Nerur

Nerur!

This place had been in my to do list for a long time. Nerur, place where the Sidhhar, Swami Sadhasiva Brammendral 's Aadheenam is, is a must visit place to quench your thirst for the positive vibes. On the banks of river cauvery is this holy place surrounded by agricultural lands in all sides.
Peaceful place with a vilwa tree below which the siddhar is said to have breathed his last from his Human form.

I made it on 23rd of December 2018. I along with my cousins visited this temple around 12:45 PM.

Who is swami Sadhasiva Brammendral?

Sadhasiva Brahmendral swas born in Thiruvisanallur. He was a profound scholar. the worldy desires and family life had no attaraction for him and this made him go in quest of a guru. He found in Parmasivendra swamigal the proper guru who could guide him and he received training under him. He was so smart that he put to shame those who came to his guru by defeating them in argument and discussion. his guru remarked this attitude of his shisya and thereafter he felt ashamed & took the vow of silence. After getting the pardon from his guru he started to Uncavruthi tour in Coimbatore district.

Once when he was in deep Meditation, seated on river bed of auveri, the flood in the river swept all over the place & buried him. After the flood, months had passed but he was still intact in the sand. The king of Pudukkottai, Vijaya ragunatha thondaiman had great admiration for thei saint & followed him for 8 years and finally received his blessings.

Bramendra owing to his silence vow, wrote his instructions and mantras on sand and thus taught the tondaiman during his discipleship. Even now in  Pudukkottai, the sand on which brammendral wrote is kept guarded.

Finally he reached nerur near Karur towards his last days. He knew the hour of his death and informed his disciples around him. As predicted, he attained samadhi in state of Mauna.


His Works & Compositions:
He has written many advaita works and hymns in praise of advaitha philosophy. Some of them are
Brahma sutra vruthi, Yoga surta vrutti, Advaitha rasa manjari.

Besides these, he is a musically important personality as he has composed some very moving kirtanas in praise of Krishna and other Gods. the songs are all in Sanskrit, clothes in attaractive music, simple and exalted diction.His signature is "Paramahamsa" Some of his popular compositions are

Manasa sanchara re
Bruhi mukundedi
Pibare rama rasam
Bhajare yadunatham
sarvam brammamayam
Chinta Nasthikila


Where is Nerur & How to reach the place?

This place is 30 minutes drive from Karur district of Tamilnadu. Google Map directs you cleanly to this place. It did direct us;)

How is this place?

Simple and calm. The entrance has a temple of Kasi Viswanathar and Visalakshi ambal behind which is the holy Vilwa tree and the Mahasamadhi of the swamigal. This place is calm and open till noon 1 or 1 30 PM. The temple is well maintained with all rare trees within it. There are also separate sannidhis for Vinayagar, Murugan in the temple premises.

Please visit this place sometime and get blessed by the Guru.

"Acharya devo Bhava!"- Let us worship TEACHER as GOD!!!

Gangai konda Chozhapuram

Gangai konda Chozhapuram

My long term Wish of visiting this place came true on my birthday! Another trip with my cousins.

We started from my home town in my uncle's car and  had to drive 135 KM to reach Gangai konda chozhapuram (from Gunaseelam). It took 3 hours to reach the place and on the way we saw a beautiful sight of a lake filled with birds sitting on the trees. It was an exquisite sight and was delight to the eyes. There was also  lake and ruins of the ancient cholzha palace enroute.

The significance of this place is that it has the same design as the Great Thanjai Periya Koil, built by the legend tamil Chozha king, Raja Raja Chozha. This one was built by Rajendrachozha the son of Rajaraja Chozha. The deities are the Same, Shiva is named Bragedeeswara & goddess parvathi is Brugannayaki or Periyanayaki. The Shiva Linga is too huge bigger than Tanjai periya koil I hope.
The Nandhi at the entrance is also stunning with its huge appearance and beautiful ornaments.

There were 2 main sculptures that caught my attention. They are the ones below.The Lord Shiva himself coronating the King Rajendra Chozha and Goddess lakshmi

 As per history, the king Rajendra Chozha conquered till River Ganga, brought stones from Ganga and built this temple. Hence, the name Gangai konda chozhapuram. The nerby town is also called Jayamkondan, the one who attained SUCCESS.

