Walking around the blessing mountain-Arunachalam

I was overwhelmed with joy when I received a call from my husband that he booked a room in tiruvannamalai for the week end i.e; Arunachalam. The moment was the most eagerly awaited one for me as I love that place from the bottom of my heart. At last the day arrived and the people who accompanied us were one of my cousins, my friend's mother and her grand mother. They were given the chance in unexpectedly changing situations. That's all god's grace showered on them. They were all very much excited to be on the road to Arunachalam.
                               

                                    We all were ready at 5.30 in the morning to start our ride towards the most holy place. There were two breaks on the way for breakfast on the heavily pouring roads. Earlier, we were afraid to make frequent visits to this place since the regular route has some bad stretch of roads. But this time we were guided by one of our friends to go in a different route that proved to be the best choice. Though it sums up a few kilometers more than the regular route, the travel was a peaceful experience though the calm and serene villages. At last we were at our destination by 12 noon. We occupied the already booked rooms in Shiva sannidhi and proceeded for lunch served there. After relaxing for a couple of hours, we set ourselves ready for the most powerful and little painful part Girivalam - circumambulating around the hill which is the form of Lord Shiva Himself.
                          As our room is nearby the Ramanasharam, we started our round from the Agni lingam spot, which is located a few steps away from the Ashram. Agni lingam was followed by the dashan of Sri Seshadri swami ashram just beside the Ramanasharam. From the pravachanams of Sri Chaganti Koteswararao Grau, one can know in detail about the history of Sri Seshadri Swami and his greatness as a paripurna jnani. His life history leaves a great impression on our minds. Then we stepped into the ever peace showering Ramanasharam. Words can never be able to describe the serenity of this place as well as the godliness of the great maharshi Ramana. Personally I feel very much blessed to get a chance to step in the premises. We are blessed. No doubt at all about that.
                               

                                            The girivalam continued from there after spending a little time there and taking the blessings of the great maharshi for the successful completion of the further project. We went ahead with the help of the map to locate the lingams on the way round the hill. There are some more temples too which we cross while completing the circumambulation like the temple of Ayyappa, Sai baba, Vishnu etc. there are many places throughout the way to rest for some time when you feel like tired. As we move on, the bear foot start troubling as the very small stones on the road prick the sensitive foot. since the time we started our walk was evening, we had the breeze giving us solace. It felt heavenly at such times. there were small shops all the way to provide for water, coffee, sugarcane juice and biscuits.
                                During the last 2 KM of the 14 KM stretch, my husband felt great pain on foot and I felt we wouldn't be able to complete the task. but the magic of the divine power pushed us ahead and I don't know how we reached the end. The aunty and me chanted the lalitha sahasra nama, vishnu sahasranama and had some good spiritual discussions on the way which made task seem easy. the aunty managed to finish almost 10 KM and then boarded an auto to reach the room. we finished our dinner too on the way near by the bus stand and at last finished the round by 11.30PM.
    It's definitely the power of Lord that made us fulfil the task. May The Almighty bless us with more and more such chances to undergo through some physical seva like this in His name.
                        The next day, though we had some pain, that was overcome by the joy we had in the darshan of Lord Arunachaleswara and Goddess Apitakuchamba. The temple itself is a huge compound with stunning beauty. The temple authorities run battery cars for elderly people and provide easy darshan. We again stepped into the holy atmosphere of the Ramanashram and spent a considerable time there and purchased few books there. we had another round around the hill in the car after darshan in the temple and proceeded towards the Bangalore road to wind up the very happy yatra. We followed the same route we took while coming so that good condition of the road is assured.

    Some information regarding the Girivalam:    Girivalam is believed to be the most sacred part of the darshan of Arunachala as it washes away many ill-samskaras. Ramana maharshi used to ask everyone who came to Him whether he had done Girivalam or not. The wind flowing from the plants of the mountain is said to have medicinal values. every day of the week has its special significant result regarding girivalam which were mentioned in skanda purana. It is believed that Lord Shiva stays in the deep forests of the hill in the form of Dakshina murty. the darshanof each linga on the way has its special significance too. One can get the detailed information regarding this through the speech by Sri Chaganti Koteswararao garu in "Arunachala Vaibhavam". if anyone want more details, they can mail me personally so that I can help as far as possible.

