Srisailam Mallikarjuna Swamy temple Kurnool district -Andhra Pradesh, Jyothirlingam

A pilgrimage to this temple of Lord Mallikarjuna  at Srisailam hill is considered to be  equal to a trip to holy Kailash.This temple is set in Nallamalai forests in picturesque surroundings with river Krishna flowing near by.

The temple complex is  unique as it houses  Jyothirlinga  as well as  a Shakthipeeta. Here in this temple ,devotees can offer pujas directly to Lord Mallikarjuna but advance booking is required and one has to follow specific dress code (wearing Veshti and Angavastra) to enter the sanctum sanctorum. The Vimana of the temple is covered with gold plates and is in the shape of a pyramid. The Lord's consort Braharambha is one of the 18 Mahasakthis and it is believed that neck portion of Sathi Devi fell here after things that followed  Daksha yagna . There are many shrines around the temple complex  for Ganesha, Ardhanareeshwara, Kalabhairava, Veerabhadra . There's also a beautiful Nandimandapa here.

Barely 3 Kms away from the temple is the shrine of Sakshi Ganapati. Pilgrims do not miss paying obeisance to this Ganesha and it is believed Lord here keeps an account of pilgrims visiting Srisailam temple . The idol here holds a book in left hand and a pen in the right.

The roads here are excellent and it passes through Tiger Reserve. the roads remains closed from 9 Pm to 6 Am. Those travelling to temple must make a note of the same.

A detailed description can  be found in the link provided.

Mobile/ cameras are not allowed in this temple and there  are locker facilities to store the same.

check my earlier Jyothirlinga posts on 1. Ramanathaswamy temple Rameshwaram, 2.Somnath temple, Gujarat, 3.Bhimashankar near Pune,4.Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain, 5.Nageshwara Jyothirlingam Dwarka

a few pictures from  Sakshi Ganapati are shared below.

check this link too for temple gallery pictures

  

                                                                     Srisailam town

                                                                           Sakshi Ganapati

Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain, Madhya pradesh Jyothirlinga

Mahakaleshwar , Lord Shiva's  temple is situated in ancient Ujjain city . It is one among the 12 Jyothirlingas ; the most sacred abodes of Shiva. The Shivalinga here is a swamybhu and is situated near Kshipra river.

As per Shiva Purana once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument to find who among them was the supreme one. Lord Shiva in order to test them, became a column of light and asked them to find the beginning and end of the  light. Vishnu gave up as he could not see end of the  column of light and he conceded defeat but Brahma lied and Shiva was furious with Him. Shiva cursed  Brahma that He won't be worshipped on earth but Vishnu would be worshipped till the end of all Yugas.

The temple of Mahakal attracts huge crowd and one can find long lines of devotees waiting to catch a glimpse of God. The Bhasmarti worship is very famous here which is conducted every morning at 4 am.  The aarti rituals are spectacular which goes on for about  2 hours and devotees can book tickets online for the same. Bhasmarti is adorning Mahakaleshwar with ash followed by Alankara and worshipping with  Maha aarti. Do watch the You tube video in the link by Health Vatika to understand and get a feel of the aarti. 

Electronic gadgets and bags are not allowed inside the temple. Temple administration has made locker facilities for safe keep of the belongings of devotees.

Check here my earlier posts on Jyothirlings temples of Ramanathaswamy - Rameshwaram

Somnath temple- Gujarat

No photos to share on Mahakaleshwar temple.  

Bhimasankar, Maharashtra (Jyothirlinga)

Bhimasankar, a 13 the century temple is nestled among the Sahayadri hills. This is one of the 12 Jyothirlingas of Shiva. I have already made a posts on other 2 Jyothirlingas-  Somnath Mandir of  Gujarat and Ramanatha  Swamy temple, Rameshwaram.

This temple is situated 120 Kilometres from the Pune city in Bhogiri village.This region is made fertile by river Bhima as it originates in these mountains. The journey towards the temple is very scenic  through the ghats fully carpeted in green and which is dotted with small rivulets and ponds. The place is blessed  by nature and is surrounded  by thick rain forest.

The temple is situated at a lower elevation and one has to climb down the hill to  reach the abode of Shiva.There are about well paved 200 odd steps to reach the temple.The temple is very simple in style but very graceful and the spire is in Nagara style.

Any devotee can perform worship inside the sanctum and that was a welcome change for us to touch and feel the age old sacred Shivlinga. 

As the hills abound in lot of medicinal plants it is easy to get lot of herbal medicines here.

Check my Pictures.

The rain and mist affected the quality of the picture. A few captures in heavy rain.

 

Siddhi Vinayak temple, Saras Baugh, Pune, Maharashtra

Pune is a beautiful city and there are many Ganesh temples here and one such popular  temple is Saras Baugh Siddhi Vinayak  temple , a temple set on a small elevated hillock and is surrounded by lotus ponds and well maintained gardens.

 Initially , this place which is situated at the foothills of Parvati was a lake and once it got dried up  it was developed into a park and was named as Saras Baugh. The beautiful setting here helps one to relax and also  connect with divinity at the same time.

This temple was constructed by Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa.