The temple is similar to tanjai periya koil in its set up. The outer Gopuram is incomplete and also the outer premises walls stand unfinished. One can find a huge Yazhi, a lion faced elephant like creature said to have lived in this world but extinct now. Below it is a outlet of the well near by. It is believed that the people can take bath there without being seen from outside, but the ones who take bath can see people standing out.

There is also a separate sanctum for Durga Devi having several hands and hands full of weapons.
The specialty is that people can visit the gopuram top as there are steps leading to it.  The temple has beautiful lawns and is neatly maintained.

With this I have completed the TRIPLE CHOZHA TEMPLES
1. TANJAI PERIYA KOIL- By THE GREAT RAJARAJA CHOZHA
2. GANGAI KONDA CHOZHAPURAM- By RAJENDRA CHOZHA
3. DARADURAM- By RAJA RAJA CHOZHA II
The Red Granite stones and the Unique Vimanam structure are the lucrative feature of all the three temples.
However the Legend RAJARAJA CHOZHA, someone I feel proud every moment, is definitely someone who I would like to meet if he were still alive and congratulate him for making such a Master piece that not even his Successors couldn't match up. The stunning top of the Tanjai Periya koil still has researchers, scholars wondering how the King brought the granite stones not found in its 100 KM radius!!

Reading tamil Novels like Amarar Kalki's Ponniyin selvan, Sivagamiyin Sabadam, Parthiban kanavu, I often dream how life would have been those days, how people would have lived those days! Visiting these places tells me few things for sure.

The kings of those days definitely had a good Culture , interest for Art & Architecture. Above all their LOVE FOR GOD had been and still is so Huge that these temples stands as an evidence and has WON over time. TIME is the only thing that HUMAN RACE is still working hard to win over in every possible way. I would say these KINGS have already WON over TIME,as I sit after several centuries writing this blog..

SHAMBO MAHADEVA! MAY THE NAME OF THE LORD BRING PEACE TO THIS WORLD!!!

A Wild Inspiration- Living Root Bridge, Cherrapunji, India

 A Wild Inspiration- Living Root Bridge, Cherrapunji, India

As a nature lover, how can I miss the living miracle of Nature? 

My trek to enjoy the nature's wonder inspired me to seek more!!

Though our journey was planned during the dry seasons at Cherrapunji, I knew I could make it easily only during that time. Though not my first experience trekking, We, 8 of us, youngsters planned the trek. Rest of the travelers planned for sight seining in cherrapuji.

I loved the walk down the steep steps leading down to a village in a valley & crossing a river walking through the iron bridge which was hanging. It would have been an exquisite sight in the monsoon as now it had little water and a blue pool with a tiny fall. 

Peoples' perceptions of things vary. Though you are optimistic, there is always this thought in our minds what if we could not make it? The day before our trek was planned, I heard several people tell me that it is going to be risky. The trek route was explained and we were given instructions not to carry much things. As nature & adventure lover, I didn’t listen to what people said. I was determined to take the trip.

The Journey:

The guy at our resort drew a map of the trek explaining the route. There were a couple of single root bridges, villages, natural pool with a double deck root bridge, Natural rainbow pool (which we didn’t go due to time constraints)

We began early in the morning (by 5:30 AM) from the resort we stayed and the driver took us to some place nearby, a 15-20 minutes’ drive. Enjoying the sun rise, we began our trek down by 6:05 AM. We were offered sticks and a guide also accompanied us. There were around 1500 steps leading down to a valley were there was a village. From that village were 2 routes. One in the right leading to a single root bridge & the one in left leading to double deck Root Bridge naturally set up in front of a small water fall. We marched towards the double deck root bridge. On the way to the double deck bridge was another single root bridge, crossing which was a small chai (tea) stall.

Now was a small climb up leading to the wonderful sight of the double deck bridge. I am not good at expressing my feelings while I look at nature. My mind becomes blank. Actually no thoughts crosses that I fail to even listen. I capture those shots in the camera of my mind. Then slowly coming to presence, I started taking pics with my friends walking around. Few walking on the root bridge, few getting in to the water falls, few enjoying the chillness of the water while my brother Ganesh Anna (Vignesh Chaithanya ji) simply seated on the huge rock near the falls and enjoying the sight calmly. The tiny waterfall had a natural pool with ample water for us to have a chill dip. The water was crystal clear. The fishes, black pricked my legs. I spent time accompanying them, and sooner they started accompanying me, softly pricking my feet.

