Tiruvaheendrapuram-Devanatha Swamy temple- Cuddalore - Divya desam

This  divyadesam of Lord Mahavishnu is situated in Cuddalore near Chidambaram.
Aheendiran  ( Ananda Azhvaan Adiseshan) worshipped Perumal here and the place came to be known as Thiru Aheendrapuram.

The serpent God Adisesha made a well in this sacred place by digging it with his  tail as per the instruction of Lord Vishnu as He was thirsty. This well, known as Sesha theertham can be seen in the outer prakaram of the temple. There is an idol of Adisesha on this well .  Read that devotees make offerings of milk, turmeric ,salt in the well akin to that is offered for serpents on anthill. But presently I saw this covered and locked. The water from this well is used for making Prasadam for the Lord here


 There is also a theertham brought here by Garuda which is a  free flowing river at the backside of the temple known as  garuda Nadi. Water from garuda nadi is used for Tirumanjanam.

 The Utsvar is known as Deivanatha Swamy.  Lord's consort is Hemambujavalli. There are shrines for Ranganatha Swamy ,Andal, Ganesha, Rama and  Rajagopala Swamy.

 Opposite side of the main temple there is a shrine for   Lord Hayagreevar which is situated on a small hill known as Oushadagiri. It is full of medicinal plants. It is believed that  when Hanuman carried the Sanjivini hill a small portion fell here, The  temple here is frequented by students as Hayagreevar is  embodiment of knowledge and learning.

It is believed Desikacharya stayed here for about 40 years doing penance in the  Oushadagiri hills . There are special niches here for the great Acharya and Manvala mamunigal .

More details here and here

Opening time 6 Am-11 Am

4.30 pm -8 pm.

                                                                      Garuda nadi

                                                        Hayagreeva shrine

Tanjai mamani Kovil- Tanjore

Tanjai mamani kovil  is a cluster  of 3 temples which forms a single divya desam. The first and second one are Vishnu temples  known as Manikundra Perumal and Neelamegha Perumal in seated postures.We could not see the idol of Neela megha Perumal as there was no priest in the temple. The third one is  Veera Narasimhar Koil again deity here is  in a sitting posture and his  consort is known as Tanjai Nayaki. Very few people visit these temples  and many temples I visited needs lot of maintenance and attention.

                                                                 Veera Narasimhar Koil

                                                      Manikundra Koil

                                                             Neelamegha Perumal Koil

Vaidya Veeraraghava Perumal temple- Tiruvallur,Chennai

 Veeraraghava Perumal temple , one among the 108 Tirupatis of Lord Vishnu is situated at Tiruvallur, a suburban town of Chennai city.

The temple has  Veeraraghava Perumal- Evvulukidandan  in sanctum reclining on His Ananta and Utsavar, a resplendent idol flanked by His  consorts.

The  God here is believed to be a physician hence the name Vaidya. Childless couples and  those who want relief from various ailments pay obeisance to Perumal here and get blessed.

The Huge crowd of devotees waiting patiently in temple queue is  ample proof of the faith they have in almighty.

In the outer circumambulatory path there are shrines dedicated to Kankavalli Thayar  and Andal., Lord's consorts

There are also shrines for Rama and Krishna.

The great devotees of Vishnu ; Alwars have sung mangalasanams ( hymns) in praise of Lord here.

The huge mandapams in front of the temple serve as venues for multiple weddings which are conducted  simultaneously.

How to reach- From Chennai many suburban trains are available. It would take just about an hour and about 15 minutes to reach Tiruvallur.

From Tiruvallur one can get share auto rickshaws which would drop one near the temple.

Sri Vedanta Desikar Devasthanam-Mylapore, Chennai

A small walk from the Mylapore temple tank towards Chitrakulam will take one to the Vedanta Desikar temple. He is considered as the reincarnation of Divine bell of Lord Vishnu.

The temple is situated very close to  Peyalwar temple.
Desikar was a  great Acharya who mastered all sastras and became a scholar. He has written thousands of stotras on Lord Srimannarayana.

All Acharyas walked the length and breadth of the country extolling the beauty and grace of Lord but in case of Mylapore temple, Lord Srinivasa  with his consort came in search of Desikan ,to be with him.

The main sanctum has Lord Srinivasa's idol ; a beautiful one which would give one a feeling of visiting the Tirumala temple and outside on the left side we can find  Lakshmi Hayagreeva and an idol of Desikan in a small shrine.
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 A detail history of Desikar here
There also shrines for Anjaneyar, Garuda,Peyazhawar,Hayagrivar, Lakshmi Narasimha, Sudarshana and Lord Lakshmi Narasimha and Sri Andal.

Aadikesava Perumal Peyalwar Tirukoil , Mylapore, Chennai

Adikesava Perumal  Peyalwar temple is situated near Chitrakulam in Mylapore.

It is one among the 108 divyadesam and this temple along with Tiruvellikeni is considered as one divyadesam.

This temple is believed to be 5000 years old and also  believed to be in existence from dwaparayuga though it has undergone renovations many times.

This is the birth place of Peyalwar; one of the first 3  Alwars ( saints)of the 12 Alwars

In the sanctum of the main temple there is the beautiful idol of  Adi Kesavaperumal ( Lord Vishnu). Facing the God is Garudar sannidhi and dwajasthambha.

 His consort Mayurvalli thayar  blesses all the devotees from a separate shrine.Here at this sacred place Peyalwar received blessings from Thayar. On her advice he worshiped Kesava Perumal here.Every Friday a special worship known as  Vilvarchanai is performed to the Goddess  Mayuravalli  by devotees and she makes everyone happy by granting their wish.

Andal is also enshrined within the complex  and there are also idols of Alwars here.

It is also believed that Sri Rama while returning from Lanka got attracted to this place and stayed here for sometime before returning to Ayodhya.

Poigai Alwar and Booththa alwar also sang mangalsanams ( hymns)to Lord here.

Peyalwar goes in a procession to Tiruvellikeni during Tamil  month of Purattasi , and enters the sanctum there, offers worship there by singing hymns.

 More details can be found here about the temple.

One needs special permission to use camera.

I have just a couple of pictures.

Please refer the link for more pictures.

                                    
                                            

Vaikunta Nathar 6, Tirunangur temple, Near Sirkazhi

This temple has  Vainkunta Nathar, Lord Maha Vishnu blessing His devotees sitting on Adisesha. One leg is curled up ,bend at  the knees other let down as if he is  is waiting to rush to help those who completely surrender to him. The same idol, I have seen in Poornathrayeesa temple , Trippunithura in Kerala.
This temple has no other shrines.
There are idols of Santhana Krishna and consorts of Lord Vishnu in the sanctum.

Here the Moolavigraha( the main idol) and Utsavar are similar idols.
Check my previous posts  for other Tirunangur temples.

Vanpuroshothamar ,5th temple Tirunangur Divyadesam,

 This is the 5th Tirunangur Divyadesam I visited and Lord Vishnu here is known as Vanpurushthomar and His consort is Purushothama Nayaki. This ancient temple is believed to be 1000 years old .
Lord here blesses his devotees from a standing position and  there are also shrines here for Aanjaneya, Chakrvarthi Thirumagan and Manavala Mamunigal.
The temple tank here is known as Tiruparkadal Pushkarani.
Check  my earlier posts on Tirunangur temples for more details.
Last picture depicts a map of a few temples.
1.Tiru Annan Koil

2. Tiru Manimada koil- Narayana Perumal


3.Arimeya Vinnagaram - Koodamaatukoothan


4 Pallikonda Perumal