Tirumayam Perumal, Pudukottai

Situated  on  the foot of the  Tirumayam Fort are two rock cut temples one of Shiva and other Vishnu known here as Tiru Mayam Perumal. The idol is akin to  Lord Ranganathar, Sri Rangam as here also the deity is reclining on Adisesha, the serpent king.

This temple is 61st divya desam of Vishnu and is highly venerated by Vaishnavites.

The deity also known as Pallikonda Tirumayam Perumal.

The beautiful idol of Ranganatha is inside a rock cut cave.

The sanctum appears as if a whole scene is recreated from mythology where Lord protects his devas and consorts from the evil Asuras. The scene depicted is - The Lord  reclining on Adisesha .The Asuras Madhu and  kaitaba terrorising the devas. Devas surrounding  and pleading to God to rescue them from the Asuras.The two consorts of Lord ,Boo devi  hiding below the feet of Narayana and  Lakshmi below Lord's hand which is held like a hood.  One leg of God is kept straight and other leg tilted towards Boodevi as if comforting her. Even the Sesha here one finds is folding its hood out of fear.

There are Pancha loha idols in front.

It was really a beautiful experience understanding the legend behind the temple.

Brahama idol is  on the walls of the rock.

Then there is a shrine for Amarnda perumal( One who is in a sitting posture)  Satya moorthy with his consorts. Garudalvar is quite big and  has a shrine in front of the Lord.

There are huge mandapams inside and outside with beautiful images.

There are also shrines for Lakshmi Narasimha, Andal, Maha lakshmi, Chakrathazhwar.

One can reach this temple from  Pudukottai as well as from karaikudi.

Athmanathar Temple,Tiruperunthurai,Pudukkottai district,Tamil Nadu

Athmanathar temple  in Tiruperunthurai is also known as Avudayar temple. This  is an important Sivalayam in Tamil Nadu. Tiruperundurai is also known as Perungalathur, it  is about 15 Kms from the town of Aranthangi in Sivagangai district. Aranathangi can be reached either from Karaikudi or Pudukottai. From Karaikudi  it is about 50 Kms.

This great  temple is  steeped in history and one would be spell bound by the mere craftsmanship and the technology that was used ages ago when modern machinery was non-existent.The temple is situated in a serene atmosphere in a small village. The tower of this temple stands tall and can be viewed from far .

The unique feature of this temple is there no deity or Sivalingam in this temple., There is a platform in the sanctum and the God here is considered to be formless and only a kavacham is used for worship.The temple also doesn't have a flag-mast and a Nandi.  Amman here , is also formless and here Her Tiruvadi ( holy feet) is only worshipped.

This temple is related to the great Saivaite saint Manikkavasagar and it is believed that Siva Himself gave him the mantropadesham  here under a sacred tree  and there is a statue carved on stone depicting the scene. 

The Utsavar in this temple is Manikkavasagar , and the idol is  resplendent panchaloha image ,carved to perfection and He is only taken out in procession during temple festivals.

The intricate work and ornamentation of pillars are magnificent. There are life size images which stand shoulder to shoulder with us as if breathing life. There are statues of  kings who contributed for building the temple and images of various Gods on each and every pillar. As we enter the temple itself there are two ,10-12 feet tall statue of Veerabhadra ( a form of Siva) on  either side where he is depicted killing  Daksha. The emotions on the face , i.e anger is depicted well.

There is a multi pillared mandapam where we see statues of  a Greek soldier  riding a horse. which is related  to the temple legend. 

There is a small shrine for Manikkavasagar here in this mandapam it gets bathed in sunlight. As we stand in front of this shrine and move from left to right our shadow falls on the deity which stupefied me. The murals on the walls cannot be deciphered properly unless a guide explains them to you. Guides are available in the temple but they speak only the regional language. The murals on  the ceiling have excellent design which resemble a saree and has been copied by many sari weavers.

There are interesting statues inside the temples One is that of Arjuna having a long hair, plaited well and exhibiting his chest muscles and another a  lady holding a basket adorned with jewels which is all carved in stone.. Photography is allowed except for the idols that are worshipped.

There is a temple tank within the temple Gopuram itself. The mandapam in the external prakaram is known as  Thaygaraja mandapam. The ceilings have minute carvings , wonder how it was chiselled in the days of yore . The sunshade here, is interesting which is again made with granite stone with rods carved like twisted steel used in construction of buildings.  There are also chains made of granite which hang from the ceiling. There are many monolithic images too. A temple which is awe- inspiring and transports one to a different world altogether as we remain engrossed in taking in  the beauty of each and every stone which depicts a story. A temple worth visiting.

This temple was developed with the concept that as the devotion matures in a devotee, he has to believe in absolute truth which has no form hence the Lord here is known as Athmanathar.
enjoy the photo captures!!
 Check my photos here in this link.