Best route suggested from Bangalore to Tiruvannamalai:  Bangalore-krishnagiri-karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-Tiruvannamalai.

            

The Sarpa Samskara puja in Kukke Subrahmanya Kshetra

                                 The Sarpa samskara puja performed in Kukke subrahmanya Kshetra of Karnataka is believed to be very powerful and as per my knowledge, this is the only temple where this kind of puja is performed. I'll try to explain in detail about the process and background of this puja as I understood from the explanation of the pujari.
                      Generally it is believed that a person gets sarpa dosha in his life due to 3 main reasons:
 1) Anyone of our family members killed a snake.(As per sastras, if snake, monkey and cat are killed or died, one has to perform Dahana samskaras to relive the soul)
 2) A snake might have died in the land or plot where we are living or having cultivation, which didn't have funeral rites.
3) A snake might have died under the wheels of our vehicle unknowingly.

                               The result of the sarpa dosha in a person's life is seen in many ways like delayed marriage, delayed issue, skin diseases, financial growth obstructed and some other diseases. So this puja is meant for all such problems which is addressed to calm down the effect of Rahu, Ketu and Kuja Grahas at a time.
This puja can be performed only by those who are performing pitru karma because here as a part of the puja one has to do dahana samskara and pinda pradanam to idol of the snake just in a similar way performed for human beings. If you are a brahmin and did pitru karma, you can perform this puja on your own as per the instructions given in the mike by the main pujari. If you are a non-brahmin, a priest is appointed to perform the puja on your behalf and you have to book for this in advance by sending the DD and the appointment is fixed depending on the dates available.
                      On the destined day of the puja, one has to wake up early in the morning (preferably 5 AM) and take a dip in the Kumara Dhara river (located in the entrance of the Kukke) and make yourself ready to stand in the queue for the ticket by 7 AM. There will be given a seat no on the ticket. Go to the Adi Subrahmanya temple and be present there at your seat no. by 9AM on the same day. Everyone will be given a Deeksha vastra which must be preserved and worn during the 2 day puja session.
     As far as i understood, the puja process follows like this.
              Two idols of snakes are made out of flour, one male and the other female.(The female can be made out with two or three eggs on its side). With the mantra chanting the soul of the unrelieved snake is transferred to the male idol (Aavahana) and with systematic puja, that idol is put into fire so as to perform the Dahana samskara. The female snake idol, again with proper mantra chanting, is left in the presence of the male snake Vasuki, referring that we wish to see our family too grow in the same manner as the snake family grows by bringing together the male and female. After this, all the persons of the family are asked to take dip in the pool there as it is common when we do such rituals to humans.
                          This finishes the first session of the puja and in the afternoon, lunch is provided in the same Adisubrahmanya temple complex. One is instructed not to go inside the temple for darshan till the puja is totally finished. The dinner too is provided by the temple itself and it is must that one should not eat outside food for these 2 days. Dinner is provided a bit early in the night.
           The day 2 puja consists of pinda pradana and tarpana for 64 times which is meant to relieve the soul completely and send it to pious lokas. Don't forget to bring the deeksha vastra given to you the previous day. Be there on time as prescribed, as the late comers may have to wait for one more day to finish the puja. The puja consists of Brahmachari puja as well as Gopuja (worshiping a cow). The 2nd day breakfast is also provided by the temple authorities. By the afternoon of the 2nd day, you are done with the total procedure of the puja which ends with Naga pratishta in the main temple of Subrahmanya. Even Sankalpam(with one's Gotra and nama) is done in the main temple before Naga pratishta. The nagapratishta prasadam is distributed from 12 in the afternoon. This finishes the puja.
             Generally it is believed that it is better to directly go home after this puja (without visiting any other place) and it is preferable not to take cooked food out side for these 2 days. Fruits, juices, coffee, tea, milk like things are fine.