Kalyana Venkataramana temple- Karur, Tamilnadu

Kalyana Venkataramana temple is in Thanthoni, 5 Kilometeres from Karur on Dindigul road. This temple is situated on sacred Thantodri hill and is known as Then Tirupati . The temple can be reached by climbing 40-50 steps. The temple is simple in style and  the Lord  here is a swayambhoo moorthy and is about 10 feet tall. The idol reminded me of Lord Jagannath of Puri as the face of this Perumal is also not chiselled well . This uniqueness itself lends a charm to this Lord . He adorns Lakshmi on His chest and is in a standing posture  with head slightly bent as if readily waiting to listen to His dear devotees.

Sandals are offered to this deity  and that is known as Chemmali Samarpanam.

This temple is believed to be more than 300-years old.

Some pictures I captured a few years ago.

Soundarraja Neelamegha Perumal- Tiru nagai, Divyadesam, Tamolnadu

This is a  beautiful temple situated in the middle of  Nagapattinam town just about a couple of kilometres from the rail station.

Soundarraja Perumal is the main deity here and as the name suggests the Lord here is very handsome  and His consort is Soundarvalli.

Lord here is also known as  Neelamegha Perumal.

This temple is more than 1000 years old built around 8th century by Medieval Cholas and later by Tanjavur Nayaks.

It is believed that the Lord appeared here to sage Markendeya , Dhruva and to Goddess Bhoomadevi.

King of Nagas, Adisesha worshipped Vishnu here and this place came to be known as  Naga Pattinam.

The Lord  here is extolled in Nalayiram Divya Prabandham by Thirumangai Alwar.

Sharing a few pictures below.

Mayuranathaswamy Koil, Mayiladuthurai, Tamilnadu

A tall Gopuram welcomes one to this beautiful temple situated in the midst of the Mayiladuthurai town.

The temple has a beautiful pond as one approaches the temple.

This  temple is very ancient and is a thevara sthalam.

This is the place where Lord Shiva appeared  in front of Parvati when she was doing penance taking the form of pea cock  to get rid of the curse she had incurred from Shiva. She did severe penance and  pleased with her devotion Shiva too appeared in front of her as pea cock  and performed a dance known as Mayura thandavam. Lord is known here as Mayuranathar.

Goddess is Abayambhigai Ambal and she blesses devotees  from a separate shrine.This temple is closely associated with Mylapore temple, ( check the beautiful  temple details in the link) Chennai where Parvati offered  worship to Shiva first before proceeding to  Mayiladuthurai where she was relieved from the curse.
More details here.

Temple timing- 6 am- 12 .00 noon
4 pm-8 pm

Talaichanga Nanmathiam ,Sree Nanmathiya Perumal temple- Thalachangadu, Mayiladathurai, Divya desam

The historical name of this temple is Talaichangadu Nanmathiam believed to be more than 500 years old. ( Talai sangam refers to the first congregation of Tamil poets believed to have taken place near here.)

Legend:

Chandra worshipped Lord here to get relief from a curse  he had incurred and it is believed that  devotees worship Perumal  here to overcome  adverse aspects of moon.

In this temple we find the Lord in a standing position facing East  adorning a  crescent moon on his head  like Shiva and God here is known as Nanmathia Perumal  and Chandra Saabha Harar meaning one who relieved moon from the curse .

The Utsava Moorthy  is known as Vensudar and His consort is  Senkamalli Thayar. 

The vimanam above the sanctum is known as Chandra vimanam.

This temple , a divyadesam of Vishnu is  very small and Tirumangai Azhwar had extolled the virtues of Lord here by singing beautiful hymns.

This temple is situated in a perfect village setting with lush green fields and  coconut trees  in a very tranquil  atmosphere . One  gets  peace of mind here  in the  lap of divinity.

 I doubt if there are any  regular buses plying to this place. It is better to hire a cab to visit this place..

Worship here starts only at 9 am so plan accordingly .

Please check the temple timings provided below.

                                                

Tirukannangudi Lokanatha Perumal, Damodara Perumal Sikkal, 108 divyadesam

Tirukannangudi is a Vishnu divyadesam situated 2 Kms from Sikkal on Tiruvarur Nagapattinam Highway.

The Moolavar here is worshipped as Lokanatha Perumal and His consort is Lokanayagi.

The processional deity is known as Damodara Perumal.

This is a Pancha Krishna  kshetram.

The legend is that Lord Krishna appeared as a small kid in front of sage Vasishta and he ran  with the  butter from the idol sage was worshipping. Sage got angry and  chased the kid. They ran and reached a holy place where some rishis were doing penance. The  rishis blocked the little boy and tied him on a tree. Krishna then gave them darshan and rishis requested him to stay there to bless all the devotees. Krishna accepted and stayed here as Damodara Perumal  and  this  place came to be known as Kannangudi.

Thirumamgai Azhwar has stayed at this place and there are some interesting events that took place during his stay here. Read it here

Other Panchakrishna kshetrams are Tirukoilur, Kapisthalam, Tirukannapuram and Tirukannamangai

Phone Number-04365 245 350

Do not copy pictures .