiar in two aspects. The wall surrounding the sanctum has windows through which the god can be seen from outside.

Nandhi looks in the opposite direction and it does not look towards Shiva and there is an interesting story behind this. We all know Shiva's fury and once in his anger destroyed the entire world with flood.

The entire world was submerged in water except Pennadam.Devas came to this place and asked Shiva to protect them and people from the flood.Lord's fury came down and he instructed the Nandhi to turn in the opposite direction to protect the place.Nandhi turned to the opposite side and diverted the flood from entering the place.Hence Shiva here is called as Pralaya Kaleswarar – Lord who protected the world.  He destroyed as well as  protected.

Stories behind this place does not end here.There is another interesting story -Why this place is called Pennadam?

Indira has the habit of worshiping Shiva with lots of flowers and one day he could not find enough flowers to do the puja.He sent two beautiful women,Devathais to Pennadam to collect flowers.The Devathais found beautiful Lingam at this place and they stayed back doing poojas for the Lingam.Indiran was worried and now  sent Kamadhenu(cow) to find out the Devathais. Kamadhenu found the girls but it got fascinated by the beautiful lingam and started to give its milk to the puja of Shiva.

Indiran after waiting for a while sent his elephant to fetch the Deva Kannigais and Kamadenu. The elephant after seeing the  pooja protected the lingam from the sun by covering the lingam between the four legs. Finally Indiran himself came down in search of the missing and when he saw what's happening he also joined the Seva.Shiva blessed all of them.Hence the name Pennadam.

I just mutered, amusing stories and a must see temple for Hindus.

To reach Pennadam one has start from Virudhachalam and proceed towards Thitagudi road.It is 19 kms from Virudhachalam.

Windows surrounding the Moolavar through which God can be seen

A look from a small hillock inside the temple where there is a big Lingam

Nandhi looking outside and guarding the temple from flood

Thirunelvayalarathurai:

To reach Thirunelvayalarathurai, proceed towards Thitakudi road from Pennadam and after 10 kms there will be a small left cut and a drive of another 4kms will bring you to this small village called Thirunelvayalarathurai.

A small temple which has been recently renovated.

This temple is associated with Sambandar. Sambandar while visiting temples near Cauvery river became very hungry.He was provided food by goddess and hence she bears the name Anna (food)purani.While eating Sambandar had hiccoughs and Shiva made a pond from where he can drink water so that his hiccoughs as well as thirst will be quenched.

Sambandar was a child and  used to walk by foot to see all the Shiva temples.Shiva and Parvathi could not stand Sambandar walking and they came in the dream of a rich landlord and asked him to donate a Palanquin(seevigai)for Sambandar.The same dream came for Sambandar also.Next day morning the richman got blessings from Sambandar and gave the Pallaku(Palanquin) to Sambandar.

These are two true associations between Sambandar, Shiva and this place. 

When I finished seeing this place I could not help feeling jealous of Sambandar. As I entered the car this feeling of jealousness also opened my mind to a new vista.

Difference between Sambandar and ordinary people like me.

Sambandar would have never had those silly thoughts like jealousy.That is why he was near god or god personified.

Recently renovated temple

A majestic look of the Gopuram from outside

Rajendirapattinam or Erukathampuliyur:

After travelling back in the same road for another 5 kms via Karuvapillaikuruchi,you have to hit the route which takes to Srimushnam.A 6 km drive will take you to this desolated temple.The ambience was serene.There were no one near and around the temple.The temple was closed and there was a huge pond in front of the temple.A small boy was taking bath and I asked him about the priest.He told me that the priest lives in the house which was  few meters distance from the temple.It was a small hut and staying outside I asked for the priest.His wife came out and told that the priest had gone to Virudhachallam. She was kind enough to send his 12 year old son who was playing cricket to open the temple.Nice mother and nice son.

Why this place has got two names, Erukathampuliyur and Rajendirapattinam?

Erkku means trees which have no utility value.Once great sages camouflaged as beautiful birds and trees came to this place to worship Shiva.Hunters tried to arrow down the birds and cut the trees.The sages became angry and converted them to Errukku trees so that they are not useful for anyone.

This place is called as Rajendirapaatinam because Raja raja chozhan prayed at this place for the birth of a child and he was blessed by the birth of Rajendrachozhan. Hence this place is also called as Rajendirapattinam. At present this name is well known rather than Erukathampuliur.