Points to be noted:

Price of the ticket Rs 2500/-
Dont eat outside food for those 2 days
Non-brahmins should book for the puja in advance.
Person performnig pitrukarma is only eligible to perform the puja.
Don't go for darshanin the main temple till the puja is finished.
Don't forget to bring the Deeksha vastra on the 2nd day too.
Be on time for the 2nd day puja.
Directly go home after finishing the puja.
                                                   

            

One more time into the forests of south karnataka

             Though god showered His grace on us quite earlier in this regard, we must say that this is the most fulfilling trip since we had the chance to take our parents with us to all these great places. Starting on Tuesday, 22nd of Jan'2013, the first day of the tour covered 3 major temple sites namely Kalasa, Hornadu and Sringeri. This is the first time even we two had the darshan of Lord Kalaseswara and goddess Sarvanga sundari in Kalasa which is on the way to Hornadu from Bangalore. The temple is seen just on the side of the road with big sign board as we enter Kalasa. By lunch time, we were present in the presence of Goddess Annapurneswari in Hornadu and were blessed to get the Prasadam there.

                                               
Relaxed with a nice meal and a little rest, we were again on the way to Sringeri. After taking accommodation of the Samsthan rooms, we searched for a doctor for my Mother-in-law, for she had continuous vomiting through out the journey till that time. By that time, she was very week and we both were a bit tensed to continue the further trip since the other section is having a bit bigger ghats. But after taking some rest and getting the Darshan of Sri Sarada matha, she looked alright and we felt we can go ahead with the actual plan. We all were really lucky to be in the temple exactly at the time of the Goddess' Pallaki seva which was a feast for the eyes as well as heart. Circumambulating the Sanctum along with the Palanquin left me with great bliss.We reached the peak of satisfaction as we were there till the moment the sanctum closed. The darshan was extraordinary. Thank God!
                                The 2nd day started with the Darshan of Sarada matha, Vidya Shankara alayam and the remaining portion of the temple. Informed by one of our relatives, we were on road to reach the Rishyasringeswara temple where the Rishi Rishyasringa and His wife Santa Devi merged with Lord Shiva in the form of Lingam. This place is Just 8 KM away from Sringeri. We enjoyed the serenity of Sirimane falls too which is just 4 KM from this place and as we finished this, it was time for the temple to reopen. So thus God planned not to send us back empty handed. The Lingam here has Lord Shiva on the back side and Rishyasringa on the front side (of course, it was not very clearly visible.)

                                                   
Then we headed towards Kollur which was sanctified by the touch of Sri Sankaracharya and the Goddess Mookambika. The little and cute idol of Mookambika is a pleasure Darshan. Travelling with sea on both the sides of the road, we reached Gokarna by late evening and proceeded for the darshan of Lord Mahabaleshwara. Being a week day, there was very nominal crowd and we had a peaceful darshan. We thought of halting there for that night, but there was not at least one good option. So we were on the road towards Murudeshwas and halted at Kumta where we stayed in a hotel during the previous trip.
                             The room and food at Hotel in Kumta proved worthy and we had enough of relaxation. So the next day trip was initiated with the darshan of Lord ganesha at Idagunji followed by Murudeshwar.

                                                       

                                     
My in-laws liked this place very very much. They enjoyed thoroughly the architectural and scenic beauty of this place. We even enjoyed the sea-side lunch in the hotel here. Next was the call from Chinni Krishna of Udipi with special diamond decoration for that day.  We then hurried to Dharmasthala and then to Kukke for night halt. The darshans at all the places were very peaceful and joyful as there was very least crowd in all the places.
                          It was a 2 day stay in Kukke since we took the ticket for the Sarpa Samskara puja. After finishing the puja, we were instructed to directly reach home. That was thus a 5 day trip with great darshans and powerful surroundings and still powerful grace of God.

