Tiru Kudalloor- Jegath Rakshaga Perumal, Near Kumbakonam

This is one of the 108 Tirupatis of Lord Vishnu and the Lord here is glorified in Divya Prabhanda.

Jegath Rakshaga Perumal in Tirukoodalloor is in Ayyam Pettai.  The idol of Vishnu here is in a standing positon.The Utsavar  also has the same name. The thayar here is known as Pushpavalli. All the Devas gathered here to worship the Lord hence the name Tiru Koodalur.

This temple is known as Aduthurai Perumal in Vadakurangaduthurai,a village in the outskirts of   Kumbakonam.

The God is  believed to have appeared to sage Nandaka and  Ambarisha.

A jack fruit tree with a natural shape of a conch on the stem of the tree is unique to this temple. 

The legend associated and other details of the temple is given in the link here 

                                                 Naturual conch shape on tree

Kasi Viswanathar temple Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam and nearby areas are surrounded by magnificent temples, each has interesting legends associated with it. Even after four or five visits , I am yet to cover a minuscule percentage of those.

But whatever I have seen are very very popular in that area . I am trying to share  the same through my brief descriptions and through pictures.

I do have lot of limitations ,I wish , I could have spent  more time in each of these holy places. But time constraints,situations and personal commitments allow me only a fleeting glimpses of these huge monuments.

This time I am taking you to Kasi Viswanathar temple in Kumbakonam.

The presiding deity here is  Lord Shiva, known as Kasi Viswanathar, His  consort is Visalakshi. This temple is small compared to other Kumbakonam temples. There is a separate shrine for Navakannigas ;7 rivers here. There are also shrines for Bhairava, Sun, Moon, Lindohbhava, Mahishasura Mardhini and Lord Dakshinamurthy.

This comes under Padal petra sthalam hence an important Shivalayam. Legend is that Lord Rama and Lakshmana prayed here to Lord Shiva and sought blessings to enable them to slay Ravana. The nine rivers Known as Nava kannigas prayed to Lord Shiva at Varanasi to absolve them of sins washed away by bathers. Lord directed them to bath in Mahamaham tank and pray to Lord Adi Kumbeshwara  here, yet another beautiful temple.
More details here.

Kai Viswanathar  temple is in the heart of city and is very close to the famous Mahamaham tank.

 I have included a few pictures of Mahamaham tank too.

Once in 12 years people gather here in large number to have a holy dip in the tank during the Mahamaham festival . It is believed that a holy bath during the festival will wash away one's sins and will purify the soul .

Legend is that a few drops of nectar from the Amritha Kumbham spilled in this place.

Last Mahamaham festival took place in February 2016.

Tiruvidaimaradhur, Mahalingaswamy temple Near Kubakonam, Tamilnadu

Tamil Nadu is famous for its ancient temples, its grandeur  cannot be contained in a few words ,each one is a an architectural marvel and they are scattered all over the State.

This time, I am taking you  to a temple in Tiruvidaimarudhur which  is considered to be  as sacred as Varanasi  near Kumbakonam  where the presiding deity is Siva. This temple, I would say is huge and is spread over 20 acres. I was very happy to visit this as this was on my wish list for long. It is easy to locate this temple if one plans as it is just 7-8 Kms from Kumbaonam city and no one would miss the majestic multi tiered Gopuram of this temple from a long distance.

The temple precincts are also huge it takes about 10 minutes to walk from one side of the Gopuram to the other.The grandeur of the tall gopurams on all 4 sides the ornate Mandapas makes one wonder about the skillful architecture of the artisans during  the Chola period.

The Lord here is known as Mahalingaswamy , a huge Lingam believed to be a self manifestation.

Every temple will have a main deity and subshrines ; Parivara devatas surrounding the Lord around the temple but the Siva temple here forms the focal point for the other grand temples in the vicinity i.e Tiruvalanchuzhi , Swetha Vinaygar, Murugan temple in Swami Malai, Somaskandar at Tiruvarur,Tiruvavduthurai with Nandi, Seerkazhi  for Bhairavar,Tiruseingalur for Chandikeshwarar, Suryanar Koil with Navgrahas, Alangudi for Dakshinamoorthy,Tirukkadayur for Ambal,Tirunallar for Saneeshwaran, Pateeshwaram for Durgai and Natarajar for Chidambaram.

The Ambal sannidhi here is one among the Saktipeetas. Consort here is known as Bruhusundara gujambigai. Goddess Mookambigai is yet another important shrine here and considered as holy as Kollur Moogambigai temple in Karnataka. Mahameru Srichakram is installed in this shrine.

Sacred tree here is maruda tree. This is  one of the three temples having a Marudha tree, other two are in Srisailam Andhrapradesh and third one in Ambasamudram In Tamil Nadu itself.

Do include this temple in your list when you plan Kumbakonam trip

Temple timings:- 6 Am -12 noon 

5pm-8pm

phone number 91 435 2460660

Nearest city is Kumbakonam which 8Kms away 

Kumbakonam has good hotels suiting to one's budget.

Sree Ramaswammy temple Kumbakonam , Tamil nadu

Kumbakonam, in Tanjavur district abounds in temples, a city which mesmerises me. The town and surrounding areas have huge,ancient temples . I made my fifth visit to this city recently in the auspicious month of Purattasi a , month dedicated wholly to worshipping Lord Vishnu .

Sree Ramaswamy Tirukoil ( temple ) as it is known popularly ,is situated  right in the middle of the town. The colourful tall spire adds charm to the skyline. Its about 500 years old. 

The idols in the sanctum will take one's breath away; it is as if landing in the land of Lord Rama at Ayodhya for His Pattabhishekha. Life size statues of Rama , Seetha and Lakshmana along with His brothers Shatrughna and Bharatha ,stand tall to bless all the devotees. One would find Bhaktha Anjaneya kneeling down with folded hands. It is amazing to find so many  idols in one sanctum.
The Utsav moorthy of Rama ,Seetha and Lakshmana also dazzle and make us linger in front of the sanctum  till we are reminded it is time to move to make way for others.

Thoroughly enjoyed the visit. Here are a few pictures form what I clicked.

How to reach- Kumbakonam is very well connected by rail and road. Nearest airport is at Trichy