Kala Megha Perumal temple in Thiru Moghur is the 46th divya desham of Vishnu. The temple recently got a face lift and looks fresh and brightly painted. The main idol of Vishnu is huge and is flanked by his His consorts Boodevi and Sreedevi.
Moghur comes from Mohini, the beautiful female form of Lord Vishnu who had taken this form to save the nectar from the Asuras. The Utsavar here is worshipped here in that form and the Lord is also referred to as Kala Megham , meaning dark clouds. Like dark clouds shower rains, the Lord here showers blessings on his devotees. Here the deity is like the Varadaraja of Kanchipuram and is holding a mace in his left hand and with his right blesses his devotees. There are separate shrines for Mohanavalli Thayar , Andal and Navaneetha Krishnan.
The Sudarshana Chakra occupies a significant place here and this shrine is behind the Thayar sannidhi and the vimanam atop is gold plated. The Sudharshana idol here is special with sixteen hands, holding 16 different weapons and is believed that he is moving forward to help his bhaktas (devotees) The Sudarshana image has the Lord Narasimha Moorthy on the back side in a yogic posture and same can be seen on the Utsavar here. Devotees offer their worship to the Utsavar of Chakra thazhwar which is kept in front of the Thayar sannidhi.
The Vimanam of the main temple is round in shape and is called Ketaki Vimanam. This temple also has beautiful carvings. The dwaja sthambam is in the outer most prakkaram and there is a huge mandapam and a shrine dedicated to Adi Sayana perumal. The deity here is reclining on Adisesha and Goddesses are sitting near his foot and praying to him. One has to first offer the worship here before proceeding to offer prayers to Kala Megha Perumal. There is also a shrine for Anjaneyar here on the South side. There is a tank outside the temple .
This temple is 8 kms. from Madurai.and one may have to take buses to this village from Mattuthavani bus stand.
The flag post
The Pillars with carvings
The God of Love ,Kama
Andal shrine
Some more photos of the temple, watch the slide show
I don't what it looked like before the face lift but, boy, is it gorgeous now! I never knew that those temples were colorful. Yet another reason to save my pennies to see that one day.
ReplyDelete:-)
Traci
ReplyDeleteAll these temples are about thousand year old. So renovation work is undertaken in many temples.
yeah... I am sure you would enjoy a trip here.
Just what I needed, another visit to your beautiful homeland away from all this cold and ice. Simply stunning, the re-painting must have been carried out by some real experts. Do you have any idea how long since it had it's last make over? I am just wondering if these jobs need carrying out on a regulas basis.
ReplyDeleteNo comments to write,
ReplyDeleteBut I read it & liked that 'Gold plated sanctum of Chakrathazhwar'.
That gold looks so regal!
ReplyDeleteWow! Just wow:-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice post. South Indian temple architecture has no parallel.
ReplyDeletePetty Witter,
ReplyDeleteThe temple would have had its renovation after about 50-60 years . I don't have any reliable info. on this. Earlier visit to this temple it was not this attractive.
People having special skills in temple painting only undertake the work and only a combination of natural dyes are used for this.
I wanted to add some more photos which I would upload as a slide show. You may be interested also in seeing the renovation and the rituals followed .
Just click the following link http://www.vedics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106:thirumoghur&catid=143:completed-kaimkaryams
Shri Krishna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
Mridula,
Its not even a month since the renovation hence the gold is reflecting its brilliance.
Susi
Thank you so much. I am sure you will be be able appreciate the architecture. The legends associated with it and history are slightly difficult to understand as this is all related to mythology.
SG
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is true. I should say more so with Tamil Nadu temples as Cholas, Pallavas and Pandyas have left contributed a lot towards this.
what is the significance of flag post?
ReplyDeleteAntarman,
ReplyDeleteGuardian deity of the temple is at the dwajasthamba and one needs to offer the prayers before entering any sanctum.It also signifies the endearing power of the temple deity.
It is built according to the Agama sastras, even I do not know any thing about this. It is mentioned in scriptures that how a temple should be constructed.
During festivals holy flags will be hoisted atop this flag posts . It would fly on top the post till the festival is over. It is also an indication for people around that its festival time. Bringing down flag signifies the culmination of the festival.
Flag posts rise up to 30 feet depending on the various sastras, depending on the deity and temple.
I think this would answer your question.
I thank also my new visitor . Sorry I am unable to understand the comment.
ReplyDeleteI see we are touring Madurai this month! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice description. These days I'm reading 'Ponniyin Selvan' & it is rich with information about our temples, Gods, Goddesses and our rich heritage interspersed with the epic story. When I read your blog, I feel I'm taken back to those times.
Btw, I always wondered why so many temples have a Tank nearby??
been to madurai some time, but then never visited this temple!!! pics romba nala irunthichi..i guess its near from karur as well? tak care..happy new year!
ReplyDeletelost world,
ReplyDeleteWhen we visit some place we try to cover as many temples as possible. 'Ponniyin Selvan', is there an English version of that?. I cannot read Tamil. Stepping inside each temple is a different experience and we drift immediately into the past. Wonder how all these constructions took place in those days.
Hary,
ReplyDeleteAre you busy these days? can't see your weekly blogs. Thanks for the appreciation.
From Karur it would be around 100Kms.
Yes I am reading the English version only.. My Tamil isn't good enough to read novels unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteChitramma,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the visit to my blog and also the comments. Shall give you the place details in PM.
You are indeed doing a wonderful job here by writing about the temples. The descriptions are so good.Looks like a lot of research is going into it.
Love...
hi chitra
ReplyDeleteSorry yaar actually for the last 2 weeks I didn't surf internet cuz my 2 close friends' father got expired back to back & so I was in no mood to surf the net.
I got ur comment on my blog. Chitra, do me a favour- send me your email ID so that I can add u in my friends list.
Nice snaps though!
See ya den
take care byeeee:)
@ Cute Corner House
ReplyDeleteNice to see you here. Yes I am learning a lot through my post as I have to get lot of information.
Monu,
ReplyDeletewas really wondering where you disappeared all of a sudden. Very sorry to hear about those losses your friends suffered. see you.
It certainly is colorful which is something I really didn't expect. Thanks for all the info, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you betty,
ReplyDeleteYour words are encouraging!