Annegudde Siddhi Vinayaka temple -Kumbakshi,Karnataka

Annegudde temple enshrines the majestic image of Lord Ganesha known here as Siddhi Vinayaka , one who grants all wishes of devotees.

The word Annegudde means elephant hill and the name rightly suits the elephant God's shrine.

One can see the idol of Lord Ganesha right from the entrance as the  idol is kept on a raised platform in a spacious hall.The temple is well lit and is kept neat and clean . The temple is small but the sprawling grounds surrounding the temple with tall shade providing trees gives a nice ambiance to the pilgrims.

 Photography is strictly prohibited inside the temple hence I could get  only a few photos of this temple.

The temple is in the village Kumbakshi on the Mangalore - Udupi highway . Facing the temple is the sea and pilgrims never miss this temple, those who head for Udupi Sri Krishna temple or Murudeshawar Temple. Shall be posting soon on these two temples.

How to reach- Udupi/ Mangalore - the nearest railway stations.

Airport is at Mangalore.

Accommodation- Good  hotels are at Mangalore .

Many buses ply from Mangalore town to Kumbakshi.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO49o5lqxMG2WHMI5EswjEUHWtAlCxAmmaIrqPW

Mugudeshwar or Trimurti temple - Kodumudi, Tamil Nadu

Arulmigu Mugudeshwar temple is situated in a serene village, on the banks of river Kaveri. This temple is famous as it houses the shrines of all the Trinities which  are very rare. The presiding deity here is Siva. Lord Mugudeshwar temple is a famous Sivasthalam or padal petra sthalam. The temple Lingam is believed to be a swaymbhu.  His consort  Parvati's shrine is on the left side of Shiva's temple. There are 3 medium sized towers here.

 As we circumambulate we see a big Vanni tree with Lord Brahma's idol enshrined beneath it. The Vanni tree is the sthalavricksham ( holy tree) here and  Brahama here has only three heads, the fourth is considered as the vanni tree itself. The top half of the tree is considered as  Goddess Saraswathi,  His consort. Behind this tree, there is a small shrine for Veera Anjaneyar .

 Mahalaksmi's temple  is on the right side of the  Vanni tree and Lord Vishnu's shrine is next to this. He is reclining here as Lord Ranganatha as in Sri Rangam. Only difference is that  He is lying on the serpent bed with 2 coils where as in Srirangam he is on a seven coil bed. Garuda, His mount is facing the  shrine. This shrine has a separate dwaja sthambha. On the North- east corner is the shrine for planet Saturn. The main mandapam in front of the Magudeshwar temple has dwaja and Nandi mandapam. There are beautiful carvings on the pillars of the temple.  The temple has a beautiful view with holy Kaveri flowing in front of the temple. Many bathe in this river as they feel it is invigorating.

Kodumudi is on Karur - Erode road.  A small diversion on the right side near the railway gate at  Kodumudi  will take one to this temple. From the main road this temple is about 1- 2 Kms.

How to reach- Well connected by road, rail and air. Trichy  is the nearest airport.

 Accommodation : As there are no hotels around this place it is better to stay at Trichy/Karur .
 Even for boarding  one may have to reach the nearest town Erode which 25 Kms away or Karur which is around 15 kms.

Many buses ply from Madurai  and Trichy to Kodumudi.

Temples nearby.

Sangameshawar temple at Bhavani which is about 40 Kms from Kodumudi  ( Dakshin Prayag)

Photos
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOQnI9XrXL4V_9PwMpNxbWaIYEAdB1iWvJKt2Pp

Sangameshwara temple- Bhavani, Tamil Nadu

Sangameshwara (Siva) temple is in Bhavani , 16 Kms from Erode railway station.  This temple is known as Dakshin Prayag as river Kaveri meets river Bhavani here. The confluence of these rivers along with river Amuda which is believed to be flowing underneath makes it a holy place and one can see constant stream of pilgrims in the bathing ghat here at the sangamam  ( hence the Lord here known as Sangameshawarar)  performing various rituals on its banks. It is believed that a bath at the sangamam purifies the mind as well as the body.

The temple of Sangameshwara is  very attractive as it is a store house of excellent craftsmanship.  One may wonder about the  kind of work that would have gone into making ordinary granite slabs  into magnificent ones.

Lord Sangameshwara is enshrined here facing the Kaveri. As we circumambulate there are subshrines for Vinayaga, Dakshina Moorthy, Muruga, Vishnu, Durga and Nataraja. All 63  Nayanmars also find a special place inside the temple. Amman  here is Veda Nayagi, a powerful deity and Her idol is also well decked in finery. The mandapam leading to her sannidhi has lot of ornamental work on pillars and ceiling.

Saneeshwarar shrine is on the left of Amman sannidhi and next to it is the shrine of Jeeraheshwarar, which I have seen  only in Tayumanavar temple at Rock fort temple, Trichy. There are also  shrines here for Venkatachalapathi ( Vishnu), Shenbagavalli thayar ( Mahalakshmi) and Venugopal  (Krishna).

There is a peepul tree on the banks of the rivers and there are many  Nagas and Vinayagar under it.  Pilgrims offer their worship here after a bath in the river before proceeding to the main temple of Sangameshwara.

 Nearest town is Bhavani near Erode. Plenty of buses ply to this town from Erode and neighbouring towns.

Nearest airport is Trichy/Coimbatore. Erode is the nearest rail station.

Accomodation:   Erode is a small town and one may find only budget hotels here.

Nearby temples

Temple of Magudeshwarar or Trimurti temple at Kodumudi

Photos
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOXJMIalKR4HNbkmNRb-7B_nDkCbjmjeP0-Zapa