Thirunallar Saneeswaran Temple

Thirunallar Saneeswaran Temple

Thirunallar is one of the most famous holy places in South India located in Karaikal which is 160 km south of Pondicherry (Pudhucherry). Thirunallar is famous for Lord Saneeshwara's (Saturn) temple. The only temple where Lord Saneeshwara lost all his power to Lord Shiva (Dharbaranyeshwarar) which saved his devotee Nalan from Saturn's curses. That's the story about the temple. A lot of People visit the place every Saturday to get similar blessings.

Saneeswaran is reputed to be both, a giver and destroyer. A person who prays to Saneeswaran will be blessed with not only riddance from the problems and worries faced, but a life that one desires.

THIRUNALLAR is the only temple that is dedicated to Lord Saneeswaran Bahavan. The legendary King Nala is said to have been relieved of his afflictions, which were due to the malefic influence of Saturn, after worship in this temple. Of the numerous tanks of theertams, the Nala theertam is the most important one. One have to take bath in this nala theertam inorder to get relived for Lord Saneeswara bahavan. If we did that, then the effectes of Sani will be reduced as we can good results in our life. Its a belief form ancient time.

SATURDAY IS THE SPECIAL DAY FOR THIS GOD.

Eachanari Vinayagar Temple

Eachanari Vinayagar Temple

The temple is among the oldest one in Coimbatore and dates back to 1500A.D.The moolavar at this temple was actually meant for Perur Patteshwarar temple and since it got struck on its way from Madurai, Eachnari became the blessed place. The deity's height is 6 feet and the width is 3 feet and is one of the biggest in SouthIndia. The last kumbabishekam was performed in 1990.

The splendid architecture of this temple is a visual treat in itself. Legends have their tales that the presiding idol was being brought from Madurai on a cart for establishing it in the new temple. Along the way, wheels of cart broke down on the highway and people accompanying the cart tried to move the idol so that they could establish it somewhere else. However, none of them succeeded and they decided to built a temple on the highway itself. Due to its location, you may visit some problems in parking your vehicle but the temple is worth visiting on your trip to Coimbatore. Experience the religious aspect of your trip to Coimbatore!

Karmadai Ranganathar Temple

Karmadai Ranganathar Temple

Located about 30kms from Coimbatore on the Mettupalayam Highway is the Swayambu Ranganatha temple in Karamadai set in the backdrop of the blue mountain. Karikala Chozhan and Mysore King Krishnaraja Wodeyar are said to have made contributions to the temple. Thirumalai Nayakkar built the temple walls and several mandapams in and around the temple.

Railway Line and the temple

A British engineer wanted to construct a railway line near this temple that would have caused inconvenience to the temple and its festivals. Pleased with the sincere prayers of the devotees, Lord Ranganatha is said to have come, in a white horse, in the dreams of the British engineer, who then is said to have changed the direction of the railway line.

The happy British engineer donated a wooden white horse to the temple. To this day, the utsavar deity takes the street processions on this white horse.

The story

People in the region, who used to find their livelihood grazing and milking cows, found a particular cow returning without milk after a trip every morning. Surprised at this, they followed the cow and found that the cow stopped at a particular spot and let out the milk.

On digging the mound, they found Lord Ranganatha beneath.

Delighted at this occurrence, they built mandapams around this place and constructed the temple for Ranganatha who is seen here as a Swayambu Murthy – one who came out of the earth on his own. Unlike other Ranganatha temples, where he is in a reclining posture, only the moolavar deity’s face can be seen.

Ramanuja’s visit to Karamadai Ranganathar

Ramanuja is said to have visited this temple on his way from Srirangam to Thiru Narayanapuram (Melkote).

Festivals

Navarthri Festival

Vaikunda Ekadesi Festival

Chariot Procession, that takes place on the full moon day in Maasi, is a special highlight at this temple.

Quick Facts

Moolavar: Ranaganatha East Facing Swayambu Moorthy (only face is seen)

Thaayar : Ranganayaki

Utsavar : Venkatesa Peruma.

Palani Murugan temple

                            

Palani is one of the most visited and popular temple in Tamilnadu dedicated to Lord Muruga and is one of the revered 6 Padai Veedu shrines of Murugan.