Another important story associated with this place is about our angry Murugan.He never stops fighting with his father.Once Shiva admonished Parvathi for not listening with concentration when he was taking class on Vedas.He sent her to earth and cursed her to be born as human being in Bharathava community. Murugan got angry tore the Vedas and picked up a fight with Shiva.Shiva sent him packing to earth and cursed him to be born as as dumb person.Murugan grew up dumb and started visiting Sivasthalangal and when he reached this place he got his speech.

Siva  here was worshipped by his own son and Shiva here is called as Thirukumara Sami.

It  is one of the five Puliyur temples.They are Chidambaram,　Perumpuliyur,　Omamapuliyur,Thirupathipuliur　and Thiruerukathampuliur.
 

Vyagapradar has worshipped in these 5 places.　He is a saint with feet and hands made of tiger's claws.The tamil name of tiger is puli and hence these five places end with the name  Puliur.

This place is also the birth place of Thiruneelakandayazhpannar. He used to accompany Sambandar and play Yaazh while Sambandar sang praising the lord with hymns.

There is a small shrine for him also.I was alone in the temple. Temple was small,had lots of shrubs and weeds which needs to be cleaned.I sat in front of Shiva for few minutes and asked him sir why some of your temples are very famous and while temples like this which are equally important and steeped in heritage is not crowded and not well known.As usual I did not get answers but when I moved out of the temple a gentle breeze swept me like a peacock feather and the feeling I got was Shiva.

The priest contact number is 9976173524.

Front view of the temple

Inside the temple of Rajendirapattinam lots of weeds and shrubs needs to be cleaned

 

Thiruneelakandayaazpaanar

Koodalaiartoor:

This is a small village and to reach this, one has to cross Srimushnam and from there a drive for another 3-4 kms and a  left cut and a travel for another 3 kms will bring us to this temple.

I reached the place by around 2pm and it was closed. The temple is being renovated and the priest stays near by. He opened the temple for me and I was alone in the temple for 15 minutes.The lingam was huge and great to watch as well as worship.

Shiva came in front of Sundarar and asked him to worship him in this place.Some specialities of this temple is there are two Amman sannadhis. There is no worship for Navagraghas here( 9 planets)

Three rivers join here.Manimutharu and Vellaru from earth join with river Saraswathi from heaven.

The contact number of the priest is 9786734652      

Rajagopuram of Koodalaiartoor temple

 

It was an excellent day and I also visited Srimushnam but the temple was closed.

It is important to have the mobile numbers of priests of Koodalaiartoor and Rajendirapattinam.

Hence I have mentioned them in the blog. Priests of these two temples stay near by.

Other temples open between 6-1pm and from 4-8 pm.

From Pondicherry all these 5 temples can be visited in half a days time.By 4 pm I was at home for my evening coffee.

Peralam and Poonthotam based Sivasthalangal

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.

Pandiyanaatu thirpupathigal and Vanathirupathi

A trip to Navathirupathi was in the pipeline for several months and when my father and brother accepted that they are coming the trip materialized.A four day trip was was scheduled and the temples which we thought should be covered were,Pandiya nattu thirupathigal,Madurai meenakshi amman temple and Rameshwaram which we did in 4 days.

Day 1:

At sharp 5.30 am 3 of us started in Ford Fiesta from Pondicherry. At 74 years my father was the first one to get ready and with his blessings and moral support I started driving towards the first destination,Thirumayam.

Thirumayam:

It’s a small town near Pudukottai(20kms) which we reached by ten am after crossing Thiruchi and  Pudukottai.As soon as you enter the town the beautiful mountain welcomes you which is partially under the control of Archeological society of India. There are two temples here for Shiva and Vishnu depicting the truth that both of them are two sides of a coin. A artistic rock cut temple which was closed when we went. There happened to be a death in the street in which the temple was present and hence both the temples were closed. We were upset but there is always next time in life. The legend says that Adhiseshan destroyed Asuras when they came to attack Vishnu.

Thirumayam fort

Thirukoshtiyur:

An half an hour drive from Thirumayam brings you to a place called Thirupathur.There is one more place by similar name near thiruvannamalai.At the outskirts of this place towards Madurai a left turn and another 15 minutes drive one can come to this lovely and big temple which talks about the unity of Shiva and Vishnu.

