SIVA TEMPLES OF CHIDAMBARAM

Chidambaram is cradle of Saivism.Nataraja rules the world from here. We all know Nataraja of Chidambaram but this temple town also has three other beautiful temples visited by the fabulous four.

Shall we start seeing these three temples leaving Nataraja for a later date.

Can any one leave HIM ?

THIRUVETKALAM:

RAJAGOPURAM  AND MY BROTHER

THE HOLY POND

THE HOLY WORD OHM WELCOMING

THE LION -PALLAVA ARCHITECTURE

AGATHIYAR

THE HUNTER AND THE HOUNDED

SIVA AS HUNTER

ALL IS WELL THE FINAL POSTURE TO ARJUNA

NATARAJA

Duryadonan was preparing for the war.He had Karnan in his side and felt fairly comfortable that he will win the war.But that has changed now.Apart from the willy Krishnan who has now sided with Pandavas,Duryadona now heard Arjuna is seeking the Almighty’s blessings.The almighty is none other than Lord Siva.

Arjuna had started a penance at Thiruvetkalam to get Pasupathaendhiram.

Duryadona asked “What is this Pasupathaendhiram”?

“It is a mix of Siva,Sakthi and Adhiparasakthi sir”,answered his minister.

“A lethal comibination of Siva’s mind,Sakthi’s eyes and Adhiparasakthi’s words. Lord Siva may give it in the form an arrow to Arjuna and if he does Arjuna will become very powerful sir”.

“How lethal it is”?

“ It can destroy everything sir” was the chilling answer.

Duryodana was perturbed and he decided to send a demon to disturb Arjuna and stop his penance.

The demon was summoned.

The demon said "I will transform myself to a boar and make sure Arjuna is not able to complete his act”.

“Do and come you will be rewarded" muttered Duryodana.

The boar arrived at Thiruvetkalam.

At the same time lord Siva was getting ready to start his next game.

It was boring for him at Kailash. Parvathi asked him “Where are you going lord”?

“Going to earth”.

“For what”?

“To play and fight with the greatest warrior in earth”.

“You mean Arjuna”?

“Yes”.

“Are you going to give him what he is asking”?

“You can watch from here”.

Lord Siva disguised himself in the form of an hunter.

Lord Siva arrived at Thiruvetkalam.

Arjuna was in deep penance. The boar after a long search had found its target.It was nearing the target. The hunters footsteps made some sound. The boar could hear it and turned its head towards the sound. It saw the hunter and changed the target. The chilling eyes of the boar  pierced the hunter.The boar made a jump towards the new prey.The altercation disturbed Arjuna. He opened his eyes and found the boar attacking the hunter. Being an impulsive warrior he started fighting the boar.

A fight started between Arjuna and the boar.It was a tough relentless fight and Arjuna was getting tired. The boar also did not give up. The hunter was watching the fun.

After all its HIS game.

Siva got bored again. He came near the boar and and gave a lethal penetration with his axe.

The demon died happily because he was touched by the almighty.

Arjuna did not even thank the hunter. He wanted to continue his penance.

“You will not thank me”? questioned Siva.

“Why I should, I would have killed it any how”. “You killed when I was about to finish the boar”.

“No way without me you could not have killed it”.

“Don’t talk nonsense no one can defeat me in this world”.

“You can fight with me and prove you are the best”.

Angered and immature Arjuna hit the hunter on his head.

The mark is indelible and still found on the Linga of this temple.

The hunter just gave a kick to Arjuna which took him for a huge toss.

Arjuna fell at this place, Thiruvetkalam.

Parvathi was watching this and she rushed down.

“What are u doing”? “Why did you hit him like this”?

“Before going to a big war the most important things to learn is patience and the next important thing is respecting elders and to recognise the help of others”.

“I had to teach Arjuna all three”. “Just because he is full of muscle he cannot win a war”.

“Go teach him this”. “I will join u in a moment”.

This fight or lesson happened at Esanporveli (esan – siva – porveli-war place)a small village adjacent to Thiruvetkalam.

Parvathi came to Arjuna’s rescue and taught him what Siva said. The almighty came there and Arjuna fell on his feet.

“Arjuna important virtues are simplicity, respect elders and do away your ego”. “Any one can fall”.

“Yes my lord I understood”.