Route:

DAY-1
Bangalore-Chennaraya patna- Hasan- Belur- 1st left at Belur petrol bunk- Kottigere-Kalasa.
Kalasa- Hornadu
Hornadu- Kalasa- Balehole- Magundi- Balehannur- Jayapura- Sringeri.

DAY-2
Sringeri- Kigga (Rishyasringeswara Temple)
Kigga- Sirimane falls
Sringeri- Agumbe- Mudabadri- Vandse- Kollur
Kollur- Baiyandur-Shiroor- Murudeshwar- Gokarna
Gokarna- Kumta

DAY-3
Kumta- Idagunji (take left after 10KM from Honnavar to reach this Ganapathi temple)
Idagunji- Murudeshwar
Murudeshwar- Udipi
Udipi- Dharmasthala
Dharmasthala- Kukke

DAY-4
Sarpa samskara puja at Kukke

DAY-5
Finished the Puja and were back on road to Bangalore
Kukke- Gundya- Hasan- Bangalore.

Srisailam-The place where Shiva comes down every evening

                         In the holy month of Karthika masa, nothing else can be considered a greater gift from god than visiting the kailasa on the earth, Sri sailam. I was really surprised when i happened to know that my husband was planning a surprise tour to Srisailam during my Bday. I felt, I was really blessed. He knows well, nothing else can make me more delighted than being in a holy presence. Thank god for blessing me with such a great soul mate who considers my interest to that extent. In one way that is a combined journey towards the path of devotion.

                                         

           And there we were on the roads early in the morning on Saturday, 8th December at 4.30 and were at the destination by 1.30 in the after noon. Credit of the joyful tour even goes to my sister's family who booked a room in advance for us there since it was very tough to get accommodation on the spot, it being a combination of 2nd Saturday, Sunday and the last Monday of Karthika masa. Depositing the luggage in the room of Karikala Satram and having our lunch, we headed to the temple for Dhooli Darshanam which is believed to be very significant in this particular kshetra. (No matter whatever you did during your journey, i.e; attending nature calls, sleeping, eating or anything which is generally believed to make us unfit for darhan of god; even without washing your feet or changing the clothes, one has to proceed to the main temple sanctum to get the darshan. This may denote the intensity of your desire to see the god, irrespective of how we are, exactly like the way we do when we go to meet a very dearest person).
                   When we went into the main temple, the queue was stopped some time for some reason and we took the Rs 100/- ticket and finished the darshan in not more than 1 hour.
      The lingam of Lord Shiva is tiny in size, (not in power) but the Darshan was very heart-filling. Then we even had the darshan of Goddess Bhramarambika and returned to the room to relax for some time since it was a long and continuous drive for my husband.
                        During the night, we were in the long queue to get the ticket for the next day's Abhishekam and Kumkuma puja. After around 2 hours of waiting, we were left with the right to worship the Lord the next Day, it being Ekadasi. We again went for a darshan of the Lord, this time we went one step nearer to the god.
                              The time slot we were allotted is at 7.30 AM and out serial no. is 299 for the Abhishekam. After being present in the very big hall in the group of samuhika Abhisheka performed with a big Kalasa, we were allowed into the main Garbha ghiha to pour the Abhishekam water on the Lord personally and were allowed to touch Him. What a joy it was to touch the head to the Lingam that fits in both the hands thus taking us into the protection of his hands! The Kumkuma puja to the goddess was also samuhika and here too we were left with immense joy to get the feast of Bhramaramba's Darshan. Thank god for everything.
                         That evening was a visit to the remaining local temples. The first spot was Sakshi ganapathi where one has to register his gotra and name so that Lord Ganesha remains a witness to the Srisaila Darhan. Next was Phala Dhara- Pancha Dhara, the holy place where Lord Adi Shankaracharya performed his penance.

                               
 The most popular Sikhara darshan was the next and it took a lot of time there due to the rush. Since we were still not in a position to clear all our prarabdhas, we were unable to see the sikhara and we're sure to have punarjanma as the saying goes "Srisaila sikharam drushtwa punarjanma na vidyate".

