Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Trichy Temples- Pundareekaksha Perumal Koil, Tiruvellarai

Trichy is an important town in Tamil nadu and is situated on the banks of river Kaveri. Like any other Tamil Nadu towns, this town also abounds in temples and the famous land mark of this region is the famous Rock fort temple which you would be coming across in one of my posts soon. Trichy is around 100 miles from Madurai.This time I am taking you to an ancient temple and I was awe struck when I saw this temple. Each temple has some thing unique and here also I found something which was interesting and amazing,.read on.....

This temple dates back to a period older than Ramayana and is situated about 17 kms. from Trichy town and is one among the 108 divya deshams of Vishnu.

Tiruvellarai means white rock and this temple is situated on a white granite hill which is 100 feet high . The deity in this temple is known Pundareekaksha Perumal. In Tamil it means Chendamarai Kannan and its English translation would be God with Lotus Shaped eyes. The temple has a main tower , which is in an unfinished state, nevertheless looks grand and I would say it adds certain charm to the temple.This temple is surrounded by a 36 feet high wall and resembles a fort . The second tower leads us inside the temple and we were wonder struck by the colourful huge sculptures on the wall which were painted in bright shining colours.The Bali peetam here is a huge one and the third tower leads us into the inner prakaram of the temple. Here also, like the Varadarajar temple in Kanchi we have to climb a fleet of steps to reach the sanctum.There are two dwaras (doors) leading to this sanctum . One is called as Dakshinayana dwaram and the other is Uttarayana dwaram. The dakshinaya dwaram remains open from Aadi to Marghazi ( August to Jan Mid) so we entered through the Dakshinayan door . The other door remains open from ( Mid January- July) Thai -Aani. This is in accordance with the movement of the Sun's path.

The main deity is around 12 feet in height and has Sun and Moon on either side of the deity offering their services to him. Then Garuda and Adisesha ( The serpent God in a human form, as the main deity is in a standing posture) are also near the main deity. Markendeya Maharshi and Boodevi are sitting near His feet and is believed to have prayed here at this place. The Utsavar is also a beautiful idol along with his consort beside him . The female deity is the custodian of the temple.

The temple maintains beautiful garden outside and it is famous for its Swastika shaped tank on the Northen side of the temple. I was wonder struck by seeing this . This shape it seems is to give privacy for people, while having bath. But there is no water at present as some renovation work is in progress. This is also under the care of Archaeological Survey of India. There are many inscriptions in the temple and it also mentions about this unique pond which was built by one feudal Lord under Pallava kings. The temple gets very few pilgrims . The temple precincts are kept neat and clean.Outside prakaram has the Thayar Senkamala Valli , and Chakra Thazhwar sannidhi. It was really a great experience, felt as if travelled thousands of years back into a bygone era.

The temple was built by the Emperor Sibi who is supposed to belong to a generation four times earlier to that of Rama. The legend is that Emperor Sibi found a white boar and started chasing it and it hid into an ant hill. Markendeya Muni who was doing penance nearby asked the king to pour milk over the ant hill and discovered a huge idol of the Lord. The Pallava Kings and Hoysala kings have contributed a lot in the reconstruction of the temple.

How to reach- Trichy is well connected with rail, air and road. To reach the temple it is better to hire a cab as frequency of buses to Tiruvellarai is quite low. This temple is on the Trichy- Thuraiyur route.



26 comments:

chitra said...

Thanks Susie.I too loved the visit.

HaRy!! said...

unga screenplay ultimate :) ... karur is where my folks are and being so nearby i never knew of this...and OMG Sibi...before Lord rama...that loooong!! certainly worth the visit...enga amma kita sonen :)!! going here for sure after i come!

Mridula said...

The second picture looks grand and majestic.

Traci said...

The amount of detail on the roof ascension and in the individual statues continues to amaze me with each posting. So beautiful!

Monu Awalla said...

Ok den tk mine-- monuawalla@gmail.com. keep in touch.

yeh bolne ki zaroorat nahi hai ki as usual ur posting is mind blowing....my piece of advice-- approach any publisher to publish ur all postings into a wonderful book.

chitra said...

Hary,
Karur is pretty near to Trichy and it would be really worth to visit this temple.Take your mom along ,she would enjoy it.

chitra said...

Mridula,
Thank you. when I set my eyes on the tower itself I was gaping in wonder.

chitra said...

Thank you Traci,
There lies the whole charm of visiting temples . Each and every temple has a charm of its own.

chitra said...

Monu
Thanks for the suggestion , but do you know there are hundreds bloggers like me. Do not know if any publisher would be interested. Any ways let's wait and see.Shall be in touch.

The Cute Corner House said...

Chitramma,

Your writing is so simple, yet very descriptive. This is precisely what brings out the essence of each post. The pond is indeed a unique design. But a person like me would definitely get claustrphobic going down the steps :-)

Btw, do you familiarize yourself with the history of the temple before you visit, by reading the "sthala puranam" and all? I am asking for my academic interest.

Love

....

chitra said...

CCH
I try to bring here what I see .
I do get info from net, books,and from the temple priests. Information on the net depends on the popularity of the temple. I get information like how to reach, about the deity etc. Do not read the whole thing as I am afraid it would affect my writing style.

SG said...

Nice post. Excellent pictures. Been to Trichy several times on our visits to India. But did not know about this temple. Can you tell me how many miles away this temple is from Trichy? Thanks.

chitra said...

SG
This temple is 17 kms. from Trichy town on Thuraiyur route.This is also one of the 108 divya deshams of Vishnu which i forgot to mention in the post. I would add this info in the post also.

Samvedna said...

This week i was planning to go there:(..but due to eclipse we cancelled..but you post has made it sure that I would visit next time.

chitra said...

Antarman,
I am sure my post would have given you some information. Hope your wish realises soon.

lostworld said...

Have been to the Srirangam temple, never to the ones in Trichy! Your detailed description was marvellous.. Also the pictures :) Looking fwd to RockFort temple post!

chitra said...

Lost world,
Welcome. I also came to know about this temple through a close friend and seeing my interest he took all the trouble to show us around the temple. I have lined up a few post on Trichy temples.

itsyvitsy said...

Oh so beautiful. I commend your observation skills, you have described various aspects so beautifully. And the photographs are simply awesome.

I have a question though, is this place also called Srisailam? I have definitely visited this temple, I am sure of it, but the memories are very vague.

Indeed visiting these awe-inspiring structures that speak of the bygone era is a blissful experience. Nothing can beat it.

chitra said...

Hi Vittaldas,
Thank you for the compliment!
This is not Srisailam. That is in Andrapradesh and the temple there is dedicated to Siva but in Tiruvellarai temple, the presiding deity is Vishnu. Probably you might have seen it when you visited Trichy.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Thank you ever so much for your kind words Chitra, I can't begin to tell you just how much they meant to me. Feeling so much better, I'm slowly making my way round, catching up with you all. I'll be back in the next day or two to have a proper visit. Best wishws.

chitra said...

PW
Nice to see you back. Everyday I was thinking about you as your absence was quite long. Hope you become active quite soon. Take care.

Traci said...

Just stopping by to say hi and thank you for always supporting me.
:-)

chitra said...

Welcome Traci,
That is a nice gesture. You can see my new post too.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Two visits in one day, what a treat. Good to be back and able to continue my visits with you. Those last few photos were so dramatic, don't you think?

Sorcerer said...

iam systematically going through your posts..
nice work and good effort :)

chitra said...

Sorcerer,
I am happy you are finding my posts interesting. Its a good encouragement.Thanks