To kill eraniyan Shiva,Vishnu and Brahma sat together and discussed the strategy to kill eranian and hence the name Koshtipuram.Lord Vishnu is in Ninra,Iruntha,Kidantha,Kuthadia and Nadantha thirukolangal in this temple as per Kadambha Magarishis request. On the ground,first second,third and fourth floors,he appears as the Dancing Krishnan, sleeping posture, standing posture as Ubendira Narayanaperum, sitting posture as Paramapathanathar and  walking posture respectively. Another legend  of this temple is Thirukoshtiyur is the holy place from where Sri Ramanuja preached the Ashtakshara Maha Mantra Om Namo Narayanana to universe.

There are separate shrines for Brahman and Sivan here which is unique. Uthamar koil at Thiruchi and Susenthiram near kanyakumari are other places in which all three gods are together.After visiting Pilaiyar patti we had a nice lunch at Thirupathur and went to Azhagar koil.

Azhagar koil:

The entrance and a glimpse of beautiful sculptures of kallazhagar koil

 

This temple is 20 kms from Madurai and we reached this temple by coming to a place called Melur.One has to take a right turn at the Thiruchi – Madurai NH and turn to the right and enter Melur town and from there an half an hour drive in a single road will bring us to this nice scenic hill temple.The temple has two entrances out of which one is closed as Karupannasamy guards that entrance. "Kallar" in Tamil means thief. The Perumal  is called with this name because he steals hearts of his devotees with His beauty and the blessings.The legend says some magicians wanted to strip  Kallazhagar of his power. After knowing this, the priest at this temple caught 18 men who wanted to do this.These men were so enticed by the beauty of Azhagar went on to become the security guards of the god Himeself. There was an image of Karrupana Swamy (representing these 18 men) erected at the Eastern entrance of the temple to mark this event. No one lies to Karupannasamy.The temple has excellent sculptures and is a treat to watch. If you drive up the hill there is Pazhamudhircholai an abode of muugan After finishing this temple we went to our room at Madurai, Hotel Chenthoor near the bus stand. We took an hour rest and and hired an auto to visit the other temples.As Madurai is very traffic prone it was a intelligent decision taken by my father and brother.The city indeed was heavily crowded.

              Thirumoghur temple and my brother standing infront of it

 

Thirumoghur:                                                                                                                     

The place got its name as Moghur due to the Mohini avatharam taken by Lord Vishnu to ensure that the devas got mesmerised by his beauty and forgot to take the amrutham that came out of the churning of the ocean. During that time devas drank the amurtham and got back the lost power. It is believed that a drop of amrutham fell into the temple tank and hence it is called as Siriya thirupaarkadal. Chakratalwar with 16 hands and each hand holding a different weapon can be seen at this shrine which is very famous. There is Lord Narasimha behind chakratalwar with shanku chakra. There are 154 alphabets carved in the 6 circles and there are pictures of 48 gods. Chakratalwar is found in Prathyaletha posture that implies that the readiness to help devotees at all times.Lots of devotees pray to chakarathazhwar for help and he supposedly showers them with it. My brother and father bought the Chakarathazhvar endhiram which costed around Rs250.Our auto person was very nice and he took us next to Koodalazhagar temple.

Koodalazhagar temple:

It is right in the heart of the town near Meenakshi Amman temple and the temple was reasonably crowded. Koodal refers to the assemblage of poets and scholars.The sangam poets considered Emperuman as guardian of everything and called him Thiruvarikom and Koodalazhagar.Lord appeared as fish in a drinking utensil in front of  Sathya Varadan, the Pandya king. This is the reason why Pandyas had “Fish” as their symbol in their flags. The presence of Lord Narayana has been glorified by the mystical saints Alwars, by singing their Hymns in the temple. Among them Vishnu Chitta has a unique position. He was invited tothe Pandya court to show the world who was supreme.

The supremacy of Lord Sriman Narayana was established by Vishnu Chitta, by citing extravagantly the Vedic texts in support of his argument. At the end of the argument a purse containing gold coins suspended in a pole, landed down in the hands of Vishnu Chitta, this was considered as a divine acceptance and a miracle.         

