GoShala at Madipakkam Navasakthi Kamakshi Amman temple

GoShala at Madipakkam Navasakthi Kamakshi Amman temple

                Hinduism is not just a religion, but “a way of life”. Everything we do in our day to life has a meaning to it and when we keep searching for the answers, yes. We will get it answered- “The Omni presence of GOD”.

In this post I would like to tell about the holy temple in my locality, Sri Navasakthi Kamakshi temple and the GoShala in this temple.

Whenever I hear this word GoPooja, the first thing that comes to mind is Radha amma doing the Gopooja @ Navasakthi Kamakshi Amman temple, Madipakkam. Wearing a traditional 9 yards, she performing Go Pooja offering flowers, fruits to the cow and calf gives a sense of happiness and peace to the mind. Sri Navasakthi Kamakshi Ambal seated gigantically with a beautiful heart throbbing face attracts everyone who come to her with her motherly smile. Every time I visit the temple an unknown happiness fills my heart and I guess everyone visiting the temple must feel the same way.  

Sri NavaShakthi Kamakshi Amman is seated on the banks of the Madipakkam lake, blesses the people and take care of her devotees. You can sight the Ambal from the entrance of the temple as she is gigantically seated 9 foot tall. There are also separate Sannadhi for Vinayar and Sri Muthukumara Swami in the temple.

In the Deva Bhasa- Sanskrit, “Go” means Cow. The cow has been a symbol of God or Avatar-divine earthly embodiment of God himself. In Hinduism, Cow has been symbol of Goddess Devi, the source of health wealth & prosperity since ancient time. Kamadhenu, also known as Surabhi is a divine goddess described as mother of all cows. She is believed to have been a miraculous cow who gives her owner whatever they desire. All cows are venerated in Hinduism as a form of Kamadhenu  and she is worshipped by veneration of Cows in general. There are quotations from various sacred scriptures . In Bagavat Gita (Chapter 10, verse 28), when lord Krishna declares to the source of Universe he states,

                                             “Dhenunam asmi Kamadhuk”

 HE is Kamadenu, Conveying that for doing one’s duty, one would get the milk of one’s desire which can multiply as the dairy products of the Cow.

The cows are revered because of its numerous benefits- its dairy products, tilting of fields, and on cow dung as a source of fuel & fertilizer. Cow’s milk and its derivatives such as ghee are integral part of the vedic fire sacrifice and nutritional components of Hindu meals. Panchagavya, the mixture of the five products of cowis consumed in Brahmanical rituals. All Gods are believed to reside in the body of a sacred cow. Every part of it is worshipped. In Hinduism poojas are done every day worshipping the cow & its calf named as “Go Pooja”. The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection.

Also, Godaan, donating a cow has been in practice in our religion for long. It is believed that at least one cow must be donated in a man’s life time. The benefits of donating a cow are simply endless. There is no other donation comparable to donation of cow in this world. It is believed that the donar of the cow will attain highest state of eternal bliss.

As you are all aware, Goshalas are the protective houses or shelters for the Cows. These days Goshalas are maintained in only major temples which are much popular. Here in Madipakkam, One cannot miss the Go- Shala of the Navashakthi Kamakshi amman temple which is at the very entrance. There are a couple of cows and their calves which are being nurtured by the temple founders- Shri and Shrimathi Radha Sethuraman (Radha Amma). Go Pooja is being performed and the Cows are taken care with much care.

As per Hinduism, every cow to a pious Hindu is regarded as an embodiment of the God and to protect and take care of it is our duty. "Go Samrakshanam" - the protection and Maintenance of the Cows are very important. Kanchi Periva has insisted the Samrakshaman of the Cows as very holy and auspicious thing to do in our lives. 

Here is an appeal from the temple trust:

Please feel free to donate for the maintenance and help save the cows here in the Madipakkam Navasakthi Kamakshi temple.