“You can take this the dreaded Pasupatha endiram”

“Its not important to win a war Arjuna you have to win hearts”.

“You will win the war but Karnan will win everyone’s heart”.

We are here now.

The temple is just adjacent to a sprawling Annamalai university.

Reaching this place is not difficult. Enquire Annamalai and come here.

The temple is serene with “Om” welcoming you.

It’s a mix of Pallava and Chozha architecture.Probably built by Pallavas,  refurbished and renovated by Chozhas.The lions of Pallavas and sculptures of Chozhas are seen here.

The pillars of the temple has engravings of the myth we had discussed.

Lord Suryan and Chandran have a separate shrine here.

Narthana ganapati looks divine and of course the lord is calmness personified. We tried to understand lord Sivas teachings and assimilated it.

Lord is called as Pasupatheswarar and bamboo tree is the holy tree at this place.

This place was called as Moongilvanam in olden days(bamboo forest)

Thirugnanasambandar had come here and praised this place as Nanagaram[Good city} Yes it now has Annamalai university.

Thirukazhipalai:

SMALL ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPLE

NANDHI WITH HIS HEAD TURNED AWA

THE PROTECTORS OF THE TEMPLE

SIX HANDED DURGA - A RARITY

ON THE TOP YOU CAN SEE THE LINGA WITH TWO HALVES AND WHITE

ADHIHARA NANDHI - NANDHI WITH HIS WIFE

Our next stop was the twin temples of Kazhipalai and Sivapuri.

Come back to the main road and the landmark is Rajendras statue.Take a staright road and a drive of 3-4 kms takes us to Sivapuri.

We will now go back  around 1000 years to relive the past.

It could be 1800 years ago.The Mudaliars house was washed away by the torrtential rain. Rain had created havoc at Kollidam. Houses and huts were damaged and people had died. Mudaliar and his family had survived.He was rich and was putting lot of efforts to help people by relocating them in livable areas and was buying food along with like minded people.

His young son asked him “Dad broken white Siva would also have gone in this flood”.

Mudaliar had forgotten the white Siva the protector of this place and world.

The ravage the cyclone and flood had caused  made him forget the revered temple which was near the sea. He held his sons hand and started walking towards Siva.

The villagers asked him “Sir where are you going”?

He answered to see “My siva”. Few villagers understood him and started walking with him.

The temple was trampled by the deluge of water. Few stones were left behind.

You give us life and food, what an irony your temple is now fully damaged.

Lord where are you?

“Dad white siva is here”. He was there at the same place. Rock solid on his pedestal.He was looking more white than the sea water. The kid touched the linga and took him in his hand.

“This has to be touched only by Archagars, we cannot touch it”,shouted mudaliar.

“Dad this is my Siva anyone can touch him, You only taught me about Kannappa nayanmar” was the answer.

Its correct or wrong, I have no opinion.

The kid took it in his hand and covered with the cloth.

“Sir the bairavar is here”. “Dont touch him we will call the archagar to come here and secure the Bairavar”. The villager told him “sir, they all left two days before to Chidambaram fearing the flood”.

Thoughts went across Mudaliars mind he kept quiet.

“We will take him also”.

The two idols were relocated to Siva puri.

Next day the villagers and the Mudaliar decided to build a new temple at Sivapuri.

“Dad why our Siva is broken and looks white you never told me”.

“The holy cows at our place used to give milk whenever they wanted and because of the milk  the soil here is always white”.

“One day sage Kabilar made a Siva lingam from this soil and offered prayers and hence it looks white my child”.

“Why it is in two halves”?

“That’s because a horse had come here and ran over Siva and it became two”. Siva had informed Kabilar to keep the same Sivalinga and make a temple.

“Dad  see so many sufferings for lord Siva, Horse ran over him and now the flood”.

“Yes he teaches us that sufferings are universal and it can come for Him also, Important thing is you should fight and come out of it”.

“I can understand dad”.

“God will not milk you and leave you my son”.

Lord here is called Palvananathar[milk god} and the Bairvar{a form of siva who gives long healthy life}here is famous.

The Archakar was here now. He told us the myth and explained that the Bairavar here is exactly similar to Kasi Bairavar.

He told us the same man had created both the idols.

My brother did not believe him.