The bed of the pool were covered with small pebbles and the crystal clear water hid the depth. The water again fell down and ran as a canal. Above this second fall is the double deck root bridge. The tree living for centuries, had created a bridge with its root, letting people cross. Nature is wonderful.

The wild Inspiration

Taking few dips standing in middle of the pool, enjoying the cold water which normalized sooner with my body, with sun shining straight at me, peeking in between the two root bridges, I had few moments of oneness with nature. There are lots of learnings from the MASTER GIVER- NATURE. Everything in Nature is a GIVER. All the Pancha Boothas: elixirs of life- Land, water, air, space and fire are all GIVERS.

The root bridge which stood in front of me, a miracle, also taught me how to be independent and strong. It built for itself crossing the river, letting out its root, strong enough and helping people walk through them. So, to help others, to be a giver, we need nothing but to be STRONG and INDEPENDENT. No one can stop you from being a Giver. The art of giving with expecting nothing in return is to be mastered from the Nature.

The root bridge dawned in me this thought to be a GIVER. Do I need to have something to give? I questioned myself? To give love, I guess I need a good heart. Rest will happen. When I am determined to be a GIVER, the universe will respond back, I thought. The nature aided the formation of the bridge by itself. Nobody helped it. The tree in itself had the capability!

Also, when I master myself, out of which I will learn to be calm, I can stay where I am peacefully. The feeling of oneness with nature will bring me peace of mind, inner peace, and fulfillment. I can be a giver and be where I am. Period.

Though we exploit nature by all means, it stays calm. It does not hurt us back. It expects nothing back in return. The SELFLESSNESS.

Post the dip, we had a quick change of clothes and started back skipping the rainbow fall. The guide informed us that it is another 20 minutes trek to the natural swimming pool where one can see a waterfall with the rainbow falling into it. Due to time constraint & as we had elders travelling with us who were waiting for us in the resort, we skipped the trek to rainbow falls and started walking back to the starting point. The climb up was little tedious. We took a small break at the chai stall were we had our breakfast which we carried with us form the resort, had good chai and walked up the steep steps. The sight of the hills, valleys, rivers, waters, trees, fruits, and fascinating flowers gathered our attention. We took pics & selfies, groupies and slowly climbed back to the starting point. We were back by 11 AM. I totally enjoyed the trek and immediately made up my mind to take up more such treks and also to make it to rainbow falls during the monsoonJ. Hope someday I will.

We must look for means to thank nature. At the least we must make sure we don’t harm them, exploit them. 

Thiruthani Murugan Temple

Thiruthani Sri Subramanya Swami temple

This temple @ Thiruthani needs no propaganda as it is one of the Renowned abode of Lord Muruga. This is my first blog on Lord Muruga & this visit is my first visit to this temple as well. This temple is said to have 325 steps. There is also road leading to the temple.

குன்றிருக்கும் இடம் குமரன் இருப்பிடம்

As the above tamil statement, wherever there is a hill, the residing deity is Lord Muruga or Subramaniya Swami, the Son of Lord Shiva.  Lord Muruga is seen as Tamil Kadavul or Lord of the Tamil people as He has lot of things to do with Tamil.

My Trip: 

   I actually had no plans to visit this temple. We actually visited a temple at Putlur near Thivallur and as I had this long time wish of visiting this temple, IT actually happened. 

அவனருளாலே அவன்  தாழ் வணங்கி 

As a blessing We(Myself & my husband) drove to this temple and we were the gifted to have darshan of the Lord as last ones as it was closing time. The temple is like every other Murugar temple on hill top. The Lord gave us Darshan as a King in Green colored dress. As the day before our visit was the occassion of Krithikai & Shasti together we could see lot of decorations in temple. One cannot miss seeing devotees in every directing chanting "Arohara அரோஹரா " and carrying Kavadi (காவடி ) for the Lord.

The Lords consorts Valli is seen in seperate sanctum to the Lords' left & Deivanai to his right. The Praharam is small one with Adi Thanigai velam ( The old deity) placed just behind the main sanctum in the praharam. There is also Durgai in the praharam as seen in every Shivan temple.

We could see the temple painted newly and there is also a new Gopuram under construction.

The view of temple from the road

The Gopuram under construction

தடங்கல்கள் நீங்க இந்த ஸ்லோகம் சொல்வது நல்லது.