The devotees who wish to donate may send their contributions by means of DD/crossed cheque in favour of SRI NAVASHAKTHI KAMAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE CHARITABLE TRUST. 

Nava Sakthi Kamakshi Amman koil Bankers

CITY UNION BANK LIMITED

MADIPAKKAM BRANCH

CURRENT BANK ACCOUNT

A/C NO : 151109000088230

IFS CODE : CIUB0000151

Natives and those who have desires to have more information may contact the Office Administrator, phone number : 9791175749 (Contact Person: Mr. Sethuraman). Thank you very much in advance for your contribution!

Marundeeswarar temple, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai

திருவான்மியூர்  மருந்தீஸ்வரர் கோயில் 

                            Here is my travelogue on my visit to one of the popular temple of Chennai. Sunday Morning started well as planned. Started off from home around 7 30 AM and took the MTC bus to Thiruvanmiyur. After 25 minutes drive in the less traffic road (being Sunday morning), reached temple by 8 AM. The temple is at walk-able distance from the Thiruvanmiyur Bus depot (Must have been less than 4 minutes walk).

As you walk towards the temple, which you can see walking few steps out of the depot, on the middle of the Road (The East cost road- ECR begins here)you can see a temple for the sage Valmiki. We crossed the road here and to our left was the beautiful temple of Marundeeswarar.

The Gigantic Kodi Maram invites us with the holes on the walls showing the Lord Shiva himself as Marundeeswarar. After saluting the lord performing Namaskaram we walked around the Sanctum. To our left was the sthalavruksham (Vanni Maram). 

Sthala Vruksham- Vanni Maram

Walking further, we can see the another entrance to the temple, quite a big one where the Goddess Parvathi named as Thiripurasundari stands gorgeously to the right. In front of the entrance are God Vinayakar and his brother Murugan having separate sannithis. There is also a separate sannithi in the left side for 3 Vinayakars. You can also witness office rooms, Veda pada salai and Gosalai (place for the cows) completing the Praharam.

After you have darshan of the brothers, you can enter the Thyagarajar Mandapam. Turning right is the sanctum of the God Marundeeswarar.  Like all temples, you have a spacious sannadhi with all upa devathas, Durgai, Dakshina Moorthy, Aruvathi moovar, Kala Bhairavar, 108 Lingas, Uthsavar, Somasktandar, Natarajar within the premises.

The Sannathi of Goddess thripurasundari have a sannathi (Palli Arai) to her right. The Abhiramai Anthadhi is displayed on the walls of the Ambal Sannathi. There are photographs of Thirumeeyachur Lalithambal, Maha periwal, Thiripurasundarai Ambal  in the premisis. The utsava Ambal is called Sukravara Amman, who rides the Golden Chariot every Friday on the temple. There is a small pond within the temple and a Huge one outside of the temple. The temple is being well maintained.

The History of the temple is well known. Few basic things I gathered are as below.

Lord Marundeeswarar is called so because the Lord himself taught sage Agastya about some magical medicine. Since then the Marundeeswarar temple has been a place of worship for people with diseases and various problems with their health. The God here is also called Paalvana Nathar. Purana says that Kamadhenu, the cow of eternal prosperity offered milk and showered the Linga.

It is believed that sage The Sage Valmiki, who wrote The Ramayana, came here to The Marundeeswarar temple to worship The Lord.Reminding that is the sannathi for him in middle of the ECR Road.

For more details on the temple, please refer the official site below. You can also check the upcoming events and gallery with more photographs.

http://www.marundeeswarartemple.tnhrce.in/

Deva Prayag

Prayag

Prayag means the place where two rivers mingle together. During our journey through Uttarkhand we witnessed 3 major such Prayags

1.DevaPrayag

2.Rudra Prayag

3.Kesav Prayag 

DevaPrayag

It the convergence of two deva (holy) rivers mingling together, it is said that this place got the named as "Deva Prayag". We had a dip at the point where these two rivers meet.  The two holy rivers – River Bhagirathi and the River Alaknandha meet at this point and from here on, the River is Named “Ganga”. The River Bhagirathi has a greenish color and the Alaknandha river has a White color and we can see both the colors mingle at the juncture.

