Thiru Anbil Soundar Raja Perumal Or Vadivazhagiya Nambi temple- Tamil nadu

 Thiru Anbil, is the fourth Divyadesam of Vishnu.( one of the 108 Vishnu desams) The temple was built by the Cholas.

 This temple is situated on the banks of river Kaveri at Kollidam ( Coleroon) and has Ranganathar as the presiding deity known here as Thiru Vadivazhagiya Nambi in a reclining posture   and Soundaraja Perumal as the Utsavar. The idol, as the name mentions is of  exquisite beauty and  His consort is Azhagiya valli Nachiyar. Aandal is in the outside prakaram and Garudalwar is facing the sannidhi of the Lord. This temple  is believed to be  6000 years old and is considered to be the birth place of the poet saint Valmiki.

There are many inscriptions in this temple describing the history of those times.

 How to reach: Well connected. Airport is at Trichy . This temple is at a distance of 20 Kms from the town on the Tiruchi- Kumbakonam route.

The temple is just 5 kms.from the Lalgudi railway station.

Accommodation- Good hotels are available in Trichy .

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMH2kQPPf86TQiNhR1xdfGBjbcK9fK21nQUAL-w

Sarangapani temple - Kumbhakonam , Tamil Nadu

 This is  an important divya desam of Vishnu and is also known as Tiru Kudanthai. This is one of the  Pancha Ranga Khestras ;  Other four are  temple of  Sri Ranganatha; Sri Rangam,  ( near Trichy)  Appakudathan temple, Tirukoviladi- Trichy ,  Parimala Ranganathar at Tiru Indalur ( near Kumbakonam) and Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple at Srirangapatanam in Karnataka. I shall be writing on the remaining temples too.

Sarangapani temple is the biggest Vishnu temple in Kumbakonam and  it belongs to 13th century. The Moolavar is Sarangan ,and the thayar is Ranganayaki. The temple sanctum is designed like a chariot with wheels and is drawn by horses and elephants.

Lord's consort also known  as Kamala Valli Thayar has a separate sannidhi and there are Lord's paduka's(foot prints) in the outside prakaram where devotees offer worship. Opposite to that, there is a shrine for Patala  Srinivasa Perumal. Here one has to  climb down a few steps to reach the shrine .

The  main temple has a beautiful mandapam in front of the temple. The sanctum has  two entrances. One is known as the Uttarayana dwara and other one the Dakshinayana dwara as is in Tiruvellarai. The dakshinaya dwaram remains open from the Tamil month of Aadi to Marghazi ( mid August to mid January ) and the other door remains open from ( Mid January- mid July) Thai -Aani. This is in accordance with the movement of the Sun's path.

Temple timings are 6 am - 12 noon , 4 pm.8 pm.

How to reach: Kumbakonam is well connected by express trains from Chennai.Tamilnadu has excellent road transport systems and one  can easily get buses to all parts of Tamilnadu from Kumbakonam.The nearest airport is Trichy.
Accommodation: Good hotels suiting to all sections of society are available in Kumbakonam
PHOTOS
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPP2mVh0zOjFrhmqsD_Ih-wdzfaU7n3ViN_EW76