Palani Hills

The temple of Dhandayudhapani is located atop the Palani hills, which is about 324 metres above the sea level. 690 stone steps line the mountain passage and an electric winch and cable cares also takes pilgrims up the hill. Anyhow, walking through the steps give breathe-taking view of the palani hills and temples. Further, heading towards hill through steps leads to get good view of small temples. Once you reach the top of the hill, you need to take several rounds towards temple to get the blessings from Lord Murugan. Once you came out from the main shrine, you will see the golden top of the main temple. Before get down, you should look around and see the nice view of palani and nearby areas. In addition, you can get the excellent view of Kodaikanal hills and near by Idumban hills.

Palani Murugan Temple is also known by other names such as Tiru Avinankudi, Palani Subramanya Temple, Palani Murugan Kovil, Dandayudhapani Swami Temple, and Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Thirukkovil. Bhogar Shrine at Pazhani Temple

Bhogar who created the Navabashana idol and sanctified the deity is said to have lived before 3,000 B.C. The shrine of Bhogar is found in the southwestern corridor of the hill temple. There are also images of Nava Durga or Bhuvanesvari and the Maragadha (emerald) Shiva Lingam who were worshipped by him. There is an underground passage which is said to link the sanctum sanctorum with the Bhogar shrine.  The walls of the shrine describe the history of the temple.

Palani Murugan Temple Festivals

Thai Poosam Festival or Thaipusam, Agni Nakshatra, Kandhar Shasti (Shasti Vratam in the month of Aippasi), and Vaikasi Visagam are the most important festivals celebrated at Palani Muruga Temple. Other festivals celebrated here include Thirukarthigai, Pankuni Uttiram (March - April), Chitra Pournami, and Aani Annabhishekam.

In the Tamil month of Aadi, the Pazhani Temple celebrates the Aadi Perukku, Aadi Krithigai, Aadi Amavasai, and Aadi Laksharchana festivals.

Tirunelveli Sri Nellaiappar Temple

Tirunelveli Sri Nellaiappar Temple

Thirunelveli/Pancha Sabha Kshetram/Venu Vanam is one of the 275 Thevara Shivasthalam of Lord Shiva located on the river banks of Tamraparani at the heart of Tirunelveli, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.  This is one of the prominent temples of Lord Shiva built by the Pandya Kings date back to 17th century.  This temple occupies 14 acres of acres massive land with majestic Rajapouram, stunning Maha Mandapams, Tamra Sabha (celestial cosmic dance hall) with exquisite paintings and murals.

Presiding deity – Sri Nellaiappar/Venuvananathar/Veimathanathar/Nelvelinathar/Salivatheswar/Venuvaneswarar/Venuvana Mahalingeswarar/Tamra Sabhapathy/ Swayambhu Moorthy with his consort Goddess Sri Kanthimathi Ammai/Vadivudaiammai

Mangalasasanam – Thiru Gnana Sambandhar.  Saint Arunagirinathar sung praising the glories of Lord Subramanya in this temple.

Theertham – Potramarai Theertham, Karumari Theertham, Sindhupoonthurai Theertham, Tamrabharani

Sthalavruksham – Moongil ( Bamboo)

Worshipped by – Sage Agastya

Sannidhis –Lord Ganesha, Lord Nandikeshwara, Lord Subramanya with his consorts Sri Valli & Deivayanai, Lord Vishnu as Nellai Govindan, Santhana Sabapathi, Lord Nataraja,

There are three wide circumambulatory paths located in this temple.  In the First Praharam there are sannidhis of Lord Dakshinamurthy, Lord Brahma, Goddess Durga, Lord Chandikeswara, Goddess Mahishasura Mardhini, Lord Bhairava and  Lord Govinda.

In the Second Praharam there are astonishing pillars which produces Sapthaswaras (Sa,Ri,Ga,Ma,Pa,Da,Ni) and Tamra Sabha of Lord Shiva positioned here.  In addition to this, there are idols of 63 Nayanmars, Goddess Ashtalakshmi, Lord Shaneeswara and Sahasra Linga.

In the Third Praharam there is a sannidhis of Lord Subramanya with Goddess Sri Valli & Deivayanai. 