Alaknandha (left) and Bhagirathi (Right) Meet @ Devaprayag

Hindu Indians take a pilgrimage to such rivers. They call it Theertha Yatra.It is believed that it will help the pilgrims to cleanse their inner selves, wash out their evil tendencies and open up before them a path or a direction for righteous living. They help in attaining Gnana (knowledge) and Bhakthi (Devotion) to the individuals which helps in changing the direction of their future life. It is a place where one can get enlightenment for achieving liberation. Theertha Yatra is also one of the karmas to be discharged in mundane philosophy. A Theertha Yatra is not only a physical act but it also implies the mental or moral discipline and learning toward self-realization. Pilgrimage/Theertha Yatra is remedy for many ills and sufferings. Theertha Yatra is an opportunity to the householder to detach himself for some time from worries and botherations of the materialistic daily life and to devote that time spiritually. To cross the Sufferings and sorrows and attain peace.

Bhagirathi River

Bridge across Alaknandha river leading to the junction

We reached Devaprayag ready to get the holy dip in the river and had to walk along Alaknandha river and cross it by the Bridge leading to the exact junction. The Walk though the Bridge leading to the prayag was awesome. The climate was also cool. Devaprayag lies about 45 miles away from Rishikesh to Badrinath and about 1700 feet above the sea level.

Taking a bath in the holy water, I had to gradually lower in to water as it was freezing cold J. There were people carrying buckets to pour the water on to their heads as few did not get in for the dip. There were chains tied from the steps and walls for the easy & safe bath. One can feel the force of the water as you set foot in the first step where the water starts. Enough to pull a person.

There was a Durga devi temple sighted in the steps. There were also the Pandas (Brahmins) or the priests who were ready to help if one wished to do tharpanam or offerings through Mantras for their ancestors.

The Ganga (After the convergence)

Devaprayag is one of the 108 Divya Desam where The NelaMega Shyama Perumal is standing giving darshan to all his devotees. Devaprayag is also called with the name "Kadinagar"(especially in Tamil). The Goddess (Thayar) is Pundareegavalli Thayar.  You need to climb few steps to reach this temple and as every vishnavite temple this temple also have Sannadhis for Garudar facing the NelaMega Perumal. In the Prdakshina or surrounding you can find Annapoorni devi and Hanuman ji.

Nela Mega perumal Temple- Devaprayag

Temple Premises

The two other Prayags we visited were

Rudra Prayag- Confluence of the Rivers, Alaknandha and Mandhagini 

Kesav Prayag-  Confluence of the Rivers, Alaknandha and Saraswathi

Few Links for more details

http://www.divyadesam.com/hindu/temples/devaprayag-temple.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devprayag

http://www.euttaranchal.com/tourism/devprayag.php

The Kedarnath temple

Kedarnath

The long wait came to an end on this fine day as I set foot on the chopper starting  the journey to have darshan of the Lord, Kedarnath. Lord Shiva in Kedar  is one of the Jyothir Linga. He is beautifully seated amidst the Himalayan Range. I was able to visualize Lord himself in every mountain range. The snow clad peaks, cloudy mountains and the green valleys were a treat for the eyes.