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சத்ரு சங்கார வேல் பதிகம்

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For the Pathigam you can refer to my earlier blog:

Official website of the temple:

http://www.tirutanigaimurugan.tnhrce.in/

Vekkaliamman Temple, Trichy

Vekkaliamman Temple, Trichy

Vekkaliamman , Goddess Shakthi here is seated in Woraiyur without any roof on her top. Be it hot sun, or rain, she has the Sky as her roof. Trichy being a very hot city in Tamilnadu, she mostly is seated enjoying the heat of the sun.  She is believed to be more powerful goddess. The temple is a small one. Though there is no roof top for the Goddess, a Mandapam kind of temple is raised around the goddess.

There is a rectangular Arch at the very entrance and to you left you will find small sanactums (or Sannidhis)  for various Gods like Vinayagar, Murugan, Karuppannasami (who is the security God of the villagers/the area), Hanumar. after the darshan of all these deities, you can join the queue to have the darshan of the Goddess. There are also free as well as paid darshan.

People bring garlands, sarees, lemon garlands and the same is being offered to the goddess. We really enjoyed watching the goddess wearing different colors of saree within our darshan. We also enjoyed the Aarthi as we went during the evening arthi time I guess 6 PM.

People write letters to the goddess on an yellow paper which is placed in the sactum & is being tied before her. It is believed that the needs of the people are being addressed by the Goddess. I believe it as quite a stress buster for people and also a communication to the God.

One another thing I noticed as the highest offering is people pay for the Chariot & the Goddess comes around the sanctum in the evenings.

Note: You will have to take the bus from Chatram Bus stand that goes via Woraiyur. From the bus stand of Vekkalaiamman temple, You can take an Auto or walk to the teample which must be less than 1KM. we enjoyed the walk to the temple. There are lots of shops on the way and in front of the temple

From the Bus stop before you go to the temple, you will have to cross the Famous Nachiyar temple where Lord Renganathar comes ones in a year, gives his ring to Nachiyar & get caught by Renganayaki Thayar. Its a wonderful festival to be enjoyed.

Further reference:

http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=795
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vekkali_Amman_Temple

Coorg or The Kudagu

Coorg

Coorg or the Kudagu is a district in the state of Karnataka,India where the famous south Indian river Kauvery originates. You can plan a short trip over a weekend or a long weekend of 3 or 4 days to Coorg.

The beautiful flower blossomed with rain drops on it

If you planning to start from Chennai, you have Kauvery express during night, which will pick you after your dinner @ 9 PM and drop you at Mysore for your breakfast. From Mysore, you will have a 2-3 hour Journey to Coorg

Always pre-book vehicles for journey & also your accommodation while you travel to any such hill stations. Always include Jerkins, Umbrellas, socks, shoes, Sweaters, Mufflers in your packing in addition to your usual dresses.

The climate:
The season is during the months of June to August, when it rains in Coorg.
We visited during the month of July and during the month of July, the climate is very cool and quite unpredictable. Within few moments, there is rain and the next moment there is mist everywhere. It drizzles on and off and the movement of the wind along with the drizzle make it a lively thing to watch. It is like a wave  in the air. There were only few minutes of sun shine seen.

Tala Kauvery:
Thala cauvery is the origin point from where the holy river Kauvery starts her journey.
The walk from the place where the Cab dropped us to the thala cauvery temple was awesome. Actually all we could see were white mist. We couldn't even see the person standing at 3 foot distance. In few moments it started raining. In the cool climate we sheltered in the nearby shops where the owner made us Garama garam Pakodas (Hot Pakodas). Had them accompanied with ginder Tea.. Wow! a nice experience..!!

Once the rain receded a little we walked to the temple. It was a beautiful temple with a shrine over the origin point. few people took a holy dip besides the rain. It must have been shivering. The monument of the bell at the entrance attracted my attention. We went around the temple enjoying the drizzle and returned back to our Cab.

Thriveni sangamam

Very few Kilometers down below Thala Kauvery is Thriveni Sangamam where there are 2 other streams joining hands with the holy Kauveri. I took a holy dip here and had darshan of the Lord at
Bhagamandala temple. The temple was clean and we had the prasad. Walking back to the cab, took some pics and started back to our hotel.

Raja's Seat
This place is quite a garden with a seat where the late King of Coorg had sat to enjoy his leisure and see the sunset & sunrise. The view from this place is awesome as down below you can see the hills, the green valleys, plateau, agriculture fields, the zigzag roads and the vehicles moving in them. Often the mist covers the beautiful sight for all you see is white mist blocking the sight. You will have to wait for them to clear and enjoy the nature.