We prayed at this beautiful temple and sought Siva’s blessings.

My brother  showed me, “See Siva and Parvathi in marriage attire behind the white idol”.

Yes I could see them.

The myth behind this is shared by Agathianpalli and by some other temples as well.(read kodikarai temples)

There is a Adhikaranandhi{Nandhi with wife} inside and a beautiful Nandhi with its head turned to the right at the entrance.

SIVAPURI:

THE POND BETWEEN THE TWO TEMPLES

TWO BROTHERS ENTERING THE RAJAGOPURAM

MR AND MRS NANDHI HERE TOO

DAKSHINAMOORTHY

LION GUARDING THE TEMPLE

HOLY COW POURING MILK ON LINGA

OORTHAVA THANDAVAM OF SIVA-AWESOME

WAITING FOR FOOD FROM SIVA

FIVE LINGAS OF DESCENDING HEIGHT

SIVA AND HIS CONSORT ON HOLY COW

LINGA ON TOP OF HOLY COW

ANNAMALAIYAR CHISELED OUT

A two hundred metres walk from Kazhipalai brings us to Sivapuri.

A beautiful pond is between the two temples.

Adhikara nandhi welcomes us here also.

Siva here is called as Utchinathar.

My brother asked me do you know “Why he is called Utchinathar”.

I told him” If you say I will know”.

Thirugnanasambandar had to go to Achalpuram for his marriage. The marriage party reached this place at around noon. They had to walk another 20 kms to Achalpuram where his marriage is to be held.

They decided to rest here.

But they were hungry. They did not have food to eat.

Will Siva allow his son to suffer from hunger?

He served the entire entourage and Thirugnanasambandar with food and disappeared.

Thirugnanasambandar sings about this and praises the lord.

“Brother its 8.30 am will lord Siva give me food now. I’m also hungry”, I asked my brother.

My immature question was tackled immediately “You are not his son”.

I recited Sivapuranam and circumambulated the temple and saw the beautiful carvings on the pillars of the wall.

When we walked out of the temple I did not feel hungry.

I believe my father and lord Siva are the same.

We never wanted to leave the place.

All good or bad things have to end. All relationships will be broken, if one party is fragile, turncoat or has found a new partner.

Relationship with god does not snap.

KODIKARAI,PONNIYUN SELVAN AND SIVA TEMPLES

ENTRANCE OF THE SANCTUARY

The word ‘Kodikkarai’ will bring nostalgic recollections of Poonguzhali if one is Ponniyin Selvan’s fan and a nice bird sanctuary if you are nature loving follower of the wild life.

While reading Ponniyin Selvan, one gets into the mix of happenings.  The Novel is an interesting mix of story-telling with fictional characters and true history.  Poonguzhali is a female who has two aspects.  She is brave to the extent she can ride a boat taking Arulmozhivarman @ Rajaraja Cholan and Vendhiyadevan to Sri Lanka at two separate instances.

The other virtue of Poonguzhali is her unflinching  love and loyalty to Arulmozhivarman @ Rajaraja Cholan.  If Poonguzhali is a true character, she is a women of brave stature.

Kodikkarai is called as “POINT CALIMERE” and it can be accessed from Vedaranyam.  There is a security check before we enter the desolate12 KMs stretch.  The stretch is very calm and on either side of the road we were encountered by monkeys as if Hanuman is welcoming us. 

WIND AND OURSELVES AT POINT CALIMERE

THE GIFT OF PARANTHAKA CHOZHAN DILAPIDATED LIGHT HOUSE

DUSTING OF

CURRENT LIGHT  HOUSE

FOLLOWING THE FOO STEPS OF KALKI,ARULMOZHIVARMAN,POONGUZHALI

Kodikkarai has an interesting connection to Ramayana as well.  From Kodikkarai,  Sri Lanka is accessible by a boat or ferry.  Ramar dropped the idea of invading Sri Lanka as accessibility to Kodikkarai will reach the back of the Srilankan king.  He chose sedhu to launch his attack against Ravana so that he can attack him eye to eye.Siva knew Ravana would take on rama anywhere because ravana was  a deep saivite.