The temple entrance

The view from the helipad at Kedarnath

Kedarnath Gopuram

The view from the temple

 

The view from behind the temple

 

The Chopper & the helipad @ Kedar

                       

The beautiful valley & Mandagini flowing through it

                                Early that morning, we went to the ‘Himalayan’ (-the private helipad) and boarded the Choppers. It was my first experience riding in the chopper. During my childhood (and even today) every time I sight a helicopter/giant Damselflies I used to wonder how it would it be to fly like them and the butterflies. It was totally enjoyable. Seated next to the pilot, wearing the seat belt, I enjoyed the view of the valley at the end of which was the Lord seated in Linga form. Could feel the breeze, clouds, the sky, the green valleys, the beautiful white angel flowing down as river Mandagini, the horses, bulls and snow clad giant mountains. It was as if I got wings of the damselflies or I became the Pan, Peterpan. If I had gotten them for real, I would never have left the Himalayas for sure.  I could sight the broken route which was earlier used by the devotees who walked to have darshan of the Lord. Every turn, I could witness tiny, long water falls falling down to join the enchanting beauty, Mandagini. It was hardly 7 to 8 minutes ride and we safely landed in the helipad. The Climate was favorable which was in itself a great blessing for us.  

                              Walking towards the temple, couldn’t resist myself from taking pics as all around me was giant snow clad mountains. People talked about the flood and the after effects of it. Could see people working around the temple and in the banks of Mandagini river. One will have to cross the River Mandagini to have the darshan. There is a bridge built across the river and people working along the river banks. Crossing the river, there are shops on either side, selling flowers, Thalis for the Pooja offerings and the Prasad. Leaving the shoes at one such shop, we bought a Thali and walked towards the temple. Set Majestically in front of was the temple. We could find Sadhus/ saints seated on either side of the Nandhi (Bull- the vehicle of the Lord) made of stone and the thrishool- Trident

The entrance is painted with bright blue, yellow and red colors and as soon as you enter the temple, you can find another Nandhi and to its left is God Vishnu with goddess Lakshmi. After this darshan, you can enter into another Mandap where you can find Ganapthi in the left and Goddess Parvathi in the right. Entering the main sanctum, you can find the God as Linga. As we went in the morning, we were able to do Pooja touching the God and behind the Linga was the idol of God Shiva and the trident.

                            The outer premises of the temple had workers working in the left working on flooring and behind the temple was the Amrith Kunda, a whole containing the holy water. Just behind the temple premises was this huge Rock exactly to the width of the temple. It is said that this rock saved the temple during the 2013 flood that completely changed this region. This region is highly unstable climate surrounded by the snow clad mountains. 

The rock that is believed to have saved the temple during the 2013 flood

                              A moment it is sunny and again is cool wrapped by the clouds. Always cool region. Kedarnath was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple structure did not suffer any "major" damage, apart from a few cracks on one side of the four walls which was caused by the flowing debris from the higher mountains. A large rock among the debris acted as a barrier, protecting the temple from the flood. The surrounding premises and other buildings in market area were heavily damaged. The temple structure has been standing erect and facing nature's fury for the past 10 centuries and it is expected that the structure has the endurance to remain intact in the future as well.Also, there is this location mentioned a few meters away from the rock, where Adhi Sankara Swamigal was believed to be last sighted by his disciples.

The shining sun glowing on Nandi , Trident & Damroo in front of the temple

The story of how the God appeared in Kedarnath:

Pandavas were supposed to have pleased Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The Lord appreared as Bull and the 5 Pandavas identified them. It is believed that Bheema caught hold of the mace of the bull and Lord submerged leaving behind the pyramid shaped linga as Jyothir Linga in Kedar nath

It is believed that the temple was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. It is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams, expounded in Tevaram. The temple is one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas. This temple is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas.

The view of Bhairav temple

Mandakini river:

The prefix "mand" (Sanskrit) means "calm" and "unhurried", and Mandakini thus signifies "she who flows calmly". The river flows as pure white  dressed angel without making much noise.

Mandagini flowing down

 This name immediately rang a bell in top of my head as I usually recite  this Sloka during every Pradosham.

