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.

DRIVING THROUGH CAUVERY DELTA -Day 3

AROUND KUMBHAKONAM       

  The yatra of day 3 started at 5.30 in the morning and the first shot was at Swamimalai, one of the Aru padaiveedu (6 sacred subrahmanya kshetras in Tamilnadu).

Sthalapuranam:

       Swaminatha swamy is Jnanam personified. Here even his vel (spear) is not a weapon of war but a tool of enlightenment. There was a lovely legend to explain this. It is in Swamimalai that Subrahmanya , Shiva’s younger son, explained  the meaning of Pranava mantra, OM, to his father. Once, as a child, Subrahmanya asked Brahma whether he knew the meaning of OM. As Brahma had no answer, Subrahmanya imprisoned him in a fit of anger and took over the work of creation himself. A perturbed Shiva ordered his son to release Brahma. The boy-god did so, but only because he could not disobey his father. A mollified Shiva then asked Subrahmanya to tell him the meaning of OM. As it was a secret, Subrahmanya asked his father to come close. Befitting his status as guru, Subrahmanya sat at a higher level while, as a student, Shiva sat at a lower level and brought his ear close to his son’s lips and was thus preached the meaning of OM. As Subrahmanya, at that moment, became the Nathan(Lord or teacher) of Shiva(Swami), he is Swaminathan. In Tamil, this is Thagappan Swami (the lord of the father).

                                 
    The idol of Swaminathan in the main sanctum is majestic. The statue holds the Dandayutham (staff or club) in the right hand and the left rests lightly on the thigh in a pose of great strength and calm. The inference is that Shiva and Swaminatha have merged in this idol.

            We next stopped at Thiruvalanchuzhi. (Note that ‘zh’ in the word is pronounced as ‘la’ in common). The principal deity here is Kapartheeswara and his consort is Brihan nayaki. Over time, however, it has come to be known as Vinayaka Sthala. A tiny white vinayaka murthy welcomes us into the temple at the entrance. This is believed to be made from the sea foam during the ksheera sagara mathanam.

                                                  

Our next destination was Patteswaram, where the lord Dhenupureeswara with Maa Durga takes shelter and showers his grace.

Sthala puranam:

 Here Parvathi did penance, standing on one leg, in order to marry Shiva.  The heavenly cow Kamadhenu too did worship Shiva here thus giving the lord the name Dhenupureeswara. Kamadhenu’s daughter Patti worshipped Shiva by showering her milk on the lingam, thus comes the name Patteeswaram. The more recent legend says when the child saint Thiru Jnana sambandhar walked here on a hot day, to visit the temple Shiva bid his invisible ganas to hold a pearl canopy over his head, to shelter his devotee from heat. Then, eager to see how beautiful this most beloved of his devotees looked under the pearl canopy, Shiva ordered Nandi to move aside so that he could see sambandhar walk towards him. And yes, the nandi moved aside; so, in fact, did all three nandis in a row.

                                                   

       The idol of Durga is unusually tall and has a great presence. She stands, one foot forward, atop the head of buffalo-faced Mahishasura. Her mount, the Lion, crouches behind her. She is 8 armed and carries weapons in all hands, save one, in which she holds a parrot.  

                         Then driving again towards Kumbhakonam, we encountered Darasuram which is famous for its Airavateeswara temple. This was declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. The hall of the main sanctum has been built at a height in the shape of a chariot.

                                                    

Legend has it that Indra’s elephant Airavatha worshipped shiva here and the lord took the name of the devotee. The goddess here is Periya nayaki. We met a guide there who explained us in detail about the ruins of the sculptures placed in a room that were the result of the attacks by the muslim rulers in olden days.

                       The next stop is at Thirunageswaram, the famous navagraha temple for Rahu. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Naganatha swami with consort Artha Chandra Gujambika and Giri gujambika. The Rahu graham is adorned with 2 consorts Naga valli and Naga kannan. The idol of Girigujambika is as described in the namam “Sa chamara rama vani savya dakshina sevitha” which means she is flanked by Lakshmi and Saraswathi.

                                            

   The milk poured in Abhishwkam to Rahu is said to turn blue as it flows over the body and regains its white color once it reaches his feet.