There are couple of Guest houses at Kodikkarai.  One is maintained by the Forest Department which is under renovation and the other one is “V.M. Guest house”.  We chose V.M. Guest house and it was a decent accommodation at Kodikkarai.  Kodikkarai is actually a small village. The Sanctuary at Kodikkarai is open till 5.00 PM and it is a home for the endangered black Antelope.  The most interesting aspect of Kodikkarai is the remains of a Light House built by Paranthaka Cholan. Sea, floods and human beings  have destroyed the historical Light House.  I had the pleasure of touching the stone of the ruined light house.We were alone.  The ride to this monument itself is a great experience.  Deers with horns are seen everywhere. We also saw an occasional Peacock.  There were beautiful birds flocking the sea which could have been a treat for Bird watchers.  All I can decipher was the different kinds of birds with different colours with different shapes.  Paranthakacholan, Arulmozhivarman, Poonguzhali would have walked here. We also walked.    As we came out of the Sanctuary, my brother told that the Light House should be renovated and protected.  I did hear it but I felt the presence of Poonguzhali  at that place.

KODIKAZHAGAR TEMPLE

A 2 KM ride towards Vedaranyam brings us  to Kodikizhagar Temple.  This Temple is also a character in Ponniyin Selvan and frequented by Poonguzhali.  We reached the Temple at 5.00 PM and the place was very serene.  Sundarar had come to this Temple along with Seraman  Sundarar has sung ten songs about the Temple.  The Temple is very small but well maintained.  The Sthalavrutcham is ‘Vilvam’.  The peculiarity of this Temple is that the Navagrahas are in straight line. 

NAVAGRAHAS STANDING IN A STRAIGHT LINE

After getting Kodikkarai siva blessings, we went to Ramar Patham.  It is on the right side of the road.   A flight of steps takes us to this Ramar Patham.  It is maintained by Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) but there were no personnel here when we were at that place. There was no one to guide us also.  Monkeys were around in numerous numbers and can easily attack if anyone is alone.  We were scared and we did not have any sticks to threaten the monkeys.

AGATHIAN PALLI:

AGHATHIAN TEMPLE GOPURAM

INSIDE THE TEMPLE

We started our journey towards Vedaranyam.   3 KMs further towards Vedaranyam is Agathian Palli.  The Temple is on the left side and there is a big  Arch which cannot be missed.  No one was there at the Temple except three of us. The fourth person was Siva.  The Swayambulingam[SELF MANIFESTED] was very tall and was emanating spirituality.  We connected to Siva immediately.  My brother and myself sat in front of the omnipotent and paid obeisance with Sivapuranam.  The myth or legend behind this Temple is when Siva had married at Kailash, great sages and all his followers came to Kailash.  The earth tilted towards Kailash.  To counter this effect, Siva sent Agathiar down to South. Agathiar came to Kodikkarai but he did not miss the marriage.Siva and Parvathi gave him, their Darshan at Agathian Palli.  On the  right side there is Amman(female goddess).  She has a very calmly presence and hence called as  Amena Poonguzhali .  If Siva is knowledge like our Father, Parvathi is for love and compassion.  In this materialistic world, for people like us siva is our Father, Parvathi is our Amma. That is the essence of Agathian Palli.  This Temple is called as “Agathiar koil” locally. 

AGATHIARS SEPARATE SHRINE

VEDARANYAM:

THE SACRED DANCE OF THYAGARAJA

Another 10 minutes’ ride, we were at Vedaranyam.  I had been to Vedaranyam before but I was nascent Saivite.    After climbing 2 to 3 steps as Saivite, I wished to visit this place again with my brother and Siva’s blessings.  The Temple is quite big and behind the Sivalingam, we saw Siva and Parvathi standing in" Kalyana Kolam"(Marraige posture).  This Kalyana Kolam is seen in 3 Temples viz., Vedaranyam, Idumbavanam and Thirumaraikadu.  This Temple was built by 4 Vedas when they were in human form viz., Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana viz., four Vedas.  Four Vedas came down to Vedaranyam, built this Temple and worshipped Sivalingam. When Kaliyugam came,the 4 Vedas left the earth after closing the main gate of the Temple.  Since this Temple was worshipped and built by the Vedas, this Temple is called as “Vedaranyam”.  The main door of the Temple was closed till 1200 years before, before Sambandar and Thirunavukkarasar came here.  Seeing the plight of the people to visit the Temple on the side entrance, Thirunavukkarasar sang ten songs pleading Lord Siva to open the door of the main gate.  Miracle happened.  The door,automatically opened.  To close the opened door, Thirugnanasambandar had to sing only one song. On the right side of Siva is Thiyagaraja.  This Temple is also one of the Saptha (7) Vidanga Sthalangal.  Saptha means ‘Seven’ (7).  Vidanga means self-manifested Maragathalingam.  We were lucky to see the Abishegam of this small Greenish Maragathalingam.  I do not know whether I can use the term “Cute” for this small Lingam as Lingam and Siva are always beautiful, cute and pure.  It was enthralling to witness Abishegam of Maragathalingam.