                                      
                        The next spot was the most awaited Punananda Ashram in Sunnipenta, few KM's away form the main temple. The very peaceful surroundings in the ashram leaves anyone with lightened hearts and we were surely blessed to step in such an environment. In one room there was the samadhi and statue of Sri Purnananda swami and another room consisted of the pictures of his Parama guru and Paramesthi Guru Sri Rakhadi Baba and Sri Nityananda Bhagavan respectively. The photos of Swami placed in the Yaga sala really left me spellbound. They were simply amazing. even the statue of the Swami looked awesome and especially the feet of Him were imprinted in my heart, I can still see them before my eyes.

                                        

     The temple of Veera Shankara (Sikhareswara) was very peaceful thre next day morning and we felt the darshan of the sikhara here mentally and left for the remaining drive.
                           The 3rd and the last day of the tour was no less powerful, we being in the presence of Lord Tripurantakeswara and Goddess Bala Tripura sundari. The goddess here is incarnated in a well.

                               
 With the blessings and grace thus collected, we were back at home at 10 in the night with a very memorable and happy bday and one of the best tours as a gift form my husband.

Route: Bangalore-Kurnool-Nandikotkur-Atmakur-Dornal-Srisailam
          Dornal-Tripurantakam distane is 40KM
 Road is excellent except for a stretch of 15 KM Appriximately near Atmakur.
 The road to Tripurantakam too is very good.

The sloka to be recited during the sikhara darshana:
   Vrushasya vrushanam sprishtwa Sringa madhye sivalayam
   Drishtwa kshanam naro yati kailase siva sannidhau

       Not to forget to remember that Srisaila is still sanctified by the touch of Sri pada Srivallabha and Sri Nrisimha Saraswathi and many other saints too.

Palani and Kodai-Finishig the long tour

Day 6:

      This is the day of our marriage anniversary and we were in the holy presence of Lord Subrahmanya in Palani.  One can witness great scenic beauty while going up through steps which are roughly 700 in number. There is also the facility to go up by winch. The Lord here is called Dandayutha pani. Some people even carry a Kavadi as an offering to the Lord while going on foot.

                                                         

  There is one Uchchi Kala puja that starts exactly at 12 in the afternoon. The Rs 150/- ticket is issued from 11.30 and one can be in the presence of the Lord for around 40 minutes in this seva. We can see the Abisheka, Alankara, Archana, and aaratis of different varieties during this seva. This is really a nice seva to enjoy the presence of the Lord. Thus finishing the darshan of the Lord in all possible ways, we came down the steps and were on the way to Kodai kanal that was 60KM from Palani.

                                        

               The last destination came to be Kodai which offered a wonderful weather and a very pleasant drive through the ghat. The beauty around is far beyond the description. Simply awesome.

   We stayed the night there in Raahat inn hotel and did a little shopping in the night. For vegetarian food, the Astoria and woodland restaurants offer a good choice.

Day 7:

      The finishing day started with the sightseeing in Kodai kanal and was ended with boating in the beautiful Kodai lake. All the points to be seen are in an easy root and there is no need to waste money on guides here. After having spent a considerable time there, we planned to leave for Bangalore the same day so that 2 days could be reserved for relaxation. And yes, we were at home at 12 in the night to mark a full-stop to our long tour.

  THANK GOD FOR GIVING US COMFORT IN ALL THE WAYS THROUGH OUT THE TRIP AND GUIDING US IN THE PROPER WAY EACH MOMENT.KEEP SHOWERING YOUR GRACE ON US ALL THE WHILE.   

DRIVING THROUGH CAUVERY DELTA -Day 5

Day 5:

      This day started in a relatively leisure way since we were in the company of relatives, Pavan-Mallika and Pavan’s father. We decided to limit the day to Madhurai local darshan so that Sreeram could relax a bit. Lord Venkateswara at the Azhagar Kovil was the first to bless us on that day. This very old temple is around 20KM from the town and is very well maintained and kept sacred. The main idol of Vishnu is very beautiful. His consort is Sundara valli Thayar. The sannidhi of Lord Narasimha is excellent, the roof of which has been left open so that his anger may be let out. The Chakrat Alwar, Lord in Sudarshana Chakra, is a fulfledged murthy and the Pujari here impressed me a lot. He was reciting the mantras in a very clear and understandable way which we generally can’t find. Round the sudarshana chakra are the idols of different Gayatri mata. There are as many monkies as the devotees.