Kids can enjoy a small ride in a toy train here.

Abbey's Falls

Abbey's falls is overflowing in the month of July- August. Though you cannot take bath here, the sight of the fall overflowing gives overflowing joy to the eyesight & the mind. The walk to the fall from the main road, listening to the buzzing sound quieten the mind out of all the thoughts and the snowy white water rejuvenates every cells. I had goose bumps having the sight of the falls. It rained 4 times in the 20 minutes time I spent there. This On & Off rain with its drizzles made me long for something hot to drink & I enjoyed the Coffee of Coorg in the coffee shop on the main road.

Dubare & White water rafting

We also enjoyed white water rafting near the Dubare forest. The dubare forest is famous for the elephants, but it was closed that day. We enjoyed watching river Kauvery flowing amidst the trees near the forest. what a lovely sight. I would have stayed there for even longer. My thoughts went several centuries back as described by Amarar Kalki in his novel, "Ponniyin selvan". How rich and prosperous the river had been in the past. It was a feast to my eyes & I will say as one among the best moments of my life

Few of us planned and enjoyed the White water rafting. The rafting was a good experience. Post my earlier experience in river Ganga, I was quite comfortable to jump  and plunge in to the water. There was water roaring at some hurdles and the entire journey of 5 kms was totally enjoyable with greenery set as boundaries running parallel to us. The river was wide and we also saw the Nisargadhama Bamboo forest as one of the banks of the river.


The walk
 Aah!!.. I always like to go on a walk in hilly places to just feel the climate, environment and enjoy nature. The walk was quite pleasant in the evening and we stopped at some places having fun touching the "Touch me Not" plant which was abundant all through the region we walked.

Tips for Packing:

In addition to the dresses you carry for the stay, carry the below items
1. Always carry an umbrella as the climate at coorg is unpredictable.
2. Jerkins/ sweaters, Mufflers
3. Socks, Gloves
4. Appropriate Footwear as it also rains and your shoes may get soaked, have  a pair of sandals too
5. 2 pairs of extra dresses  if you have plans of getting holy dip @ Thala Kauvery and Triveni sangamam

Thiru Eengoi malai

Thiru Eengoi malai

Thiru Eengoi Malai is yet another temple of Lord Shiva, who is seated on a hill top. After the darshan of Kadambar@ kulithalai in the morning, Ayer Malai Sokkar in the afternoon, we took rest in Gunaseelm in my Uncle's home and it was adhoc plan as we did not plan earlier. I would say it was the wish of the Lord Himself.

As I stated in my earlier post, it is still in practice that people take darshan of Kadambar in the morning, Sokkar of Ayyer malai in the noon and Maragathacheleswarar in the Evening. I was surprised to see that even the pooja happens for these temple in the respective times only. For Sokkar of Ayer malai, we had to wait for the priest who came around 11 am and opened the temple. Like wise the Thirueengoi malai was opened only for the evening darshan.

Thiru Eengoi Malai view from the foothill

The Steps leading to the hill top

Temple:

 The Lord Shiva of this temple is called Maragathachaleswarar and the goddess parvathi is called Maragathambigai.This temple is said be more than 2000 years old. This temple is located near Musiri, Tiruchirappali. All the three temple I mentioned are within 10 km circumference. The Steps of these temple look just like stones simply assembled. They have been painted in red & white. I would say there may be around 400 to 500 steps to the hill top.

The Ambal & Shivan sannadhi Gopurams

The main entrance leading  of the temple

Our trip:

We (Me & my cousins) started from Gunaseelam after a small nap followed by refreshing and a hot tea from my uncle's hotel @ gunaseelam. We left gunaseelam by 4:50 PM. we reached the temple by 5:15 PM. We can have a quick glance of the hill from the main road. There is also Lalithambal Peedam adjacent to the temple which we missed visiting that day.

As soon as we reached the foot of the hill, we parked our car and we could see a Sannidhi of Rishi (supposedly Bogar, correct me if I am wrong). Then starts the steps to climb up the hill. The steps were small unlike the ones in Ayer malai and we could see the hill top, it gave us a small happiness that we would be able to reach the top soon. We carried water with us. Left the slippers in the car.

We halted in between just to feel the breeze and atmosphere. The sight from around 300 steps was nice but it would have been lovely if we had water in the river Kauvery. I really felt sad and something was bothering me since then. I simply closed my eyes and imagined how beautiful it would be if there was water flowing in the river. It will be a feast to the eyes. The sight also had Ayer malai in straight line. The opposite bank had Ayer malai and in this bank of Kauvery is Thiru Engoi malai.