                  Vimana sevai with my father at Koodalzhagar temple

The King celebrated this victory by seating Vishnu Chitta on the decorated throne placed on the back of royal elephant. Then accompanied by the Vedic pundits he himself led the procession. Sri Koodal Azhagar appeared before the procession seated on the shoulders of Garuda (the divine vehicle) and blessed Vishnu Chitta. Vishnu chitta has been praised by the Pandyan king as “Pattar piran” while the Lord gave him the name “Periyalwar".

The Vimana sevai of this temple is fantastic as it has three tiers where the god is in standing, sitting and lying position,a treat to watch.

We also saw Meenakshi amman temple and by the time we came to our room it was  9 pm and we were little tired.We ate and then crashed out.

DAY 2:

Srivilliputhur:

We got up at 6.30 am had a nice tea and by 7am we were travelling out of Madurai.We reached Srivilliputhur,74 kms from Madurai,by around 9.30 am and reached Andal temple.There are three shrines here adjacent to each other. It is the birthplace of two of the most important alwars Perialwar and Andal. Narayanan, during his Varaha Avataram, slayed an Asuran called Kalinemi and took rest under the foot of a banyan tree, with his consorts Sri Mahalaxmi and Sri Boomi devi in a place called Shenbagaranyam (meaning beautiful forest, in Tamil.Shenbagaranyam was a small part of large kingdom ruled by a queen Malli. Her sons Villi and Puttan were hunters and these two hunters went to the forest for hunting and spotted a tiger. Puttan chased the tiger while Villi lost track of his brother. After some time, the tiger managed to kill Puttan. Villi came searching for Puttan and, on seeing his dead body, was upset and fainted.During his uncosious state he had a dream in which Sriman Narayanan and his consort appeared and said "O, Villi do not grieve,we will get back your brother's life." He mentioned his previous appearance as Vatapatrasayi in Sayana Thirukolam under the foot of the banyan tree and said that there was a cave near a huge banyan tree where his moorthy (statue) had been lying for a long time. There were also lots of gold coins and jewels near the cave. He instructed Villi to use the money to deforest the place and build a village with a temple after installing the statue in the temple.

Father and brother in front of Andal temple

Villi woke up to find his brother Puttan alive and he narrated his dream to the born again Puttan. He then built a small town and a temple by installing the statue of the Lord and thus the Vatapatrasayi temple was built. After a forest full of snake mounds was converted into a town by Villi it came to be known as Villiputhoor. Later with the advent of Sri Andal it got the name Srivilliputtur.
Andal got married to Vishnu here and andal’s bith place is between the two shrines.
Palkova is very famous here and don’t forget to buy some.

Thiruthankal:

From Srivilliputur one has to take a left at the outskirts of the town towards Sivakasi.Just before Sivakasi a left turn and a drive of approximately 4 kms one enters this small town and the temple is in a small hill were the Perumal is called as Ninra narayanan.As Sridevi stayed back at this place after making penance towards Narayanan this place is called as Thiruthankal.

Standing infront of Thiruthankal

A small and beautiful temple whose structure reminded of koviladi temple as mentioned by my brother.

Thirukurungudi:

By around eleven am we had finished these two divya desams and then we took the national highway towards Thirunelveli.One does not need to enter Sivakasi town and we have to take the bye pass and the roads are simply superb.A double lane road helps you to swallow kilometers at ease and 120 and plus kms can be done easily in two hours.After crossing Thirunelveli (bye pass)we come to a place called Nanguneri.A right cut just before Nanguneri takes you to Thirukurungudi.This temple is around 12 kms from this place.After , 4kms drive a left cut will suddenly take you to a glimpse of beautiful mountains and a whiff of fresh air.A eight kms drive will bring you to the foot steps of Nambi temple as it is called here.There are 5 nambhis here.Ninra,Amarntha and Kidantha nambhis are at the main temple.Malaimel nambhi and Thiruparkadal nambhi are at separate shrines.
To go to Malaimel nambhi one has to either walk up a eight km hill or travel by jeep.We took the jeep and the journey was tough and exasperating,but it was thrilling.There are hardly roads and the jeep drivers are very experienced enough to climb up the mountain with great ease.Walking would be the best option.After reaching the hill there is a small bridge to walk and then few steps to tread will take you to Malai mel nambi perumal.The temple closes by 5pm and there is a river and a waterfall.When we went there was no waterfall but there was a small creek.We did not take bath as it was crowded. The entire place was polluted because of the crowd but the place was scenic and beautiful.We then came down and visited the main temple and saw the beautiful nambis and then saw Thiruparkadal nimbi a small perumal but enormously beautiful.