                                               

                 Climbing a small hill takes us to the shrine of Amman where people queue for the sacred water that comes from far forests carrying medicinal values. Coming down a little, we found the Pazhamudircholai, the last of the Aru Padiveedu. It is the only Padaiveedu where the main altar is with both his consorts Valli and Devasena. After lunch, we did shopping for steel items and were back at home in the afternoon.

                                          

                         In the evening, we started to reach the first of the Aru Padaiveedu, Thiruparankundram, which is just 8KM from the town. This is the place where Lord Subrahmanya married Devasena, the daughter of Indra. The lord is found seated on ground here. Late in the evening, on this day of Dasara, we were blessed to be in the presence of Goddess Meenakshi devi who welcomed us with beautifully decorated mantapas and lighting. Since Abishekam was going on at that time, we were forced to wait there and we stated reading the Lalitha Sahasra namam. As we finished, the goddess was ready with great Alankaram to grant us her darhsan and blessings. The joy of the darshan was simple far out of description. I was just speechless. How graceful the Lord is to us to take us to such a presence on such a special day!  We were blessed.

               Next we went to the presence of Lord Sundareswara and were there for a considerable time and then finished visiting all other important places in the temple complex. We were back at home with memories to cherish for a lifetime.

DRIVING THROUGH CAUVERY DELTA -Day4

DAY-4:

      Vaitheeswaran is more popular for its Nadi Jyothisham than the Lord Vaitheeswarar and the adobe of graham Mars (Angaraka). It is believed that Shiva came down to this sthala to heal 4448 ailments, including those of mind. Along with him came the goddess Theiyyal nayaki, bearing a pot of healing oil, the sanjeevini herb and the mud from the roots of Vilvam tree (Indian Fig), all of which have curative powers.

   The Lingam in the main sanctum is tiny one but its power of healing is believed to be amazing.

          One of the Navagrahas, Angaraka, worshipped here is believed to be a fiery graham. But in this temple he appears to be smiling and benign.

For those interested in Astrology, this is an interesting place since it is the center for the practitioners of Nadi Jyothisha. I was a bit curious about that but since Sreeram has got no interest in that, we were out of that place with total happiness after the darshan of Lord Shiva.

At around 8.15 in the morning, we started our drive towards Chidambaram and on the way we were at Seerkazhi, the temple of Sattanatha swami.

Sthala puranam:

This is the place where the 3 year old Thiru Jnana sambandhar sang his first Thevaram (set of 10 verses). The toddler has been left on the banks of the temple tank, Brahma Teertha, while his father went to bathe there. The hungry child wept for milk. Legend goes that Shiva sent Parvathi to feed the child. The Goddess drew the milk from her breast into a golden cup and fed the child from it. Instantly Sambandhar was enlightened. When his father returned from his bath and, seeing the dribble of milk around his son’s mouth, asked him who had fed him. Sambandhar pointed to the sanctum of the temple and burst into song “thodudaiya seviyan….” (he wore an ear ring, rode the bull, the moon was in his hair and all over his body he had rubbed the ash from the funeral pyres- he who stole my heart…..).

                                                     

                There are 3 sanctums of Shiva in this temple-the main sanctum had Brahma pureeswara and is at ground level. Climbing steep steps to a higher level, we reach the sanctum of Thoniappar. Here are seated impressively large idols of Lord Shiva and Parvathi. Thoniappar is Shiva rowing a boat through the floods of the pralaya. Climbing further flight of steps takes us to the sanctum of Sattanathar. The sanctum is not kept open all the times. The forms of Lord Shiva and Vishnu can be seen incarnated on the same stone here.

