Friday, January 1, 2010

Kallazhagar Temple- Madurai

Kallazhagar temple is situated 16 Kms from Madurai town and is one among the 108 divya deshams of Vishnu. He is also known as Meenakshi Amman's brother.The temple is located in a picturesque locale with Vrishabhadri hill forming the background for this temple. The sprawling area around the temple is fortified by a wall. There are 2 forts near the temple.The temple gate is guarded by the deity Karuppannasami.

The Moolavar ( main deity) in the temple is called as Kallazhagar . He is flanked by his consorts Boodevi and Sreedevi . The panchaloha idol is known as Soundara Raja Perumal , there are also idols of Azhwars in front of the main deity. Kalla Azhagar is considered to be the tutelary deity of the Kallar tribe of this region, hence the name Kallazhagar. Thayaar here is Sundaravalli. Garudalwar sannidhi is opposite to the main sannidhi and there are shrines for Saraswathi Nachiyar, Valapuri Vinayagar, Kannan and Yoga Narasimhar.

The Vimanam and the dwaja sthambham ( flag staff) are gold plated. There is a beautiful mandapam in front of the temple with fine carvings.The Noopura Ganga spring can be found at 4 Kms. up the hill. There is a shrine dedicated to Rakkayi Amman here. Below this is the spring which is believed to have originated from the Anklets of Vishnu.

Chithirai festival is famous here and is closely connected with the festival of Meenakshi Amman temple. During this festival Kallzhagar leaves the temple and spends 5 days on the river bank of Vaigai and returns.

How to reach: Frequent buses ply from the Madurai town to this temple.


14 comments:

Mridula said...

What is hanging from the Sthala Tree? I it related to wishes getting fulfilled?

Wish you a beautiful 2010.

Krishna said...

"Way to the Noopura ganga and Rakkayi Amman temple" image is very attractive, I can feel the experience of walking there from your photographs.
Enjoyed it!!!!

SG said...

Super. Chitra, you just took us to Kallazhagar Temple. Pictures are so lively. Thanks for posting this.

chitra said...

Mridula,
They are replicas of cradles tied to the sthala vriksham with the belief that the God will bless them with an offspring.

Krishna,
Noopura Ganga was really a nice experience, with monkey friends criss crossing our path and waiting for an opportunity to jump on to our shoulders.

SG,
Make a trip to Madurai also. You'd love it.

Susie said...

Thanks for the wonderful education:-)

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Thanks for the visit to yet another Temple, I so look forward to my travels with you.
Especially interesting to me was the Herb Garden. Used for centuries, many Convents and Monastries here in England also grew herbs to be used as medicines.
Looking forward to my next trip, best wishes.

Traci said...

I am always amazed at the beauty of the temples but even more so by the lushness of the natural landscape. You have certainly made visiting India a definite part of Bucket List!
:-)

lostworld said...

Reminds me of Madurai Meenakshi Temple .. from the pictures! :-) Nicely written. Liked the historical trivia .. & of course, the pictures.

chitra said...

@susie
We have a lot to learn from each other as we are all from different countries, hope we learn more and more.

@Petty witter,
When I visit temples these days my blogger friends are also along with me. I also see what kind of photographs would be interesting for them so try to take as many as possible. My next post is getting ready.

@Traci,
Welcome to India , You'd love this place. Its not only temples. There are lot many things which would enchant anyone.

@lostworld,
This temple is closely related to Meenakshi's temple.I just give a gist of history and legend so that it would give an idea about the whole temple and place to my dear readers.

Samvedna said...

Thanks for sharing, I saw this temple when I went to madurai,its beautiful and so huge. at that time there a person was beating a woman mercilessly, everyone said she is suffering from something, and I felt so bad, but nobody let me intervene.

chitra said...

Antarman,
Pilgrims visiting Madurai will not miss this temple.
People from villages have lot of superstitions.But I haven't seen anything of that sort, like the incident you have mentioned during my 4-5 trips to that temple.

Anonymous said...

simply beautifully captured shots...lovely reading about this place!

chitra said...

Thank you flyingstars. Happy you liked it.

Anonymous said...

superb i am devotee of kallar perumal