Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Adi Kumbeshwar temple - Kumbakonam,TamilNadu

Kumbakonam, is a pretty little town in Tanjavur district and is situated at a distance of 40 kms from Tanjore which is famous for its  'Big temple' .  Kumbakonam is known as the "temple town" as there are about  60 odd  temples  in and around .There is a constant flow of pilgrims to this town as many famous and ancient temples are  here with in a radius of few kilometers . It is a one stop destination to visit many of  the ancient monuments and heritage sites as this region was under the Chola dynasty.Many villagers here are agriculturists as the land is made fertile by the Ganges of South , river Kaveri and the town is famous for brass vessels and the famous degree coffee.

This time, I am taking you to the famous and oldest temple of Adi Kumbeshwara .  Kumbha means a pot and it is believed that  an Amrit Kumbha ( Pot of nectar) with seeds of creation was set afloat by Lord Shiva during the Maha Pralaya ( floods) and it  landed  at this place . The divine nectar flowed out and it became the Mahamaham tank and every12 years, pilgrims from all over the globe converge here to participate in the great Mahamaham festival; the Kumbhmela of South and  to have a holy dip in the famous tank  to get rid of all their sins.

 The town also derives its name from this' Kumbha' legend.The temple of Adi Kumbeshwara swamy is right at the centre of the town and the temple is connected to the main gate by a long corridor which is lined with shops selling souvenirs and trinkets.

The presiding deity is  Adi Kumbeshwara  ( Shiva) and the Amman here is Mangalambigai. As we enter inner prakaram of the the temple, on to the left there is a shrine for the  Lord Vinayagar. There are also shrines for Durga, Shanmugha (Muruga) and Lord Nataraja and Kiratha moorthy ( another form Of Shiva) The Idol of Durga and Mangalambigai are of exquisite beauty.
 How to reach- 
Nearest airport is Trichy . Kumbakonam has a railway station with express trains connecting Bangalore, Chennai etc. Bus services are  excellent inTamil Nadu and one can reach any part of Tamil Nadu using this service.
Good hotels are available in Kumbakonam to suit the tastes of all sections of the society.
photos

54 comments:

Mridula said...

It looks so grand and such colors on the structure.

EC said...

The temple appears to be so peaceful and calm..

chitra said...

Mridula,Yes , the the temple structure is colourful but earlier it used to be only natural colours but now even synthetic is also being used which is spoiling the true beauty with its glistening appearance.

chitra said...

EC
thank you so much. Those pics were shot early morning around 6.30. No crowd and it was bit dark too.

KParthasarathi said...

Thank you Chitra for enabling me to have glimpses of the famous temple through the slide show and for the crisp description

kiran sawhney said...

I love the whole description and the pictures so much. Serene. Tranquility.

chitra said...

KP, thanks a ton for the lovely compliment.

chitra said...

Kiran, thanks a lot.

Reflections... said...

Thanks for this post, Chitra.

I had often wondered why this place was called Kumbhakonam. Now I know the legend.

Kumbhakonam was one of the royal seats of the Cholas where they used to have the coronation ceremony. Chidambaram was another such place.

Becaus of this, Kumbhakonam had become an important urban centre during Chola period. They had renovated many temples at this place. It seems that this was one such temple renovated by them.

Reflections... said...

The above comment is from me, Archana. i just changed my name on my Blogger profile.

Amrit said...

Nice pictures!!!

Very nice description.

chitra said...

Archana, was wondering who this new visitor was and that too with lot of info. Just love your comments. Shall remember your new name.

chitra said...

A, thanks a lot.

Arti said...

Beautiful as always, The story behind the place is interesting and the wonderful pics give such a serene picture of it!

Insignia said...

Serene. I liked the paintings on the ceiling.

chitra said...

Thanks Arti. Early morning pics and there was no crowd in the temple.

chitra said...

Insignia , yes, they look beautiful .But all synthetic paints which is actually spoiling the beauty of the stones.

Anonymous said...