I sincerely prayed Lord Shiva that soon I see water flowing though the river and all green scenery around this place. Now I must not forget mentioning about the 100s of Lorry on the river beds. It looked like toys arranged in a straight line from the hill top. Those were for looting the sand from the River. I mention it as looting because there must be norms for taking sand. Also, why has human race become this greedy that we are ready to fore sake anything(even basic needs) for our Luxury?

The view from half way through the hill top

Water is a basic need, a necessity. Its an elixir of Life. Without water, we all will die. We already have exploited many of the resources. We may leave nothing for the future generations. I request all those who read this blog to save water. Have some social responsibility. We came empty handed in to this world. But we exploit every resource available here and make a mess out of this world before we leave. Remember, we take nothing back... Still, why is that we dance as though everything is ours?
Its all HIS. Thinking deeply, we will definitely get the answers. (I turned Sentimental & of course spiritual)

Getting back to our climb up, we saw few people whom we saw in Ayer malai return back with the prasadam after darshan. Hope they also made the trio darshan on the same day. The Majestic Gopuram invited us and the compound wall was as of those in palaces. entering the sanctum, we gave the fruits for the God and had the darshan of Maragatha Lingeshwarar or the Maragathachaleshwarar. We sang songs in praise of the lord . To left of the God was the goddess Maragathambigai. We also sang songs in praise of the goddess.

I cannot miss mentioning the sannathi of the Tamil God Murugan, who was in the form of Bala Dhandayuthapani as in Pazhani. Still in my eyes, we sang several songs in his praise. Came a round about the temple, got the prasadham, felt the divine bliss and started climbing down the temple. Before we got down, the temple priest got down quickly. As it was dusk, it slowly started becoming dark and there were only few lights that were on the steps down the hill.

Special thanks to the Lord by Whose grace we had a wonderful day!
அவனருளாலே  அவன் தாழ்  வணங்கி !!

A special thanks to my cousins by whose support this trip was possible!

For further details refer:
http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=841

Ayer Malai- Madhiyam Sokkar!!

Rathnagirishwarar, at Ayer/ Ayver Malai

Madhiyam Sokkar

I ticked my long time pending to do list after visiting this hill top!  As planned we visited Kadambar in the morning, then Rathnagiriswarar in Avyer Malai in Noon & there is one more...!

A brief about the temple:

Rathinagireeswarar temple at Ayyar Malai is one of the sacred "Saivite" temple and is believed to be more than 1300 years old. The five pandavas were believed to have stayed here briefly during their exile hence it is called as Ayvar (In tamil means 5 people) malai(Means hill). It is also believed that the sage Aghastiya worshipped at this temple on the way to "Podhigai".There are many hymns about this temple in "Thevaram" by thirunavukkarasar (7th Century AD), Appar and Sundarar. Arunagirinadhar has sung about its glory in "Thirupugazh".There are lot of rock inscriptions from the 11th to 16th century AD indicating that the temple received patronage from the Cholas, Pandyas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara kings.

My trip to Ayver Malai

Post our darshan at Kadambar temple in the Morning, (Refer https://valarpirai-ghayathri.blogspot.in/2017/06/kadamba-vana-nathar.html) we started to Ayer malai which is also near by Kulithalai, Karur District of Tamil nadu (Madhiyam Sokkar)in our car. On the way, we stopped under a shady tree for breakfast, opened the packing my uncle gave for our breakfast and finished our breakfast. This gave us enough energy to climb up the hill.

My cousin drove the car and along the road we could see the gigantic hill staring at us, challenging us for a climb!

The view of Ayer Malai from the Kulithalai Road

The road leading to the Hill. The steps are also clearly seen in the left side of the picture.

It was a (Muhurtha) auspicious day for the Hindus and there were lots of marriages happening in the halls at the foot of the hill. We could see average crowd, those who came to attend the marriages also came to visit the temple.

The Trek begins  from here!!

We (Me and my cousins) started trekking up around 8:30 AM.  As we begun the climb, we found lot os villagers worshipping their family deity, the security guard of their families (Kaval Deivam). there was a priest playing the damru or Udukkai and telling things to people, something what the village people believed that the God came in to him and answered their questions.