The fascinating hill drive:

Malai Mel Nambhi temple and all three of us physicaly tired but heart full of happiness.

Thirukurungudi is the holy soil that gave birth to Nammazhwar. Hiranyatchaka  attempted to take the planet under the sea and Vishnu restored the earth by appearing as a swine with a nosy horn and lifting the earth from the sea. Thirukurungudi is a very ancient village referred in Varaha Puranam and Brahmanda Puranam. Kaisika Puranam is within Varaha Puranam and was narrated by Varaha Nainar (Third incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu) to Sri Bhoomi Devi. Nampaduvan (Madangar) was a great devotee of Lord Nambi, though he was born in a very low class society. He used to sing in praise of the Lord Nambi. One day, on Sukla Ekadasi night in the month of Karthigai (Vrichika masam), he was going to Temple crossing through a dense forest. He was encountered by a Brahma Rakshas (Demon) who was hungry for many days. On seeing Nampaduvan, Brahma Rakshas was very happy and told him that he wanted to eat him immediately. Nampaduvan was not terrified, but told Brahma Rakshas that he would finish his duty first, that is to sing in praise of Lord Nambi and would return without fail. Nampaduvan made many promises, but Rakshas was adamant. Ultimately Nampaduvan had made a promise that if he did not return, he would get the sin of those who equate Lord Maha Vishnu with other deities. On hearing this promise Brahma Rakshas was very much satisfied and allowed Nampaduvan to do his duty and return. After singing in praise of the Lord Nambi in the Ragam  Kaisikam, Nampaduvan was returning to see Rakshas. On the way Lord Nambi in the guise of an old man stopped Nampaduvan and asked him where he was going. Nampaduvan told the truth. The old man advised him to escape in some other route and not to get in the clutches of Rakshas. But Nampaduvan reiterated that he would not deviate from his promise. The old man showed his original image (Lord Nambi) and blessed Nampaduvan.

                                         
                                      Thirukurungdi temple

Then Nampaduvan went to Rakshas and offered himself to be eaten by Rakshas. Rakshas was very much moved by the behaviour of Nampaduvan and told him that his hunger had vanished and prayed him to give the fruits of his song sung in the praise of Lord Nambi. Nampaduvan did not budge an inch, but ultimately offered him the fruits of his song since Brahma Rakshas totally surrendered. After obtaining the fruits of the song, the sin of Rakshas disappeared suddenly and he got his original image. He worshiped Nampaduvan and thanked him by saying that he was a Brahmin by name Soma Sarma in his previous birth and because of some irregularities while performing yagna he was cursed to become a Brahma Rakshas and now he had been redeemed by Nampaduvan.
This legend is called Kaisika puranam,in which one can learn the virtues of honesty,sincerity and integrity.After finishing Thirukurungudi which took us around 4 hours we started around 6pm and proceeded towards nanguneri.A small town and we reached there by 6.30pm.

Nanguneri:

The Lord is seated on the throne, with a leg folded and placed on the seat and the other touching the floor, under the canopy of the divine thousand-hooded snake, Aadhi Sesha, flanked by His consorts Sri Devi and Bhooma Devi, as he is seated in Vaikuntham and hence the name Bhooloka Vaikuntham. Legend has it when Asuras Madhu and Kaitapan were killed, their blood spread over the earth and started stinking. Bhooma Devi lost her purity, and she started meditating about Perumal who was pleased with her prayers, and he gave his darshan to her in Vaikunda Vimanam at this place. She was purified by Lord's darshan.
King of Sindhu  was cursed by Kusasana Muni,to become a dog. After taking a dip here the dog attained its original form.
From nanguneri we started at around 7.10pm and we proceeded towards Thiruchendur.As we had decided to stay at Vana thirupathi a new temple constructed by Saravana bhavan owner,we had to take a diversion just before Nazreth and proceed towards a village called Punnai nagar.By the time we reached this place it was 9.30 pm and temple was still open and there was still crowd in the temple.Till we reached this temple it was dark all along and when we reached this place suddenly light were in full bloom and a beautiful marbled temple welcomed us.It was like oasis in the desert.
We checked inside a neat and a classy room at Chendur murugan the only hotel here,but world class.After dinner we all slept only to be woken up by suprabatham in the morning which washed away all my driving tiredness.My father and brother appreciated me for booking a room at this place.