The next very interesting temple we visited was that of Uppiliapan. This is also known as Venkatachalapathi swami temple whose name Uppiliappan means he who eats no salt.

Sthala puranam:

Long ago goddess Mahalakshmi was incarnated as a beautiful 2 year old girl in the Tulsi grove where the temple now stands. She was named Bhumi devi and was brought up by Rishi Markandeya. When the girl reached marriageable age, one of the suitors who approached the sage for her hand was an elderly and frail brahmachari. The dismayed sage tried to put off the wholly inappropriate proposal by saying that his daughter would be unsuitable as she was too young to even know how to put salt in the food. But the stubborn suitor said, “Never mind. I still want to marry your daughter.” The desperate sage closed his eyes and prayed to Vishnu to deliver him from this terrible situation. When he opened his eyes again, the old man had vanished. In his place, stood a youthful, handsome Vishnu himself. After the wedding was performed in a heavenly manner by the devas, the bridegroom announced that since his wife was too young to know how to put salt in the food, he would partake of only saltless food in this sthala. This tradition continues even today.

                                                   

The idol is flanked by the kneeling figures of Bhumidevi and Markandeya Rishi, the only place where the father-in-law is seated and the son-in-law stands in respect before him. (Just kidding)

                              While searching the way for the next point Ayyavadi, we were on a way wrong route and were blessed by the darshan of another very important temple which is one of the 108 Divya Desams. That is Nachiar Kovil. Here in this place, the goddess gets more priority than the Lord so she was seen straight from the mukhadwara and the Lord is seen standing a bit aside.

                                     

 Speciality:

The impressive idol of Kal Garuda is the speciality of this temple. Twice during the year the Kal Garuda is taken out of his shrine to serve as Srinivasa’s mount in the procession. It takes 4 men to carry the garuda out of his sanctum. As they carry him out, he seems to become heavier and they need 8 men, then 16 and so on until 64 men are required to carry him out of the temple and 128 to move him in the procession. His weight seems to decrease in the same proportion on the return journey until only 4 men are required to carry him back into his sanctum. Huge crowds turn out at the festivals to see this phenomenon.    

    The last point for this section of the day was Ayyavadi, the adobe of Sri Pratyanga devi, an ugra devatha. This goddess is believed to be worshipped by Indrajit, son of Rvana and even Pandavas. The Homam performed here is the interesting thing where at the end of the homam, chillis are thrown into the fire which results in no odor or inconvenience. No Abhishekam is performed to the deity here only punugu is applied. (a kind of oil)

                            Can you believe, the above all took only half of the day since they are all located very near to each other.

                 After a power nap in kumbhakonam hotel, (filling bellies with good food at Murugan hotel needs no mention) we were again ready for attack to Tirubhuvanam at 3.30PM. This place is famous for handmade silk sarees, but the actual range starts from Rs 6000/-. So we just had the darshan of the Lord Sarabha murthy which is a mix form of Kali, Shiva, Narasimha and Durga. This Lord is known as Kampa hareeswara.

                                            
The next location is Thiruvidai marudur, known as Madhyarjunam(from Sri Chaganti Koteswara rao gari speeches).

The deity here is Mahalingeswara and his consort is Brihat sundara kuchambal. Muukambika is also having a separate shrine here in the same complex.

Sthala puranam:

     This kshetra is in the middle region between Varanasi and Rameswaram and is considered as holy as the other two. The mode of worship is believed to be laid down by Lord Shiva himself. The massive nandi facing the main sanctum is said to have been much smaller once but began growing to alarming heights. Devotees then hammered nails on its head to stop its growth.

            A bit high up in the wall before the entrance is located the “Brahma hatti sila” the shape of which can’t be understood easily. A chola king who killed a Brahmin got Brahma hatya dosha and he got rid of that dosha by entering the Mahalingeswara temple. People here believe that the brahma hatya dosha clinges to those whoever passes through it again after the darshan of the Lord. So people leave the temple of Mahalingeswara, go to get the darshan of the Amman and go out, not to cross the sila twice before leaving the temple.  
                 After having heart-filling darshan of the aaratis at Madhyarjunam kshetra, we vacated the hotel at Kumbhakonam and headed towards Chidamram via Mailaduthurai. Noticing a nice hotel Aksharadham at Vaitheeswaran, we halted there for that night. That proved a wise decision since the service, food and location proved to be very pleasant.

