Tirupullani is yet another famous temple in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu and this is the 44th divya desam of Vishnu.This is situated at a distance of about 64 Kms. from the Ramanathaswamy temple, Rameshwaram.This temple is related to the great epic Ramayana in more than one way.The temple's main deity is Lord Jagannatha with his consorts Bhoodevi and Sreedevi and the Panchaloha idol of the Lord here is known as Kalyana Jagannathar . There is also a small idol of Krishna known as Santhana Gopalan. It is believed that king Dasratha prayed here for progeny and worshipped Santhana Gopala. The king got the sweet payasam which he offered to his wives and was blessed with offspring.
Devotees pray here fervently for their marriage and also install serpent images and partake the payasam offered here in the temple to get progeny. One can find hundreds of such images under the sthala vrickasham. There are separate shrines for Mahalakshmi, Rama, Santhana Gopala and Aandal . Rama, in this temple is in a reclining position with bow and arrow on his chest with Lakshmana as Aadisesha and Brahma in a lotus. Rama is lying on a bed of Darbha, fasting, for Lord Varuna to appear.
Sethukkarai- 5 Kms from this temple is Sethu where it is believed that Rama and his entourage built the famous Sethu (bridge) to reach Lanka. Just a kilometer into the sea one can view this famous bridge but I could not do so as no boats were plying at that time. This is also known as Adam's bridge.There is a temple for Sethu bandhana Aanjaneya right on the sea shore. Many perform obsequies here for the departed souls.
14 Kms from Sethu is the the village of Devipattanam and here one finds the Navapashanam in the sea, 9 pillars believed to be navagrahas ,worshipped and installed by Lord Rama before he set out to Lanka for claiming his wife Seeta who was abducted by Ravana, a Rakshasa. During low tide these Navapashanams are very much visible and now there is small bridge built for the convenience of the pilgrims to reach this place. Devotees get inside the water and offer worship to Navagrahas .
Yet another famous temple nearby is Uttarkosamangai which is only at a distance of 9 Kms from Tirupullani. Shall post about that soon.
How to reach- Madurai is the nearest airport. The distance is about 100Kms.
Accommodation- Luxury , budget hotels are available in Madurai and it is well connected by road, rail and air.
Location is given along with labels.
PHOTOS
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOOhRNTLLgqBLz0wR_2B5_ZUFd-Q_BU1ttYVaAf
Navapashanam
Sethukkarai
Yet another famous temple nearby is Uttarkosamangai which is only at a distance of 9 Kms from Tirupullani. Shall post about that soon.
How to reach- Madurai is the nearest airport. The distance is about 100Kms.
Accommodation- Luxury , budget hotels are available in Madurai and it is well connected by road, rail and air.
Location is given along with labels.
PHOTOS
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOOhRNTLLgqBLz0wR_2B5_ZUFd-Q_BU1ttYVaAf
Chitra I wonder how many temples you have covered on this blog till date? Have you ever counted? Just curious?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos..I like the huge tank and the other one where people were bathing..It should be Sethukkarai Right?. Good post Chitra as usual.
ReplyDeleteDevipatnam has improved. They seemed to have constructed (or renovated) the bathing Ghat (!-Can I call it a Ghat (lol)!). The pictures that I saw a few years back did not show all these. Nice to know the details.
ReplyDeleteMridula, Not counted yet but definitely more than 75, 100 are in the queue.
ReplyDeleteSridharan,
ReplyDeleteIf you observe carefully, I have mentioned the names of sethukarai and Navapashanam on the photo itself.The people in water are at Devipatanam.
Sridharan,
ReplyDeleteEarlier people used to reach these Navagrahas by boat and it used to be slushy. Now, for the convenience of the pilgrims, a bridge is constructed.
I love the photograph of those figures - their faces are so serene.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful colour sea as well, so blue.
.We enjoyed our visit to these places last month and your writeup was like going back to the places again..lovely pics too..
ReplyDeleteWow..this is one of the most fascinating temples I have seen..thanks for sharing !
ReplyDeleteUS Masala
PW, Thanks, The sea it self was very serene over there.
ReplyDeleteEC, thanks. I was there 2 months back and I love seeing the pic. again and again.
ReplyDeleteAipi, thanks a lot. Happy New year.!!
ReplyDeleteThis temple too looks worth visiting, very beautiful,very peaceful and divine
ReplyDeleteChita when will you cover temples of north India? Like Vaishno Devi etc.
ReplyDeleteagain awesome pictures and very good description of the temple.
Sushma, thanks.This temple is on the way to the Rameshwaram temple.
ReplyDeleteKiran, we are planning one, Kiran. we want to visit North India. Waiting for some holidays. These are all 1-2 day trips.But travelling far we need a long vacation.
ReplyDeleteSo nice, would love to visit this temple at least once
ReplyDeleteThanks Bhagya.
ReplyDeletenice ..
ReplyDeletePlease Visit My Blog..
Lyrics Mantra
thank you chitra for ur lovely comment, happy new year.