Festivals – Maha Shivaratri, Navaratri, Arudra Darisanam, Iyypasi Kalyanostavam, Brahmostavam, Karthikai, Thaipoosam, Ani Car Festival,

There are several interesting myths associated with this temple.  There was a righteous Brahmin Veda Sarma; he was a zealous devotee of Lord Shiva.  He was meticulously followed the rituals of a Brahmin prescribed in the Veda and sacred scriptures.  He made his livings by Vedic chants in this means he receive alms from the villagers.  It was his daily practice to offer Lord with whatever received as alms.  As any other day, he received harvested rice but not yet processed as alms and kept it for parched. He went to have a holy dip in the pond.  Suddenly, the sky turned cloudy and started raining heavily with thunder storms.   Veda Sarma was hysterical at this sight, thought of his alms were roughly washed off with the down pour.  He dashed to the place where he had kept the grains to dry, he earnestly prayed Lord to save the grains.  He was surprised to see the heavy down pour washed off the rest of the places, eaving behind the place where grains kept for drying.    His grains were remained untouched and dried out on the bright sunlight when the remaining land was flooded with water.  Veda Sarma hurried to the palace of King Rama Pandya and informed the miraculous incident.  King and his men scurried to the spot to witness the spectacular event.  Thus the presiding deity of this temple has got the name Nelvelinathar.

Another legend has that there was Brahmin used to bring Milk to the Palace on daily basis.  One day while he was on his way to Palace stumbled upon a stone and dispensed the whole milk on the stone.  This incident repeated continuously for few days.  The poor Brahmin was worried of these bizarre happenings and informed the King.  King and his men arrived on the spot and started the excavation process.  While the work was in progress, the spear strongly hit on the stone and blood oozed out.  The people gathered were shocked to witness the incident, instantaneously there heard a divine voice and a Linga appeared with abrasion on it.    In this temple the presiding deity – self manifested Linga can been seen with a cut mark on it.

THE SURYANAR TEMPLE TAMILNADU

THE SURYANAR TEMPLE TAMILNADU

Suryanara Temple Tamilnadu

The Sun Temple Image

The Suryanara Mandir

Suryanar Mandir

Image Of  Lord Suryanar

The  Suryanar Koil temple is located about 1 km from Tirumangalakkudi which lies between Kumbakonam and Mayavaram, near Thanjavur, in Tamilnadu. This is the  the first of the 9 Navagraha Temples in Tamil Nadu.The Suryanar Koil is very famous  known as Surya Sthalam, Suryanaar Kovil is dedicated to the Sun God or Lord Surya, the first of Navagrahas . The other eight Navagrahas are seen facing the Sun God. Besides, Suriyanar Temple also embodies the shrines of Kasi Vishwanath, Visalakshi and Brihaspati (Guru) within the sanctum. The Koil Theertha Vinayakar (Ganesha or Pillayar) shrine is a prominent sculpture here. There are around 15 theerthams in the Suryanar Temple. The one which is located inside the temple is called as Jnana Koopam. The inscriptions from the period of Krishna Deva Raya speak about the endowments made to this temple. The nearby Poolaivala River is an added attraction to this temple.

The trust about the Suryanar Koil temple  :

It is whispered that those who are affected by 'Graha Dhosham' and negative influence of Lord Shani (Planet Saturn), Ashtama Shani and Janma Shani can visit Suryanar Koil to get relieved of their sufferings. Wheat, Red Lotus, Erukku  and Sakkarai Pongal are some of the offerings to worship the Lord. The other eight Navagrahas are seen facing the Sun God. There is a tank called Surya Pushkarni, which lies to the north of the Rajagopuram. This is considered as a sacred bathing ghat.

History:

Lord Siva, pleased with their devotion absolved them of their sins and decried that there will be nine sannadhis for the navagrahas in the Suryanar temple (this is the only temple where all the navagrahas are present with separate sannadhis) and those who pray here will get relief from their problems.

Those who suffer the ill effects of Kalathara Dosham, Vivaha Paribandha Dosham, Puthra Dosham, Puthra Paribandha Dosham, Vidhya Paribandha Dosham, Udyoga Padhibandha Dosham, Surya dasai, Surya bukthi would benefit from worshipping at this temple. Father, Athma, physical strength, right eye, governmental largesse are the beneficial aspects of this planet.

If one bathes in the nine ghats in this place continuously for 12 Sundays, they will be saved from sufferings and blessed with a happy and peaceful life.