DRIVING THROUGH CAUVERY DELTA -Day2

 Tanjore and Kumbhakonam          

 After collecting the blessings of the Paramatma in the forms of both Shiva and Keshava the previous day, we started the 2^nd day with the Viswa roopa darsan of the Lord Sri Ranganatha. This starts at 5.30AM and people feel it very sacred to get that darshan. We too followed the crowd and were out of the mandir after a heart-filling darshan of Sri Ranganatha swami at 7.30AM. One can see the elephant, cow and the horse going into the temple to wake up the Lord. Priests bring water from the Cauvery holding pots on their heads and sitting on the elephant. Again collecting the blessings of the sajeeva Ramanuja swami, we started towards our next destination Tanjore.

Route: From Srirangam take the bye pass road and reach Tanjore.

                 We went directly to the Brihadeeswara temple locally popular as Big temple. The gigantic appearance of Lord Shiva is really a joy to watch. It looks awesome even from some distance. The construction of the temple is very huge and needs to be observed leisurely. The goddess here is Brihannayaki-the Lord and the goddess made for each other (in size too). We can also get the darshan of Shanmukha and Ganesha in the same complex. This temple is managed by the Govt. under the world heritage centre dept.

                                      

         While heading towards the next place, we also had the darshan of Bangaru Kamaksi temple on the way. After half an hour, we were at Thiruvaiyaru where the Legend of music and one among the trinity of south music Sri Tyagaraja swami blesses us from his Samadhi.

                                                                               

There is one famous Shiva temple known as Panchanatheeswara temple In this place. Next we ran towards Tingalur which hosts the Moon one among the Navagrahas. The main deity is in fact Shiva in this temple too and the moon stands to his side in a separate sanctum. Kailasa nathar and Periya nayaki are the names of the presiding deities. We ran into this temple as it was closing time. But god was kind enough to grant us his darshan just before closing. From here out next destination was Kumbhakonam , the city of temples.

                    We directly went to the hotel Sitthi and after finishing lunch in the famous Murugan restaurant just opposite to our hotel, had a nap since all the temples close in the afternoon time. In the evening, we arranged an auto to cover the temples of Kasi viswanatha, Sarangapani, Someswara, Adikimbheswara and Chakrapani. The Mahamaham tank near the first temple was very big and is treated very pious. All the temples mentioned were very huge constructions and reflect the spiritual interest of the earlier rulers. The Sarangapani temple is one of the 108 Divya desams and it looks simply superb. The main sanctum is shaped like chariot and the lord is seen laying posture. The goddess here is Mahalaxmi as Komalavalli. In Adikumbheswara temple the consort of the Lord is Mangala nayaki. Thus finishing the local powers darshan, we took rest recapping the huge and beautiful structures preserved for years together.

   Not to forget to mention about the coffee of Kumbhakonam, that was really amazing and was a treat to taste buds.

DRIVING THROUGH CAUVERY DELTA- Day1

        Vaikuntham and Kailasam-Heavens on earth                                     

  After a considerable research about the sthala puranas and historical importance (this time not much about the route map), we both packed luggage for about 8 days and were on the highway to Trichy (Tiruchirapalli) on 20/10/2012. The main aim was to cover the important places on the Cauvery delta. The Sthala puranams and other important details about the temple I'm going to mention below are from the book '101 pilgrimages' by outlook traveller. This was the main guide to us though out the entire tour.

 DAY 1

         We started at 3.45 early in the morning and were at our destination by 10.15AM with few breaks of coffee and breakfast.  We directly headed towards the Sri Ranganatha temple. Everyone should accept the fact that this temple is a treasure. It has got lot of things to visit and explore. This is believed to be the first most important of the 108 Divya desams of the vaishnava tradition.