Day 3:

Navathirupathi:

These nine temples are called as Navagraghas and no one knows whether the Alwar who sung called him as Nava grahas or whether the temples were made popular by equating them to Navagraghas.Actually I don’t want to enter into this controversy.The nine temples have become famous because it depicts nava graghas and people throng these shrines now for pariharam and only some come for genuine worship and sevas.In fact the new temple vanathirupathi draws more crowds than these historical temples because of systematic marketing.Even EMPERUMAN needs MARKETING.

From our place the closest Navathirupathi was Then thiruperrai,which is Sukran.We had to reach the main road and a 3 km drive brings us to this temple.A small and nice temple.After seeing perumal here we visited thirupugalur a temple for Tuesday which is 3-4 kms from this place and there is a beautiful elephant standing outside the temple.Another two kms drive brings you to Alwar thirunagari a huge temple with brilliant architectural splendor.This is Thursday.There is 4000 years old tree here.
Our next stop was Perungulam Mayakoothan temple, Saniswaran which is around 6 kms from this place.After spending fifteen minutes at this shrine we went to Erattai thiupathi which was supposed to be Raghu and Kethu. Two nice and small temples maintained by TVS group.We then went to a place called Thirupulliangudi enroute to Vaikundam.Here perumal is present as Budhan and two kms from here is Natham where perumal is present as Moon.The same road takes you to Srivaikundam which is Suryan.
All these places are well connected with driving directions and does not require guide.You need  to ask people or the Bhattar who will guide you easily.All the places can be visited within a maximum of 4 hours.If one starts by 7am all places can be visited by 12pm.
I tried to decipher the logic of Navagrahas with Perumal and found none. Now we shall see the legends of these temples.

Sri Vaigundam:

The architecture of Srivaikundam and Its Rajagopuram.

Brahma is said to have lost the creator''s book and to get it he undertook penance on the banks of Taamaraibarani here at Sri Vaikuntam. Lord Vishnu appeared before him and helped him recover the book, containing the secrets relating to creation of the world. Having come from Vaikuntam to help Brahma, this place came to be called ‘Sri Vaikuntam’. As a thanking gesture, it is believed Brahma himself leads the festival for the Lord in the Tamil Calendar month of Chitrai. A thief, Kaladooshan, would pray before the Lord here before venturing out on his daily task. It was his practice at the end of each day to share half his earnings with the Lord. As had to happen, he was caught by the guards of the king during one of his outings and was to be brought before the king.Coming to his rescue, Lord Vishnu, disguised as the thief, presented himself before the King to save the thief and pleaded that he had turned a thief to help share wealth with the people of the region, which the king had failed to do.
Realising his folly, the king thanked the ‘thief’ for opening his eyes and promised to distribute the wealth of his kingdom for the welfare of the people. Having disguised himself as a thief to help save the thief from punishment, the Lord here came to be called ‘KallaPiran’.In Vishnu temples, Adiseshan, the Serpent God, is seen unfurling his hood over Vishnu in a reclining posture. This is the only Divya Desam where Adiseshan has his hood above the Standing Lord.

Alwar Thirunagari story:

The beautiful architectural was constructed in 9th century by Pandyas.(Left)
The holy Tamarind tree - 3000 years old and where Nammalwar had penance for 16 years and here Nadhamuni got Nalayira Dhivya Prabhandham from Nammalwar.(Right)

3 days before the end of the Rama Avatar, Lord Yama came to meet Rama. Given the timing, Rama asked Lakshmana not to allow anyone inside. Unfortunately for Lakshmana, it turned out that Sage Durvasa chose to meet with Rama. Knowing the sage’s anger and not wanting to be at the receiving end, Lakshmana remained silent and allowed him entry. As he stood still like a tree and did not stop the Sage from coming in, as instructed by him, Rama pronounced that Lakshmana turn into a tree. Saddened by this, Lakshmana pleaded before Rama that he could never live away from him. Consoling him, Rama said that he himself had to atone for the sin of making Sita stay in the forest and that he would be born as NammAzhvaar and stay ‘still’ for 16 years. During this period, he would sit under the tamarind tree (Lakshmana).He directed Lakshmana to the banks of Tamaraibarani, where he would get transformed into a tree. When born, Nammazhvaar is said to have not opened his eyes or cried. He resided under the tamarind tree within the Aathi Naathan temple for 16 years till he met Madurakavi (who later became his disciple) who posed some interesting questions about life. And that is when NammAzhvaar is said to have spoken for the first time.
So impressed was MaduraKavi (Azhvaar) with Nammazhvaar’s answers, that he said ‘I do not need God, Nammazhvaar is enough’.

