A round to cover few datta ksetras in Maharastra

                   This anniversary took us far into Maharastra to bless us collect the grace of Lord Datta in different forms. On the very Day of the eve itself, we started our drive, (i.e; 25th of October,2013) towards the pious state. Our first break was at Hubli, siddharudha matt at lunch time. the temple and the samadhi mandir premises made us really feel blessed on that important day. Swami samadhi mandir made me recollect the samadhi mandir of Sri Gajanan maharaj in Shegaon, with a bust size statue on the samadhi. We spent considerable time there, had a look at the sansthan accommodation and left for further race. The sansthan provides a good facility to stay there in Hubli to spend some time there in parayana like sadhanas.
                                             

                                  

                  As it was just a half day of drive, my husband was keen in going further towards the destination, pune, and the excellent condition of the road encouraged him more.  We crossed Belgaon, Kolhapur and finally won the race to reach home at 9.30PM. A warm welcome at Sreeram's cousin's place gave us great refreshment and to every one's surprise, sreeram showed no signs of tiredness even after 900 KM drive. He loves and enjoys it to that level.
          Next day, we relaxed enough and went out to  have the darshan of Dehu and Alandi located near by. Dehu is the place where Sant Tukaram went to Vaikuntham with his physical body. There lies a huge tree in that place which signifies this event every year. 3 days before the Holy festival, the tree and its branches and leaves move a lot as if there is great flow of wind, exactly during the same time when Sri Tukaram left in the vimana, i.e; in the afternoon. Many people flock to witness this miracle and god's presence even to date.
                                              

      The other holy place Alandi is the place sanctified by the Sajiva samadhi Of Sant Sri Jnaneswar Maharaj. This is a huge temple complex and well maintained place. The life history of this saint is very interesting and sets example to show the power of God and his true followers.
             We were back at home by evening and the remaining day passed in relaxation. Even the next day was filled with enjoyment with family, Sreeram's brother and sister.
          On Monday morning, we set out for reaching the holy place Shiridi, at 7.30 and were there at the destination by afternoon 1. On the way there is an Asta vinayak kshetra Ranjangaon.
                                         

 The last 20 KM of the route was a bit damaged part and the rest was fine. We checked into the rooms in Akhil Bharat Hotel, had meals, took a nap and went for darshan in the evening at 4PM. We booked this Darshan online earlier itself. but there was very less crowd and we were blessed to have a very peaceful darshan of Sainatha. Finishing the darshan of other holy parts of the village like Dwarakamayi, chavadi, lendi and other temples in the complex, we felt really happy for such a time after a long time. The following 2 days were also filled with similar happiness, spending time in Parayana, circumambulations, Aaratis and Darshan. The 2nd day we shifted into Sai Ashram, the sansthan accommodation which proved very good. There is a free bus for pick up and drop from the temple to this ashram as it is located 2 KM from the mandir. The 3rd day in Shiridi, 30th October, being the 75th birth day of Sri Ekkirala Bharadwaja Master, we had immense pleasure to be there in that place and prayed for the blessings of baba to uplift mankind in the form of such Mahatmas all the time. May he bless us too with the good samskaras to recognize them when they incarnate to grace us. God's grace even made us able to get the darshan of Sakori and Sri Sivanesan swami Samadhi while we were in Shiridi.
             After finishing the afternoon Aarati and a darshan, we started back towards Pune, me with a very heavy heart. By 8 PM we were in Sreeram's sister's place. we had enough of rest there to proceed further the next day.
                                             After breakfast, we were again in our chariot to go towards Sajjanghad, the holy place of Sri samartha ramadasa Swami. This was an awesome place which left us totally with joy. the Samadhi of sri samartha ramadasa swami along with his padukas presented to him by Lord Dattatreya can be seen at this mandir. the padukas of Sri Sridhara swami can also be visited here in  another mandir in the same complex. the steps to reach this temple are not so steep and can easily be reached even by the elderly people. the atmosphere of the surroundings leaves us with a peaceful and serene mind. we felt lucky to be there exactly during lunch time and we were blessed with the prasadam served there.
                                        

             then we continued further towards Audumber where Lord Sri Nrisimha saraswati placed His padukas. This is again a great place to be there on the bank of a river. By the time we reached there, it was dark, so we couldn't capture the surroundings to the fullest, but were so happy to be able to step there.                                    

             the next blessing was from Bhuvaneswari devi of Billavati, which was on the other side of the river in Audumber. we sat  there for some time, read the chapter from Sri Guru charitra which mentioned the leela happened here in case of an ignorant Brahmin. We had to go further since we aimed to be Narsobawadi for that night.
                                            

                                        Narsobawadi was sanctified by the pious penance of Sri Nrisimha saraswati for 12 years and is one of the very important Datta Kshetras. This is a temple on the bank of River Krishna which unites with pancha Ganga. we were lucky to get the temple accommodation just by the side of the temple so that we were able to take a dip in the river the next morning. The magic of lord worked in the way that it was the day of Guru dwadasi, the day when sri pada sri vallabha's avatara leela finished. So there was a celebration of Palanquin festival at 2 o'clock in the night. but, as we were on drive all the day, we couldn't afford to wake up at that time.
    we woke up early at 4 in the morning and after taking a dip in the river and having Darshan of the nirguna padukas , we spent our time in parayana and circumambulations. the temple surroundings consist of samadhis of other mahatmas too which was mentioned in detail in Dattavatara mahatyam written by Sri Ekkirala Bharadwaja Master. I can't describe how happy I was to finish the tour in such a way. then we proceeded further towards Bangalore. on the way we had the darshan of Sri Maha laxmi in Kolhapur and even had a small tea break in Karad at my friend's place.
                      Thus the tour came to an end with 2 hearts immersed in total joy, recollecting the greatness of the places covered. we are always indebted to God for giving us such a great opportunity. the joy of the fruit can't be described.

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.