KARAPAGANATHARKULAM

PRISTINE CLEAN INSIDE

THE SACRED POND

Vedaranyam is an important Temple for Saivite. A must visit.  My brother another father to me brought us good food and we started back to Kodikkarai and slept at the Guest House.

Karpaganatharkulam:

          Vanthiya thevan was chasing me when the alarm interrupted my sleep.  It was 5.00 AM and all of us started to get ready for today’s schedule.  We boarded the Duster by 6.00 AM and started towards Karpaganatharkulam.  We travelled back to Vedaranyam and further  one has to take a left turn and hit the Thiruthuraipoondi Highway.  25 KMs’ drive brought us to this place.  A left cut and further down by a KM and a half brought us to this quiet village.  People had just got up for their morning teas and gossips.They were happy to guide us to the Temple.  The Temple was closed but after seeing us the Gate Keeper of the Temple came and opened it.  The Temple had nice marble tiles and was very neat.  Siva was transcending again.  This place is called as "Kadimanam" which means the sand is very hard.  Child prodigy Sambandar had come to this place and had sung 11 songs praising Lord Siva.  The Lingam is hexagonal in shape which is a Divine peculiarity.  Ramar had visited the Temple to get the blessings of Siva before going to Sedhu(rameshwaram).  The Vinayagar here is called as ‘Mangani Vinayagar”. 

Idumbavanam:

From Karpaganatharkulam, Idumbavanam is just 2 KMs away.  Idumbavanam is a bigger Temple and there were people inside as well as outside the Temple.  Three striking things one should not miss at Idumbavanam is “Vellai Vinayagar” (White Vinayagar), Siva and Parvathi behind Sivalingam in Kalyana Kolam and beautiful paintings which are crying for maintainenece. Vinayagar here is made of Sea bubbles and hence he is called as "Vellai Vinayagar".  He is worshipped here with milk and panneer.  The place is also called ‘Pitru Mukthi Sthalam’ which means that if we pray here for our forefathers, their sons will be absolved and they will not be born again.  The place is called as Idumbavanam because Idumban, a rogue King worshipped at this place to convert himself to a nice person.  Siva transformed him into a beautiful man and also gave him good character.  This is the beauty of Siva.  This Temple has excellent paintings on the walls.  My brother is a Civil Engineer,and he was talking about the intricacies and difficulties in making them.Me being a novice in this was able to understand the importance of this aesthetic paintings. The paintingsshould be protected and this art would be a great research interest for an Archaeologist.  After meditating here for some time, we started our journey towards the next Temple Kovilur. 

VELLAI(WHITE)VINAYAGAR

BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS REQUIRING ATTENTION

KOVILUR:

A BOARD EXPLAINING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEMPLE

KODIMARAM AND GOPURAM OF THE TEMPLE

AMMAN(FEMALE GODDESS) AND MY BROTHER

To reach Kovilur from  Idumbavanam, we should drive towards Muthupet.  After a few KMs’ drive, we hit the Highway and just after entering Muthupet, there is a right cut which takes us to this Temple. The Temple has a huge Arch on the left side.  The arch cannot be missed.  A one KM drive  takes us to this Temple.  Sri Ramar, before starting his journey towards Sri Lanka, offered prayer to Siva here.  He also got expert advice from Siva and hence Siva here is called ‘Manthirapureeswarar”.  The Swayambulingam (self-made) here looks white and the reason being offered is few drops of Amirtham fell on the Sivalingam.  Hence it turned white. When  Yama   threw the death cord on Margandeya,he was saved by Siva but the cord had left scars on Margandeya.  These scars were cleaned when Markendaya  took bath at the pond adjoining this Temple.    Tirugnanasambandar has sung songs praying Siva at this Temple.  This place is also called as Thirusthalam.  Sun had just peeped out and taken full effect by now.  We were wiping out our sweat and boarded  the Duster. After taking our breakfast at a road side Motel, our next stop was Tirukalar.