  Sthala puranam:

                 Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, was carrying the ranga vimana(idol of Lord Ranganatha) which he had secured from Rama at the Lord’s coronation ceremony in Ayodhya. He wished to take it to Lanka. He stopped at the spot where the Cauvery meets its tributary, the Kollidam, as he had to perform his Sandhya vandanam. He knew that if he placed the vimaanam on the ground, it would root there. Vibhishana handed it to a boy playing near by agreeing to the condition that he would come when called thrice.  The child called his name as many times in quick succession and before Vibhishana could hurry back, set the vimaanam upon the sands and took to his heels.  Vibhishana rapped him on his head but destiny prevailed. Sri Ranganatha swami never left what then became Srirangam. The deity still faces south, towards Lanka. The hill the boy ran to, where he revealed himself to be vinayaka, became the Uchchi Pillaiyar Kovil. The indentation on the idol is said to testify Vibhishana’s fury.

                                            

Things to see:

      Sri Ranganatha Swami is resting on the Adi sesha and at his feet is Vibhishana. Lord Narasimha with one hand risen (as if calling somebody), Kodanda Rama, Godadevi- Alwars, Pattabhi rama temple, Sridevi-Bhudevi sahita Vishnumurty, Garuda alwar, Ranganayaka, Ranganayaki-Godadevi-Sridevi mandiram, the small holeslike imprints marking the fingers of Amman (from where she peeped to get the darshan of Sri Ranganatha who was coming to marry her), Dhanvantari, Chakrat Alwar And Ramanuja Sannidhi. The last one has some interesting facts attached to it. The moola purusha of Vaishnava sampradaya Sri Ramanuja Swami (1071-1137) left his last breath here and his body remains like that till today. It is covered with the paste of Karpuram and Kumkuma puvvu(camphor and saffron) and no abishekam is performed there. He is found sitting in artha padmasana with his dandam in one hand. Some people even say that his nails and hair grow even to date.

                          We finished all darsanams except that of Amman before the afternoon and before evening we went to the Tiruvanaikkavil, the panchabhoota siva sthala, known as Jambukeswaram.    

Sthala puarnam:

          Here the Lord Shiva presides as the primordial element of water. The Lord’s consort is Goddess Akhilandeswari. She was initially considered as ugra devatha. Hearing this, Saint AdiSankara consecrated two Srichakras on the goddess’s ears turning her into a peaceful diety. Sri Adi Sankara sang the famous Soundaryalahari here and that was inscribed in Tamil outside the goddess’ sannidhi.

           Two devotees of Shiva were cursed to be born as a spider and an elephant. Each morning the elephant would bathe in the Cauvery, bring flowers and fruits to the Lord, clean the altar and offer worship. Later the spider would build a web so drying leaves wouldn’t fall on the lingam, and offer worship. The web was destroyed by the elephant every morning and rebuilt by the spider each evening. One day the spider spotted the elephant destroying the web. Angered, it entered the elephant’s ear killing it and dying in the process. The elephant (‘annai‘ in Tamil) attained moksha thus giving the name Thiru-Aanaika later became famous as Tiruvanaikkaval. The spider was reborn as a Chola king.

        An interesting tale is narrated about his birth. The royal astrologer told his parents, Subhadeva and Kamalavati, that they would be blessed with a male successor of great fame if the birth took place at a particular time, but that any time other than this would have dire consequences. As the queen went into labour earlier than the prescribed time, she made her attendants tie her legs and hang her up side down, delaying the birth. She achieved her objective but the baby was born with reddened eyes thus getting the name Chenkannan. Later he built this temple in Jambukeswaram . Blessed with memories of previous birth, he had the temple built in such a way that elephants can never enter the main sanctum or even have darshan from afar.

         During the Uchikaala puja, (11AM-12.30PM) the head priest dresses up as goddess and leaves from the Akhiladeswari sannidhi to reenact the consecration of the appu Lingam in the main sanctum.

 We missed this special feature since we were struck at that time in the queue for Lord Ranganatha swamy.

