Anjaneyar temple- Anai patti

 This temple is situated near Nilakottai which is 40 Kms from Dindigul. From Nilakottai we had to travel 5 Kms. more to reach the temple of Anjaneya.  We were travelling parallel to the  river Vaigai at times,  only  there was no water in it. But there is a dam near the temple called as Peranai, a regulator constructed by the British.  We had to cross a bridge to reach this Anaipatti (anai meaning dam, patti meaning, village.) an obscure village. The climate was cool and the temple was set in sylvan surroundings. The temple is quite small, no special  architectural splendor as it is normally found in temples around here .

We entered the temple and could see the idol of Anjaneyar inside the sanctum sanctorum, which was about 4 feet tall and was adorned with silk. The eyes were big , the display board mentions the God is watching his devotees with one eye and the other eye is looking at the direction of Ayodhya, Lord Rama's abode. The  hand which carried the Sanjeevani parvath (the hill which he brought  from Himalayas during the Ramayana war) is on his thigh. The tail is ponting upwards.  Though I could not see all the details, the display board gave all the description. When water rises in Vaigai river the idol gets half immersed in water. But when I went, due to lack of rains inside was dry. The archanas are offered to another small deity kept outside the sanctum sanctorum.

At the back side of this sanctum  there is another Hanuman  idol where pilgrims were lighting lamps. It  was windy and it  was difficult to light the lamp but after a  few  futile attempts I could also light one. Outside this temple there is another deity of Vinayagar and of serpent God.

The legend says that when the Pancha Pandavas were in exile Draupadi wanted to drink water and  Yudhishitir the elder brother sends Bheema to fetch the same. Anjaneya intercepts him on his way and an argument ensues between the two  but Bheema is not able to get water. Bheema goes back to Yudhishtira who advises him to  pay respect to Anjaneya and he would oblige . Bheema does as advised and Anjaneya gleefully allows Bheema to take water from vaigai.  This is the place they met.

I enjoyed the visit to this temple and I wanted to add one more interesting experience of that tour. Just outside the temple is a huge banyan tree which is providing a canopy of sort to the travelers. This place is abounding in village eateries and a simple South Indian food  is offered and we decided to have our break fast in this simple open air surrounding as the next possibile hotel was at least one  hour away. An old woman was making kuzhi paniharam and dosai. The air was filled with the fragrance of freshly cooked food and they were  using primitive  method of cooking, using the dried palm leaves and coconut husk as fuel. I was really fascinated by this as people were making use of the  bio fuel for cooking, which has become a thing of the past for all .  We decided to have a go at that eatery.  We were made to sit on plastic stools  under the Banyan tree and food was served to us in banana leaf. The Paniharam and dosai were very soft and we could finish our breakfast with out much ado. Three of us ate and I was surprised when I heard it has cost us only Rs. 14. We could really enjoy the simplicity of village folks.

Mallishwarar temple.

Just one kilometre from Nilakottai  on the way to Madurai we found this 1500  year old Siva temple.  Here  Siva is known as Mallishwarar and  his consort is sitting outside the sanctum .  History of the temple is not known . The entrance of  the temple is just 4 feet x 2 1/2   feet opening and we had to stoop  to get inside. There was an idol of Bairavar outside the temple.

How to reach:

The nearest railway station is Dindigul.  Regular buses from Dindigul, Vatala gundu and Madurai though frequency is low. It is better to stay in Dindigul or Madurai which is around 50 kms.