                                    Thirulolur temple entrance

 

Thirukolur story:

 

Legend has it that Kubera, the protector of the nine forms of wealth, once went to have a Darshan of Lord Shiva. He is said to have cast an evil eye on Goddess Parvati, who cursed him as a result of which he lost an eye as well as the power of being the protector of the wealth. To be liberated from the curse, Kubera is said to have come down to Thiru Kolur to undertake penance. Lord Vishnu is said to have appeared in a sleeping posture and taken care of the nine forms of wealth from the banks of Tamaraibarani. Hence the Lord is called ‘Vaitha Maa Nidhi’.Another story goes that Dharma Gupta, a brahmin, was in financial distress not being able to even feed his children. He invoked the blessings of his Guru Sage Bharadwaja.The Sage explained to him the reasons for his current state. Dharma Gupta who had been wealthy in his previous birth had become arrogant and did not share his wealth with the poor. The sage asked Dharma Gupta to proceed to Thiru Kolur to undertake penance in front of Vaitha Maa Nidhi Perumal. He is said to recovered his lost wealth at this place.

                              Nice paintings at Then Thiruperai

Then Thiruperai:

Goddess Lakshmi was upset that Lord Vishnu was spending more time with Bhoomadevi and not with her. She shared this grievance with Sage Durvasa and also wanted the same colour and beauty as Bhoomadevi.Durvasa, who then met with Bhoomadevi, was angered at her disregarding his presence and cursed her to take the same form and colour as Sridevi.While undertaking penance at this place on the banks of Tamaraibarani, she found two fish shaped ear rings and offered it to the Lord. The Lord who wore this came to be known as ‘Makara Nedun Kuzhaikathan’. Since Bhoomadevi had taken the form and colour of Sridevi (as a result of the curse), this place came to be called SriPerai/ThiruPerai.

                       My father resting infront of Erattai thirupathi

Erattai thirupathi legend:

As one found a bow and measuring scale, this place came to be called ‘Thulai’ ‘Villi’,thullaivilli mangalam. Thullai and villi  turned into a cute girl and handsome boy. Pleased with Sage Suprabar’s devotion of offering Lotus flowers every day without fail, Lord provided darshan in a standing posture. As he adorned himself with the Lotus flowers, he is referred to as Aravinda Losanar. Belief is that those who offer sincere prayers here with Lotus flowers will be relieved from their sins.

Thirupuliangudi legend:

Lord Vishnu along with his consort Sridevi came down to the banks of Tamaraibarani to spend sometime. Angered at being left out, Bhoomadevi hid herself in the nether world causing darkness everywhere.Reasoning out that she was as dear as Sridevi, Lord Vishnu brought her back from the Nether World and gave darshan here at Pulingudi.A Brahmin undertook penance here at Varagunamangai chanting the ‘Aasana Mantra’. Pleased with his prayers, the Lord provided darshan at this place. As the Brahmin attained moksham as a result of his chanting the ‘Aasana Mantra’, the Lord here came to be referred to as ‘Vijaya Aasana’ Perumal.Another story goes that a fisherman, who had cast a net at this Theertham, was bitten by a snake and immediately attained moksham thus reaching the abode of the Lord.Romasa rishi narrated to his son the story of the fisherman attaining moksham referring to his previous life as a king, who had performed harsh acts and hence had to lead the current life as a fisherman.But sincerity in performing all his duties in this life led him toLord. As he attained moksham here, the theertham at this temple is said to be sacred.