We can find a small sanctum for Jnana sambandhar too which makes us recall the importance of the kshetra.

                   The next milestone was Chidambaram, the temple of cosmic dancer.

This is again a feast to watch. The temple complex is very huge and has got lot of specialties to witness. The sanctum having the idols of Shiva as Nataraja, Shiva kama Sundari and the Aakasa Lingam is very comfortably seen even from a distance. Standing exactly opposite to that a little far, if we move our head a little left, we can see the very amazing Thillai Govinda Perumal in the laying pose. This really stole my heart. The sanctum of Urdhwa pada Shiva is again a wonder. Near to this, the sthala puranam of Thirukkadaiyur, where the Lord Shiva rescues his young devotee Markandeya from Yama is depicted in pictures in an interesting way. We can go to the top to go still near to the main idols and watch them carefully. Then at particular time, the screen is drawn aside to show us the Aakasa lingam which has literally nothing except a garland of golden Bilwa dalas hanging to the wall. This symbolizes that the lord is infinite just as the sky and he can’t be fitted into a small limited rupa. The natya mantapa in the temple complex tempts the dance practitioners and its beauty is worth watching.

                                          
                     The temple of Tillai Kali Amman is located few miles from this main temple. Legend says that as per the rule of their competition, whoever loses the context of dance between Shiva and parvathi should go out of the village. Then Shiva, as a last refuge, lifts his leg high into the sky and Parvathi was thus declared the loser and she went to the outskirts. Here are 2 idols one ugra and the other depicting the Shanta murty. Ugra rupa is called-Thillai Kali and tha Shanta Rupa is called the Brahma Chamundi.   

               After having spent a considerable time in these temples, we turned around towards Vaitheeswaran. On the way, we tried our luck and drove towards Thirukkadaiyur. Here the goddess proved more kind towards us and blessed us with a great darshan but the Lord Amrita Ghateswara wanted us to come there again so hid himself behind the doors. This was a chasing seen for us since the temple closes at 1 o’clock. We were able to reach there by 12.50 but, the sanctum of the lord was already closed by that time. Even then, we had a very fulfilling darshan of the goddess Abhirami.

Sthala puranam:

     When the devas and asuras carried away the pot of nectar from the churning ocean, they set it down in this kshetra to bathe. When they returned from their ablutions, they found that the pot had turned into a lingam and had grown so deep into the ground that its base reached the netherworld. So the ‘Lord of the pot of nectar’ stayed in this kshetra and it came to be called (thiru) divine, (kadai) churning, (ur) place-thirukkadaiur.

Many people come here to celebrate their 60^th or 80^th birth days. It was here that the ideal son of a pious couple, Markandeya doomed to die at 16, embraced the lingam in the fear of death. Yama threw his rope at this boy. It fell around the lingam. An incensed Shiva emerged, slew yama and granted immortality to Markandeya.

                                                     
            The shrine of Goddess Abhirami is in separate enclosure. Abhirama Bhattar was a poet and devotee of the goddess. Once, Bhattar was meditating on the moon like radiance of the goddess’ face on an Amavasya day. At the same time, the chola king of that place came there and asked him what day it was. Still meditating on Abhirami’s face, the poet replied without hesitation, ”it is a full-moon day.” The incensed king ordered him to prove him that it was a full-moon day, or else he was to be put to death. It was near the flagstaff that the poet sat, above a pit of burning coals, singing his Antadi to move the deity to make the full-moon appear in the dark night. As Bhattar neared the desperate end of his 100 verse Antadi, Goddess Abhirami flung her Thatankam (ear ring) into the sky where it shone radiant as the full moon and her devotee was saved.  (Antadi means every slokam starts with the word with which the previous slokam ends).

After having a spectaculars grace of the Amman showered on us, we went back to the hotel at Vaitheeswaran, had lunch and started at 3 PM to reach Madhurai at 8.30PM.

Route: Vaitheeswaran-Mailaduthurai-Kumbhakonam bye pass-Tanjore-Madhurai.