Thiru Utharakosamangai- Ramanathapuram,Tamil Nadu

Uthira Kosa Mangai is a tiny hamlet, famous for the Siva temple considered to be 3000 years old. This is the place where Siva transferred the secrets of  Vedas to Parvati. Uthiram means ( updesham ) kosam( secrets) Parvati  (Mangai )  hence this place is known as Uthira Kosa Mangai.

The main deity here is Mangalanathar ( Siva) and his consort is  Mangleshwari.  There is a Nandi just outside the sanctum and a bigger Nandi in the outer prakaram  known here  as Pradosha Nandi.   Special poojas are conducted here on Pradosham days in the evenings as it is  believed that Siva dances between the horns of Nandi during that time. There  are also  shrines for Kalabhairavar and  Sanishwarar here. Each pillar in this temple has beautiful carvings and the ceiling is painted in myriad hues.

The main attraction of this temple is a statue of Natarajar made of emerlad which is about  51/2 feet tall. This idol is known as Margatha Natarajar and the deity is always covered with sandal paste.  Only in the Tamil month of Margazhi on Tiruvathira nakshtram (latest  was on Dec. 22nd 2010)  the sandal paste gets removed and there is abhishekam for the idol and this special darshan is known as  Arudhra darishanam. Lakhs of devotees visit the temple on this day and on the next day again the idol  gets smeared with sandal paste. To have a darshan of this deity, one must be there around 12.00 noon on regular days.

On the way to Natarajar temple we find other sub shrines dedicated to Sahasra Lingam ,which has thousands of tiny Lingams carved on a single Shiva Linga and a separate shrine for Manikka Vasagar(the saint poet who was a regular visitor to this temple) near the Agnitheertham (tank) . The sthala vricksham is also considered as old as the temple. The base of this  tree has a huge hollow in which I could find some images of serpents.

How to reach: The nearest airport is Madurai . Ramanathapuram is 100 Kms from the Madurai airport.

Many buses ply from Madurai  to Ramanathapuram.

Accommodation- It is better to stay in Madurai which has good hotels.

Ramanathaswamy temple,Rameshwaram , Tirupullani, Sethukarai and Navapashanam are the other  famous temples  nearby.
PHOTOS
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNjKqhSArkFK0JD93nDirqb2NC838orEdCF574e

Tirukazhu kundram Vedagirishwarar ThazhKovil

This a continuation of my earlier post. The temple in the town is known as the The Vedagirishwarar tazh kovil or Tripurasundari Amman koil as she has a separate sannidhi here.The main deity here is known as Bhakta valsaleswar (Siva) and this temple has tall towers on all 4 sides and there is a temple tank in the outer most prakaram and we could see the Nandi of the hill temple near this tank facing the hill.


This ancient temple has exquisitely carved sculptures all around the temple. Outside the sanctum sanctorum there are idols of Aruvathimuvar (63 saints) ,Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingodhbhavar, Durgai amman, utsavar, and a separte niche for Bairavar. Outside this prakaram is the Nandimandapam and here we could see the Agora Veera Bhadrar , a fierce form of Siva's idol. We could see many vehicles and chariots used for the festival season in this mandapam.


As we go around the temple there are shrines for Somaskandar, Athmanadhar, Ekambareshwar, Annamalaishwarar,Jambugeshwar (all different names for Shiva), Vinayagar and Shanmugha. There is a shrine dedicated to Manikavasagar one of the four saints, the great devotee of siva. it is believed that the God appeared before him at this place.


The Amman sannidhi, the temple of Tripura sundari is also facing the east but is at the Northen side. The Amman idol was looking beautiful and the idol was decorated beautifully. This temple has separate dwaja sthambam and in front of this temple also there are two shrines one for Vedagiriswarar and other for Kalasthiswar . Nataraja has a separate shrine in the outer most prakaram and there is a long corridor in front of the shrine wih intricate carving on pillars.


The Sanku theertham is again half a kilometre from the temple and people converge here every twelve years for a festival which is next to the Mahamaham in Kumbakonam. The temple has a huge collection of conches numbering one thousand and these are used for performing abhishekam (bathing) the deity on special ocassions.The legends, linking it to various epics always stupifies me and the architecture of the temples makes me wonder how could they create such collosal structures when no machinery was invented.

How to reach: Easily approachable from Chennai via Mahabalipuram .
Regular buses ply from Mahabalipuram