In Shiva Panchakshara stotram:

mandakini salila chandana charchitaya
nandisvara pramathanatha mahesvaraya
mandara pushpa bahupushpa supujitaya
tasmai ma karaya namah shivaya

मन्दाकिनीसलिलचन्दनचर्चिताय
नन्दीश्वरप्रमथनाथमहेश्वराय ।
मन्दारपुष्पबहुपुष्पसुपूजिताय
तस्मै मकाराय नमः शिवाय

Meaning:

He who is worshipped with water from the Mandakini river and smeared with sandal paste,
He who is the lord of Nandi and of the ghosts and goblins, the great Lord,
He who is worshipped with Mandara and many other flowers,
Salutations to that Shiva, who is represented by the syllable “ma”

Mandagini & the bridge used to cross it on the way to temple

                      We planned the trip as one way chopper- the onward journey was via Chopper and the return by walk. So after darshan, we started the trek down the hills. A visual treat, for a nature lover. 

The trek down the hills

Had to stop several times as there were Horse trafficking and once for the cows and bulls which looked as if they had a velvet clothing on them. The way was fully tiled with stones for a safe trek.  The walk with friends who shared their dry fruits, snacks and water and the Chai shops at frequent intervals make the walk easier. Before the floods of 2013, the entire journey covered 14 KM. But after the floods, we have to take a longer trek of 21 Kms from Gourikund. Below is the route map.

The old broken trek route due to the flood & land slide

For more details refer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedarnath
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedarnath_Temple

Gopeshwar Temple, Uttarkhand

Gopeshwar Temple, Uttarkhand

Gopeshwar temple is a beautiful temple of Lord Shiva in the Chamoli district of Uttarkhand.The Temple is very Ancient one and has Architectural importance. 

We visited this temple in the evening. The road leading to the temple is full of Bazaar shops. There are also Jwellery shops with lots of idols of Lord Shiva and devi in silver. Guess that is a prarthana/ prayer in the temple. The Buses stopped before an Arch leading to the temple. As we went 5 days later Vinayak Chathurthi, we found Lord Vinayak seated next to the Arch in Samiyana and lots of devotees singing devotional songs.

Left of the arch was the parking lot and lot of Tea shops surrounding it. As we walked through the street leading to the temple listening and few repeating the bhajans sung in the mic in praise of the Ganapathi Bhappa, we found lot of vendors selling fruits, Vegetables, Shawls, sweaters and many more.

The entrance of the temple was an arch with steps leading down to the temple. The temple was a typical north Indian style. We entered the sanctum crossing the Nandi to have the darshan of the Lord Shiva, here known as Gopeshwar.

The Story of Gopeshwar

As described by the priest of the temple, This temple is believed to be built by the Pancha Pandavas. The temple was supposed to be built on a single day.The king of the region (named Sagar) had a cow which did not give milk. Following it closely, he found out that the Cow went to a place every day & left all its Milk as Abhisheka to the ShivaLing. So, the king built the temple in this place. Hence the Lord Shiva is named as “Go- Cow” +”Eshwar- Lord Shiva”- Gopeshwar.

Also, there is a Big Trident of “ThriShool” as described in India in this temple

Trident:

Legend is that the trident got fixed in this spot, when Lord Shiva threw it at Lord Kama to kill him. The metal of the trident is not weathered by the elements and this is a wonder. The legend goes that the trident belonged to Shiva who threw it at Kamdeva ( The God Of Love) to kill him and it got fixed in this spot. It is believed that while brute force cannot move this Trident, the slightest touch by a true devotee can cause a tremor in it. The metal of the trident does not appear to have become weathered by the elements over the century.

 

Below are few pics of the temple Gopuram, the tree of the place, the Shiva Lingas in the prahara of the temple.

The Sthala Vriksha

Lingas in the outer temple premisis

The face of the Lord Shiva and the Shiva Linga in the outer premises of the temple

Jalakandeswarar

Om Nama Shivaya! Om Nama Shivaya! Om Nama Shivaya!

For futher reference, below are few links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopinath_Mandir

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamoli_Gopeshwar

http://www.merapahadforum.com/religious-places-of-uttarakhand/gopeshwar-temple-chamoli-uttarakhand/