Sree Surya Puranam When the world came into existence, the first sound that reverberated was ‘Ohm’. Surya was born from this ‘Omkara naadham’. Sree Markandeya Puranam has explained this factor. Suryan was the son of Sage Kashyap and was the grandson of Sage Maarisi. Surya married Soorvarsala, the daughter of Viswakarma. Vaivasvatha Manu and Yamadharmarajan were his sons and Yamuna, his daughter. It should be mentioned here that the chariot of Surya has only one wheel. It is drawn by seven horses in seven colors. Lord Surya, who is the chief of the grahams, appears with a lotus in his divine hands. Surya Bhagawan blesses his devotees with good health, fame and efficient management.

The presiding deities are Puranavaradheeswarar and his consort Mangalanayaki. Surya is the Lord of Simma Rasi and occupies the central place amongst the navagrahas. The adidevatha is Agni, prathyutha Devatha – Rudran. His color is red and his vahana is a chariot drawn by seven horses. The grain associated with his is wheat; the flower – lotus, yerukku; fabric – red clothes; gem – ruby; food – wheat, rava, chakkara pongal.Suryanaar Koyil was built by the Chola kings.

Build
Inscriptions from the period of Kulottunga Chola I (1075-1120) refer to this temple as the Kulottunga Chola Martanda Alayam. Kulottunga Chola is said to have had a good relationship with the Gahadwal dynasty of Kanauj (1090 – 1194), whose rulers were Sun worshippers, and hence Suryanar Koyil, is considered to be an expression of their influence in South India.

The temple the tower of the temple is 15.5 meter in height and consists of three tiers. At the top of the tower are five domes. To the north of the rajagopuram lies the sacred bathing ghat, called Surya Pushkarni. It is important to bathe in this ghat before offering worship at the temple. If not, one should at least sprinkle its water on one’s head.

Special features of the temple All the grahams face Surya Bhagawan in this temple. As soon as one enters the temple, there is a sacrificial platform (Bali peetam). To its east lies a mandap where one can see an idol of a horse. The Lord’s vehicle is the horse (vaahanam) which goes by the name ‘Saptha, meaning seven in Sanskrit. The one-wheeled chariot is drawn by seven horses.

Timing
According to Atharvana Veda, one who worships Surya Bhagawan will be relieved from diseases pertaining to the eyes and heart. This temple is open from 6 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on all days.

Festivals
Requirements for worshipping the Lord Flower – Senthamarai (Red Lotus)
Samith (sacrificial fuel ) – Erukku ( madar plant )
Dhaniyam (grain) – Wheat
Vasthram – Lotus red
Neivedhyam – Sakkarai pongal

Ratha Saptami in the Tamil month of Thai, and the first Sundays in the months of Aavani (Leo) and Kartikai(Scorpio) and Vijaya Dasami are celebrated in this temple.

OOTY ELK HILL MURUGAN TEMPLE

OOTY ELK HILL MURUGAN TEMPLE 

Temple view 

Temple Enterence

108 steps (padis)

Lord Murugar 40 feet Statue

Moolavar

Elk Hill is the place in Udagamandalam (Ooty) South India. Famous for Lord Murugar Temple. It is a Replica of Batu caves  Malaysia. Approximately 40 feet statue of Lord Murugar constructed and placed in the form of Suthai -Made up of Brick and Cement) in a standing posture out side this temple open space. *Side view of the Temple from Top* The Moolavar is very much pretty .Other than Lord Murugar, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Goddesses Sakthi, Nava Kanikas and Navagraha sanithanams are there in the hill. ...

Administration: This temple is under the Hindu religious Endowment  Board and taken care by Marriamman temple Ooty.

                                                                                  

Nature, flora and fauna: The hill is surrounded by thick forest trees. The scenic beauty and calm atmosphere of this zone makes devotees  happy feeling and a good place for meditation.

Festivals:

Thaipusam  festival.

Thaipusam festival in the Tamil month of Thai (which falls in late January/early February) has been celebrated here as grand festival. A procession begins in the wee hours of the morning on Thaipusam from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple towards  Elk hill. Devotees carry containers containing milk as offering to Lord Murugan either by hand or in huge decorated carriers on their shoulders called 'kavadi'. From Elk hill Ratham decorated by flowers carring the idol of balamurugar goes down the town later. The kavadi may be simple wooden arched semi-circular supports holding a carrier foisted with brass or clay pots of milk, peacock feathers.