Ayyanar Temple, the deity of the local Villagers

Crossing this Mandapam, there was a huge rock to the left hand side with deity of Vinayagar. We planned to climb up the hill fast as we sensed that if the sun rises further up, at noon, this being a rocky mountain it will gain heat and we without wearing slippers or shoes, it will be too hot to climb. So we planned not to stop. The initial steps were uneven few of normal height, few longer. There are mandapams built for Shade in between without which climbing the hill is a challenge.

The mandapam with Pillayar

In between you can find the deity of Saptha Kannigaigal, the seven virgins to the left side of your path. The place was cool as the deities were placed between two huge rocks. Felt like walking through natural air conditioner

The SapthaKannnigal/ the seven virgins

One thing you will not miss enjoying is the stunt by the Monkeys in Ayer Malai. please carry a stick for a safer side. There are lots of MOnkeys with their kids. They will travel with you until the hill top looking for food, water. It must be very hard for them as we ourselves felt thirsty in the hot summer

Monkey beating the heat drinking the drops of water from the pipe!

After climbing up, you will have to wait until the priest comes. A main thing to note is that the pooja for Ratnagirishwarar happens only in Noon. We found few people carrying flower, water and milk from down the hill for the God. we reached the hill top slowly around 11. waited for half an hour. The Priest came and opened the Sannidhi/ sanctum by 11:30. All the people waiting entered the sanctum for the darshan of the God and goddess. One cannot miss the beautiful sight from the top of the hill. The breathtaking, awesome site. One thing was clear, if there had been water in Kauvery it would have been even more beautiful sight. The view made my thoughts roaming.

Every time I take off from any airport or land, I like looking down and all I see is lots of buildings arranged closely. The roads with lights which make it look like stars below. This sight is completely different. The plateau is rich brown soil and all I can see around are few hills and land, trees and few buildings here and there.

The View from the hill top! 

The first deity you will come across as you climb is the goddess SurumbarKuzhali, Guess the Goddess have a curly hair. This is said to be Sakthi Peetam. There are inscriptions on the outer walls of the Ambal Sannathi which I am not sure what language they are..! There are neem and other trees around the sanctum.

The Shrine of Devi Parvathi

The walls of the Devi temple have inscriptions. We could identify few tamil letters

   

We had the darshan of the Goddess and also the Lord Shiva as Rathnagirishwarar. We sang few songs in praise of the Lord, sang few Thevaram, few pathigams. The lord shiva is in Long Linga roopam. There is Nandhi in front of him and there a small window which lets in cool breeze in to the sanctum. 

I  was wondering how the kings those days must have deigned and built these temples. You cannot do a pradakshinam of Shiva here. There is no way to come around the God. there are also deity of other gods like Subramanya, Vairava Perumal, and other usual gods of Shiva temple. After Darshan, on the way out of Goddess temple, we walked up the corrider where we enjoyed the breathtaking sights and took a nap for 10 minutes enjoying the atmospehere in the hill. The wind was cool though it was 12 noon. We took some pics together, made some funny poses and enjoyed chatting for some time.

Walking down the hill was the real challenge as now the steps were hot as a stove in full flame. we actually ran down the steps towards every shade.Thank god for the shelters in between and the trees which gave us shade in places in between the steps. Climbing up during this time (post 12 noon) is not advised though we found few people climbing up the hill. We learnt that even the priest will come down around 2 PM.

I would suggest people planning for Darshan of Ayer malai to carry cotton shawls, a stick ( to scare the monkeys), water, a sun screen for your skin, caps and few snacks or glucose for energy.

Few things I realised while climbing up are:
 In Hinduism, climbing up hills are considered sacred. It not only healthy for the body but for also the mind. Its a challenge we take up for ourselves. When we can climb up such hills we learn that we can easily overcome challenges in our day to day life.

I wish every one reading this post visit this temple once and get the blessings of the Lord!

தென்னாடுடைய  சிவனே போற்றி !!
எந்நாட்டவர்க்கும் இறைவா போற்றி !!!

Nagareshu Kanchi..!

Nagareshu Kanchi..!

Incredible India!!

There is a Sanskrit Quote By the renowned poet "Kalidasar" who states, among the Cities(Nagar), the most Beautiful is Kanchi (Kanchipuram). He  from what(the places) he had seen during his period its only Kanchi, the best.