Nice photos, Chitra.Though could not visit Kumbhakonam so far, we are satisfied with your nice description, for the timebeing.

Teamgsquare said...

Amazing story and nice pictures .

chitra said...

Anonymous, Thank you so much. Happy you like my description.

chitra said...

TGS
Thank you so much

R. Ramesh said...

ya grand n colorful..u doing a gr8 job chitra...

Asha said...

Lovely temple which i visited and the mahamaham tank. There was a poom puhar exhibition in the temple when i went and I picked a paper mache walking pillaiyar with an umbrella. I cherish this pillaiyar which occupies a place of pride in my home.

Did you visit swethavinayagar too?

awaiting your reply to my mail on jewel art.

chitra said...

Ramesh, thanks a lot.

chitra said...

Asha,
Shall reply to your mail.
I could not visit the Swetha Vinayagar but planning during my next visit.
I would love to see the walking paper mache pillayair .

sm said...

beautiful pics and narration

Travelwade said...

Great post. It looks like you had a great time there. Thanks for sharing the photos.

chitra said...

sm, thanks a lot.

chitra said...

Travelwade, Welcome to my blog. V.happy to see you here. Keep visiting.

Anuradha Shankar said...

Nice one, Chitra.... I visited the temple late in the evening just before they closed, so couldnt get any good photos at all... Kumbakonam is such a great place to visit so many temples, Wish i can go again!

Urmi said...

Nice to visit your blog after a long time. I have been to Kumbakonam and visited this temple several times. Its really wonderful. Nice post.

Bikram said...

Loved the pictures :) thank you for sharing


Bikram's

chitra said...

Anu,
We stayed in Kumbakonam and got ample time to visit it twice.I also want to visit . Hope it would realize.

chitra said...

Babli, Missed you. Nice to see you here.thanks.

chitra said...

Bikram, :)thanks

Martina said...

Wow, another beautiful temple! I just love the spirituality of India - thanks for posting all these pretty pix!

chitra said...

Martina, thanks dear. there are about thousands of temples here.

aipi said...

I love how the temple has such beautiful colors ~ it gives the structure a certain grandeur while maintaining its ethnicity!
US Masala

Kirtivasan said...

What can I say about my home town. You have said a lot.

The temples here are really marvelous. I tend to avoid religious comments, but sometimes human emotions take over . . .

Sridharan said...

Excellent Chitra..! Reminds me of my visit to this beautiful temple!

chitra said...

Kirtivasan
Happy to know you belong to this holy town .I have been there twice or thrice but yet to cover many temples. One more is in the offing.

chitra said...

aipi,thanks dear

chitra said...

Sridharan,I remember your posts too, I enjoyed my three day trip to Kumbakonam

K A Solaman said...

Hai Chitra, visit some churches and mosques too.
K A Solaman, K A Solaman blog

Felicity Grace Terry said...

So happy to be back and visiting you Chitra. Another impressive building, you are so lucky to get to see such wonderful places.

chitra said...

KA Solaman,
I have,and posted a few ,you have to search my archives.but the percentage is minuscule when compared with temples.thanks for the visit

chitra said...

PW,I am happy you are fine and back to be among us. Take care of your health.

? said...

Beautiful Chitra; cannot wait for our summer visit!

chitra said...

?
Visiting India. Wow!!. Would read your post regarding that.

Swapna Raghu Sanand said...

Found this post very interesting, Chitra. Interestingly, in Malayalam film industry, Kumbakonam is considered as a lucky place for film shootings.

chitra said...

Thanks Swapna, But never knew about the connection with Mal. films. I thought Pazhani was considered more lucky. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Rama Ananth said...

It is such beautiful temple, we visited it a few years back and stayed at Sterling Swmaimalai. All the temples there are so artistic, the architecture is superb.
Can you give us some information about Arakasu Amman temple, how to reach it etc. This Amman is famous for making one find lost items.
Thanks for sharing.

chitra said...

Oviya, thanks a lot.

gowshika said...

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Hotels in Trichy Thanjavur Kumbakonam