THIRUKALAR:

MAJESTIC NANDHI

THIRUKALAR TEMPLE ENTRANCE

After travelling on the highway around 10 KMs, we had to take a left cut to reach Tirukalar.  Siva here is called as ‘Parijathavaneswarar’.  The Temple is big and it is surrounded by old houses viz., Agraharam.  Kalavi means dance.  Duruvasar wanted to see Bramma dance of Siva.  To fulfil his ambitions, he brought Parijatha flowers and made it as a Tree and installed a Sivalingam under the Tree and started worshipping Siva. The entire place was transformed into a Parijathavanam (Forest).  Siva fulfilled his wish by dancing in front of him.  Here Lord Subramanya is unique because he stands alone without his wives(happy days for muruga also).  By standing alone, he becomes a Guru (Teacher) to 60,000 Sages.  He utters the importance of Namachivaya manthiram.  Tirunavukkarasar and Tirugnanasambandar had visited this Temple. We felt rejuvenated at this Temple and there is an idol of Duruvasar worshipping Siva. 

THIRUKOTTUR:

Our next stop was Thirukottur.  The same road takes us to this small village.6 to 7 KMs ride enables us to reach this temple.  The Temple is inside the village with poor accessibility.  The Temple was closed at 10.30 AM itself. We prayed from outside and I have snaps of the Temple alone.  The Temple looks very old and it needs urgent renovation.  I presume it also requires a dutiful person to keep open the Temple till 12.00 noon. 

Thandalachery "Neer nerinathar" temple:

STONE ENGRAVING OF ARIVATANAYANAR

SIVACHARIAR DISCUSSING ABOUT KOCHENGOTUCHOZHAN

NANDHI WHICH WAS WORSHIPPED BY KOCHENGOTUCHOZHAN

ADHIGARANADHIESWARAR.

From Kovilur, we started our journey towards Tiruvarur.  A 10 KMs ride on the Highway and 8 KMs before Tiruvarur brings us to Neernerinathar Temple.  One has to take a left cut from the Highway to reach this Temple.  This place is important because it is here Siva saved the life of thayala  Nayanar and gave him salvation.  Thayala Nayanar was a wealthy man and he had a virtuous wife unlike the present generation where women and men are partners. He and his wife used to worship Siva with  special cooked rice,curry leaves and Mango pickle  daily.  Siva started to test the virtues of Nayanar.  He made them poor.  In spite of extreme poverty, Nayanar and his wife continued to worship siva with cooked rice and mango pudding.  Despite starvation, one day, instead of eating,  Nayanar and his wife made their cooked rice and mango pickle and walked towards Sivalingam.  Because of extreme fatigue, his wife fell down and spilled the food to the ground.  Nayanar also fell to the ground with food and he was in anguish that he was unable to feed God.   He took the long knife (Arival) and decided to cut his throat.  Just before he could cut his throat, a hand appeared from the ground and held the knife.  It is Siva who saved the Nayanar’s life and appeared along with his wife Parvathi.  This history is engraved in Stone form on the wall of the Temple.  This Temple also has a Sivalingam worshipped by Kochengutu cholan.  Adjacent to this Temple, the Sivacharyar’s house is present.  Around 12.00 noon he explained us the importance of this Temple and was very patient to answer our doubts and showed us the entire Temple.The temple does not have Kodimaram and Kochengotu chozhan was cured of  leprosy here.Another aspect of  this temple is Nataraja is adorned by river ganges is in the foot and it does not adorn his head.

Ponniyun selvan was a great inspiration to visit Kodikarai.The characters of the book  travel with us.My father and brother had great influence in making me read from childhood and it was an extreme pleasure to drive with my brother to Kodikarrai. At kodikarai everything was beautiful.The beach,the breeze,the temple,the sanctuary and the ride everything was picture perfect.Siva was also travelling with us and we reached home Parijatha smell of lord siva did not leave us.