ReplyDeleteKeep in touch..
Lyrics Mantra
The temple sure looks neat and maintained well. The sea is enchanting :)
ReplyDeleteInsignia,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot.
That is a lot of temples Chitra!
ReplyDeleteYes, Mridula,:))
ReplyDeleteHi Chitra,
ReplyDeleteI am here for the first time and the blog is really good. It is nice and interesting to know more about the temples in India. Is worth a visit!
Hi Abhilash,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and happy that you liked my blog.
I think i have said this, I LOVE visiting your blog! I feel like having done a pilgrimage!
ReplyDeleteThe pics are great and I especially loved the pic of the Nag devas...
I loved the new colors of your blog too.
Arti,
ReplyDeleteThanks, thanks , thanks. I loved your comment.
I really want to visit this one as I love the tribute to marriage. My husband and I just celebrated 16 years so maybe we were looked on kindly.
ReplyDelete:-)
Traci
yet another absolutely beautiful place...
ReplyDeletegosh I wonder if I ever will be able to visit a few of the many that you have listed in your blog.
Wish you too a very happy prosperous new year
pics are beautiful
ReplyDeleteenjoyed slide show
Traci, There are many temples like this where people pray to get their wishes fulfilled. I am sure you will enjoy all those if you make a trip here.:)
ReplyDeleteGood wishes for both of you.
Rajalakshmi, If not all visit a few so that you would see fantastic craftsmanship in many of these ancient temples.
ReplyDeletesm, thanks , thanks.
ReplyDeleteChitra,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this round up of so many shrines related to the Ramayana.
From Kalyana Jagannathar I got the impression it has something to do with the marriage of Vishnu with Andal and then read a few lines later that there is indeed an Andal shrine here and people pray for marriage at this place!
I wonder about the importance of Naga worship in relation to marriage - Nagas (cobras) are harbingers of wealth, prosperity and well-being, but their association with marriage is interesting.
It's also interesting that Vishnu here is called "Jagannatha" instead of the usual "Ranganatha" in Tamil Nadu. The epithet Jagannatha is usually popular in Orissa.
Since this is a part of the Divya Desham network, which forms an integral component of Srivaishnavism, I wonder if there is some link with the Vaishana saint Ramanujam, who popularised Srivaishnavism in Tamil Nadu.
It is said that Ramanujam travelled to Orissa and propounded Vaishnavism there as well - before the famous Jagannatha temple at Puri was built.
It's possible that as a result of Ramanuja's travel to Orissa, Jagannatha became popular in Tamil Nadu as well and hence, this marriage of Jagannatha with Andal here.
But I have not done any research on this aspect, just thinking aloud of a probability.
Merry Christmas belated and a Happy New Year in advance!
Archana , it is always interesting to read your comments as there is something to learn. Serpent images are installed to get offspring. Nagadosham is said to be one reason for not getting children.
ReplyDeleteThe saint who praised the Lord here is Tirumangia Alwar (there are only 12 Vishnu saints and wherever they have sung hymns they are called as divyadeshams, Ramanujar is also one among them). Ramanuja is associated with another temple. I shall write a post on it. There are 2-3 temples with Lord jagannatha's name in Tamilnadu itself.
Thanks for coming here to comment during your busy schedule.
Happy New year to you and your family.
chitra ji..thanks ya...will stay connected...tc
ReplyDeleteRamesh,
ReplyDeleteThanks,:))
wowo look at that sea blue waters
ReplyDeletelovely temple
Bikram's
Thanks, Bikram.
ReplyDeleteAs usual an excellent description and beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year 2011
ReplyDeleteA, thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteWish you also a very Joyful and Prosperous New year.
Lovely temple. I am not much of a pilgrim myself, but you present some very interesting information.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachana. Happy New year.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteWe wish you a joyful life
full of healthy, happiness and pleasure :)
Hugs Love Anya
Kareltje =^.^=
Betsie =(^.^)=
Anya,
ReplyDeleteThanks, happy I got a friend like you. Best wishes:)
Happy New Year Chitra...May this year bring your family and you lotssa happiness and good luck....As usual beautiful post...
ReplyDeleteStranger, Thanks.
ReplyDeleteC, Wishing the best of 2011 for u n yr near ones too..cheers friend
ReplyDeletehappy new year
ReplyDeleteHave a great n prosperous 2011 dear Chitra!!
ReplyDeleteUS Masala
Chitra, wish you and your family good tidings and joy in the new year!
ReplyDeleteIt has been a pleasure reading your posts.
Keeping aside the legends, one can also see the influence of important religious personalities in the combination of Jagannatha and the more traditional Tamil versions of other dieties.
Ramesh, and sm - Thanks , wish you the same.
ReplyDeleteaipi and ? ,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot. Happy New Year to you also.
@ ?
Like you said keeping aside the legend one gets to know the history of the place and it is a real pleasure enjoying the beauty of these ancient temples which keeps us guessing about the way in which they were constructed. Really amazing. Incredible India.