Kanchi or the Kanchipuram is temple city near Chennai. Everywhere you can find lots of temple. In this post I am sharing with you the recent look of the Kanchi Kamakshi Amman, who is the presiding deity of the region, by whom the region is famous, The Kanchi Kamakshi, the goddess Parvathi who did penance to marry the God Shiva (Ekambaranathar) of Kanchi.


The new look after the Kumbabishegam (renewal) is breath taking. Here are few pictures, a feast to your eyes.!

One of the 4 entrance

Kadamba vana nathar

Kalayil Kadambar..!

Kadamba vana nathar

Kadamba vananathar koil Gopuram

On the Southern bank of Kauveri, in the small city of Kulithali, Karur district, we can worship Kadamba vana nathar, the Shivan so called, as he is seated in the forest of Kadamba trees. The sthala Vriksham is Kadamba tree. (Botanical Name: Neolamarckia cadamba). This is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia. It has scented orange flowers in dense globe-shaped clusters.

Lord Shiva is the main deity of this temple with his wife Parvathi, named as Mutrilla mulaiammai.

Lord Shiva is seated facing North as Swayambu lingam. The Saptha Kinnikaigal (The seven Virgins) are worshipping him from his behind. As usual, we can find the other Gods in the Praharam, or surrounding of Lord Shiva. Vinayagar, Subramanya Swami, Dakshinamurthi, Chandekeshwarar, Durgai Amman, and the Navagrahas.

It is said that Lord Shiva granted Darshan to the Sapta Kannigas in this place, on the banks of the River Kauvery. 

The temple trip:

We (me along with my 4 cousins) went to the temple early in the morning around 7:30 AM. We went by taking my uncle’s car and the drive was good along the banks of the river Cauvery. My  2 cousins drove alternatively. We started from Gunaseelam, a village in Trichy district on the highway of Trichy- Salem. We went via Musiri and took the long bridge crossing the river Cauvery to reach Kulithalai. This temple is in Kulithalai and we easily reached the temple as it is close to the kulithalai bus stand. The compound wall of the temple can be seen from the main road.

We parked our car and went in with the Bananas which our uncle gave for the Lord Shiva. As it was Muhurtha day, auspicious day for the marriage, and there were marriages happening in the temple, the temple was crowded with a couple of wedding couples and their friends and relatives attending the marriage. We had to pierce through them and we did the Namskaram at the Dwajasthambam. We could see the Goddess in the right side before entering the sanctum of Lord Shiva. However, we went in to the sanctum of Lord Shiva first, gave him the Fruit and had the darshan. Me and my cousins sang few Bhajans and songs in praise of the Lord and got the Viboothi Prasadam. There were paintings seen on the walls of the sanctum. The Lord was in small Linga Form facing North. There was this inner praharam around Lord Shiva, were there were 63 Nayanmars, Kala Biravar, SapthaKannis behind Lord shiva, Murugan along with valli deivanai, Durgai, Dakshinamurthy and Chandikeshwarar,Naalvar as well. There was a separate sannidhi for Vinayagar as well.

After the darshan of the Lord shiva, we had to again penetrate through the crowd to visit the Goddess. People were well dressed in traditional Pattu sarees and Pattu Dhothis.:). We had the darshan of the Goddess Mutrilla Mulaiammai and we went through the outer praharam. 

The Shrine of the Goddess Mutrila Mulaiammai

All we can see were trees and plants along the compound wall with the words “Shiva Shiva” written on them. Lots of trees including Kadamba trees were seen. The flowers in few tree were beautiful. We enjoyed the walk in the shadow of those trees and we again found Lord Vinayaka seated in the shade of a big Tree.Its his specialty to sit under trees. You can see that in every corner of tamil nadu and  in every Arasa or Ala tree shade, the Vinayaga is seated. There was also Vilva tree and people were doing pradakshinas. One thing I love about visiting the temples is that I feel so happy and blessed. Not sure if it is the smell or some positive Vibration in the temple or the ambiance that gives me the feeling. We left the temple thanking the God and happily started for the next exciting Climb to Ayyar/Ayver malai, the plan in my to do list for long long time.

Beautiful flowers and buds seen in temple

Marathadi Pillayar

The 5 tier Gopuram as seen from the entrance of the temple

 There is a belief to visit three Shivas in single day.

                                 “Kadambar in the Morning,

                                    Ayer Malai in Noon

                                & Thirueengoinathar in the evening”

So our Step one was complete by around 8:30 AM in the morning.

Will write about the Ayer Malai in my next post.

For further reference:

http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=83