Perungulam,Mayakoothan story:

 

Vedhacharan and Kumudavalli were childless. They bathed in the river here and undertook penance. Pleased with their prayers, Lord Vishnu blessed them with a daughter. The daughter, Kamalavathi, turned out to be no ordinary girl. She desired to marry the Lord himself and to this end, she relentlessly pursued the Lord offering daily prayers. Moved by her sincerity, the Lord appeared before her and asked for her wishes. Delighted at having darshan of the Lord, she said that her mind had not changed and HE was the one that she wanted. Granting her wishes, he accepted her and took her in his chest. It is believed that Lord Vishnu came on his Garuda Vaahanam to defeat Asura Asmachaaran. Having defeated the asura, Vishnu is said to have performed his victory dance standing on the asura’s body. The Devas who watched this 'dancing victory' of Lord Vishnu wanted him to provide darshan here as ‘Maaya Koothan’.

Garuda is next to lord here which is a special status offered to him.

 

Thirupullani:

After finishing Navathirupathi wa came back to Vanathirupathi at around 1pm ate at sarvana bhavan rested for one hour.People who stay at Saravana bhavan hotel are entitiled for special darshan at the temple which we had.This temple had all gods and was crowded.At around 3pm we started towards Rameshwaram.To reach this we have to first catch the Tuticorin –Thiruchendur state highway and then proceed towards Tuticorin.As we near tuticorin we need to take byepass and then there is a right cut.Ask for ECR road which is a great road to travel.Unpolluted,neat and without traffic we were able to reach Thirupullani by around 7pm.The distance was around 170kms and Tirupullani was 5 kms before Ramnathapuram.A right diversion takes you to this shrine.

                        At around dusk infront of Thirupullani temple

It was here that Vibheeshana, the brother of Ravana, came for refuge and surrendered to Lord Raama asking him for help. While the entire Vaanara army looked at Vibheeshana with suspicion it was Hanuman, who with folded hands, expressed his opinion that the Lord should accept Vibheeshana. Hanuman can be seen here, at this temple, in a posture indicating Vibheeshana’s surrender to Rama and to protect him from his brother.
It is here that Rama preached the doctrine of ‘Surrender’ that is applicable even today, several thousands of years after this incident.In Valmeeki’s account of this ‘Surrender to Lord episode’, Raama says, ‘I cannot reject anyone who comes to me for protection. This is my dharma. If Raavana himself came to me I would not reject him. How then can I reject his brother who has done me no wrong.’ Having accepted Vibheeshana, it was here that Lord Rama along with the Vaanara (monkey ) army deliberated ways to cross the sea and orchestrated the way forward plan to Lanka to defeat Ravana.

Spreading Darbha grass (sacred grass used for religious rites) on the banks of River Sethu, Rama undertook a fast addressing Varuna(Sea Lord) and looked to him for a solution to cross the sea. Varuna asked him to build a bridge across the sea with boulders and trees and also promised him to show the best route to build the bridge.
Being the one who undertook a fast, lying on the Darbha grass, Rama here is called Darbha Sayana Ramar. Having defeated the Lankan king, Lord Rama is said to have come back here and performed Pattabhishekham(crowning ceremony). Hence, he is here called ‘PattabhiRamar’.
The bhattar here is business minded and demands 101 rupees for chanting mandira for girls who come here for getting their marriage fixed. When we were there there were 5 girls with their parents and the father asked the bhattar to perform sevai for 6 girls and one was not there.In front of god bhattar told 606 and not 505.We had a nice darshan at this temple,we were able to learn little bit of Ramayana and the importance of SURRENDER.
By 8pm we had finished all 18 thirupathis of pandiya nadu and then we went towards Rameshwaram.
We saw Rameshwaram next day and returned by evening to Pondicherry.

Before I wind  up a few words about Vanathirupathi.The advantage of this temple is from this navathirupathi as well as Thiruchendur is easily accesible.To get to this place one has to take the Tuticorin-Thiruchendur Highway and around 12 kms before Thiruchendur a right cut and 5 kms drive will take you to this nice place.It has no great heritage but the temple has been built beautifully by Saravana Bhavan owner and it is also maintained excellently well.There is a nice Hotel Chenthur Murugan which is also run by the same trust and it is very clean,reasonable and well maintained.The atmosphere is calm and nice and you wake up with suprabhatham.You get the priviledge of special darshanam if you atay at this Hotel.I will recommend this hotel for stay if anyone  wants to visit Navathirupathi and Thiruchendur.
The hotel contact number is 04639235922.The place is called Punnai nagar.

                                The entrance of Vanathirupathi.