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Karaikudi and Nearby Temples

Pillaiyarpatti KarpagaVinayagar temple -

Pillaiyarpatti is situated 12 Kms. from Karaikudi which is the prime town of Chettinadu. As there is a famous Pillaiyar temple, the village takes it name as Pillaiyarpatti. The temple is a rock cut temple and the sanctum sanctorum is inside a cave. This temple 1600 years old. This deity is believed to be the benefactor of all the business community and every one from this community apportion a small percentage of their income as their offering to this deity and they also ensure excellent maintenance and up keep of the temple through regular contributions and care. The main deity faces the North and it is considered, a worship here bestows prosperity as he is facing the direction of god of wealth Kubera hence the attraction for the business community.

The mammoth idol of Vinayagar is a bas relief, more than 6 feet in height and is in a sitting posture. The uniqueness of this deity is that it has only two hands compared to the other Vinayagar idols and the trunk is curved to the right and he is known as Valampuri Vinayagar. Another name for this deity is Karpaga Vinayagar. The Sivalingam, Tiruveesar is also a bas relief. Nine lamps always glow around the Vinayagar idol as it is believed to be representing the Navagrahas. The Lord Vinayagar looks magnificient in his golden kavacham and people flock to this temple to seek his blessings.

There is a beautiful temple tank in front of the temple and there is an entrance from the east side also. There is a small shrine outside the temple above a small rock.

Other deities of the temple are Siva, known here as Marundeshwar and his consort Vadamalar Amman. There are niches for Lingodbhavar, Dakshina moorthy, Muruga and Navagrahas. The sthala vriksham is also inside the temple. The small road leading to the temple is lined with shops selling various items related to worship, devotional books and idols of Ganesha made of granite.

The main festival in this temple is Vinayaga chathurthi and during the festival period the temple gets thronged with pilgrims. The Karthigai festival is also very important and special buses ply during these periods to help the pilgrims. On April 1 st also this temple attracts lot of crowd as that is the beginning of the financial year for the business people.

Last two pics.  Pillaiyarpatti idol , pictures courtesy Wikipedia.

Kundrakudi

Enroute to Pillayair patti from Karaikudi 3 Kms before, is a Murugan temple atop a small hillock.This place is called Kundra kudi . One has to climb a fleet of stairs cut in the rock itself to reach the temple. It would take about 10 minutes to reach the top . The temple is about 1000years old and is situated at a height of 200 feet from ground level. The famous violinist Kunnakudi Vaidya nathan hailed from this place.

Then Tirupathi- .Ariyakudi

Ariyakudi is 5 Kms. from the town of Karaikudi is famous for the Venkatchalapathi koil known here as Thiruvenkadamudayian. This temple also very old and was recently renovated. When we went there some special pooja was being conducted to the deity. This is considered to be an important abode of Lord Balaji. It is believed a worship here is equivalent to that of a worship a Lord Balaji at Tirumala and hence it called Then Tirupathi meaning Southern Tirupathi. There is a special Garuda's idol here on the Norther side of the temple known as Kalgarudan. Some pictures which I captured during my recent visit.

Vairavar Koil

Two Kms. from Pillaiyar patti ,on the way to Tirupathur there is a temple dedicated to Lord Vairavar, another incarnation of Lord Shiva. The Vairavar idol is beautiful and is always decorated with a golden kavacham which is around 1000 sovereigns, There are separate shrines for Siva known here as Varalori Nathar and and his consort known as Vadivudai Amman. This temple is small and the ceiling of the temple is painted in myriad colours. Near the entrance of this there a shrine for Vinayagar.

Tirupathur Koil

Thiruthali Nathar Koil is an ancient temple near Tirupathur bus stand. This is on Karaikudi- Madurai route in Sivaganga district. It is 12 Kms. from Pillaiyar patti.This temple is under renovation and here, there is a seperate shrine for Yoga Bhairavar. Of the 64 forms of Bairvar, Yoga Bairavar is considered to be the most important as he is the Moola Bairavar meaning he is the first. All other Bairavar's came off him. We could not approach the Amman sannidhi as it was under renovation. It is believed that sage Valmiki stayed at this place  and also took care of Sita, Rama's wife when she was banished from the kingdom. The Lord  Siva here helped his devotee to win rewards from the king by helping him by composing a poem.



A word about Chettinadu
Chettinadu is famous for Sir Raja Annamalai Chettiyar, Sir Raja Muthiah Chettiar, Dr. Alagappa Chettiar etc. who contributed to their well being of their community and founded many educational institutions like Annamalai University , Alagappa University, A.C.Tech in Karaikudi and Chennai and many schools in Chettinadu and Chennai . Even now the Chettiyars community people who do business in other parts of the country and outside India make it a regular habit to come back to their roots at regular intervals and they have built palatial buildings with best accessories imported and each house is a store house of antiques and arte facts. Most of the houses have open central courtyard with rooms arranged on all four sides. The Chettinadu cuisine is very famous , would be attractive for people who like spicy food. Chettinadu saris are also very famous and is a definite attraction for women.

How to reach Karaikudi

Can be reached from Madurai and Trichy which are at 70 Kms and 82 Kms respectively. Both the cities have airports and railway stations. Karaikudi also has a railway station.

Buses ply from all the towns in Tamil Nadu to Karaikudi and all the above temples are on regular bus routes and are easily reachable.

Karaikudi town has good number of hotels for boarding as well as lodging.