After finishing the darshan in this temple, we took a hotel opposite to the temple, just by the side of Manavala maha muni sannidhi, and took rest for some time. In the evening, we again went to both the above temples and had considerable time spent to treasure in our memory. We were very lucky to enter the Thiruvanaikkaval at the time of pallaki seva which was a feast to the eyes and heart. My husband also got the chance to carry the pallaki for some time and I was totally spellbound seeing the grace of the goddess coming out for showering her blessings on the devotees. Since that was the time of Navaratris, the beauty of the Alankaram of the goddess begs words for description. We both sat there in the main temple chanting the Lalithasahasra namam and after looting the great joy of being in the seva, left the temple with lifetime treasured blessings.

Route:   Bnagalore-Krishnagiri-salem-Namakkal-Trichy

In the holy lap of the Lord- Kuruvapuram

             Our long awaited tour to Kuruvapura took a shape on 15th Sept ,2012 at 4.30 in the early morning.We were on the Hyderabad high way till Gooty and then it follws as Pattikonda, Adoni, Madhavaram, Raichur, Aathkur. From Aathkur, we have to take a small boat to  reach the other side of the Krishna river. We were on the boat at around 4 in the evening. Due to moderate rains oflate, there was considerable water in the river. The scenic beauty all around begs words for descripion. After leving the boat in around 20 minutes, we had to walk for almost 1.5 KM to reach the holy land of the Kuruvapura. The way goes through thick forest looking trees and green fields.

               The temple looks very simple but its a treasure of the penance power of the incarnation of Datta Sri Sripada Srivallabha and many othes saints like Sri Tembe swami, Sri Rangavadhuta etc. We were given 2 rooms by the pujari of the temple(Free of cost) and we also infomed him that we were 5 people that wish to have the prasadam of the dinner. We took darshan of the holy padukas covered with the face of Sripada Srivallabha.
           The people coming from Hyderabad reach this place from the other shore that covers Pancha deva pahad. This place is exactly opposite to the temple and we can see the flag on the Vittal baba Ashram where there are facilities for boarding. One can reach here again in a small boat. Since there were no bathrooms at all around the temple and the island, we were planning to go to the other side visible. We had the fotune of seeing the pallaki utsav and Aarati of the lord at 7.30PM and by that time there was no boat to drop us on the other shore. That way Baba's grace forced us to stay there in the holy sorroundings.
             There was no electricity there till 12 in the midnight, but the temple generator brightened the place during the aarati and pallki utsav. There were 2-3 small tube lights to just give us an idea where we were stepping. Luckily we had 2 torch lights with us (Silmilar to baba and master guiding us all through the life) to guide us all the night. We spread our blankets on the ground and were fast asleep in the cool and fragrant breeze.
          Early in the morning we were awakened by the temple bell at 4.The darkness of the nature helped us in answering her calls. Sreeram and Ravannayya had their bath at the hand pump and with the lungis bought at the small shop behind our room, were ready for the Abhisheka of the holy padukas. Doddamma, vadina and myself took a dip in the holy Krishna river to wash away our ill-karma to the possible extent. Then we were also ready in the temple to have the glance of the actual padukas of the Lord uncovered. After being blessed with that Darshan we spent some time in Pradkshina, parayana etc and again were were cruelly ready to leave such a sanctified heaven. How blessed we were that we were granted the chance to visit, sleep in the lap of the lord and in the presence of holy Audumbara, Aswattha, neem trees! I don't know why Baba is so kind towards me who, despite being blessed with all comforts in life, am unable to show enough of gratitude towards Him. How many of His teachings do i actually apply in my life is really a disappointment for Him to have a devotee like me. What i can do is just pray to Him to see to it that i'm able to keep him happy with the way i lead my life.
                    We were on the way back to Aathkur on boat. Then we were on road again to reach bangalore. At Madhavaram, Mantralayam is 8 KM diversion from our actual route. But we reached there at 1.30 PM and the temple in Mantralayam is closed from 2-4PM. Leaving the burden on baba, we headed towards Mntralayam and gods grace! we were at the lords feet at 1.50. Within 3-4 minutes after we finished our darshan, the temple was closed. Again on the road towards bangalore, we were tempted to see the temple of Yogini Lakshmamma at Adoni. That was a boon for us for being blessed with the darshan of her samadhi. With the trinity kshetras(Kuruvapuram, Mantralayam, and Adoni) filling our hearts with extreme joy, we reached home at 11 PM.Thank god for such a great time.