Tiruvenkatamudayan temple-Ariyakudi,Sivagangai district.

Ariyakudi is 5 Kms. from the town of Karaikudi and is famous for the Venkatchalapathi temple known here as Thiruvenkadamudayian Koil. This temple is  believed to be 500 years old.  

The legend is that a great devotee of  Lord Tirupati Balaji when he was unable to visit Tirumala due to old age  was blessed by the  Lord with a swaymbhoo idol which was found under a Tulsi plant in his native place of Ariyakudi. Hence this  temple is  considered to be an important abode of Lord Balaji. It is also believed, a worship here is equivalent to a worship  at Tirumala and hence it is called Then Tirupathi meaning Dakishna  Tirupathi. 

Apart from the main Vishnu idol other deities are Alarmelmangai Thayar, Andal and Moolai Garudan. 

This temple is just 15 Kms from Karapgavinayagar temple Pillayarpatti.

                                            

Kannudaya nayagi- Nattarasan kottai, sivaganga

Kannudaya Nayagi - the guardian deity of the eyes. She protects the eyes of her devotees. It is not surprising to find devotees praying here to cure their eye ailments. This temple is set amidst a tiny hamlet in Nattarasan Kottai near Sivaganga in Tamilnadu. The Goddess here is very powerful and  a  swaymbhu moorthy (self manifested) The granite idol is always  decked up with jewels and silk and flowers. This temple is also known as Kananthal temple; very ancient believed to have been built in the 18th century. 

Utsavar ,Goddesss Parasakthi  is seen here with 8 hands.

Devotees offer eyes made of silver metal ( flat eye shapes are cast in metal) to the deity  and seek blessing from her.  Devotees also offer salt to deity to ward off skin and stomach ailments.  Temple gets crowded during Navarathri.

The temple mandapam is huge and has a beautiful  water tank in front - this is a very common feature in all temples in Sivaganga district. Vinayaka shrine is very near to the pond.

A few miles away from the temple lies the famous Kalayar Koil. Shall write about it in my next post.

  Great Tamil poet Kambar who translated Ramayana into Tamil is laid to rest in this town and the tomb is just a few meters from the temple click here to see pictures.

I also found local women selling handmade eco friendly, colurful items just outside the temple. Got a couple of those as souvenir. Thought I should share what I captured. These colorful items are made of palm leaf and reed and coloured using natural dyes.
Pictures of temple here in this link.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNUjMbszPMTn3MK2GHZdzFTe2QRbbGliJD60uc6?key=CNSoyaenvI_4Eg

Nattarasan kottai -51 kms from Madurai.

temple timing 6 am- 1pm

4.30 pm -8.30 pm.

Kottrallishwarar temple-Koviloor, Karaikudi,Tamil nadu

The Kottarleeshwarar temple is about 1000 years old, built by Pandya kings and is situated in pristine surroundings at Koviloor near  Karaikudi, 

First time, when I visited the temple it appeared neglected and was in bad shape . My second visit, a few months ago left me  speechless as the temple had transformed into a magnificent structure. The sparkling bright colors  made it easy  to recognize the well carved statues on the tower and around the temple. Lord Siva, here, is known as Kottralishwarar and the  Goddess is known as Tirunellai Amman. More information about the temple can be read at this link .http://www.kovilur.com/temple.htm

The temple recently had a Kumbabhishekam . The temple tank is right in front of the temple and is maintained well with its circular pillared  mandapam in the center. There is yet another  beautiful mandapam in Southern side of the temple which has fabulous paintings on the ceiling made with natural dyes. In the center of the ceiling the Rasi chakra is depicted. Go through my album and enjoy the visual treat.

This temple is just about 6-7 Kms from the famous Pillayarpatti temple.

How to reach-

 Karaikudi,Can be reached from Madurai and Trichy which is  at a distance of 70 Kms and 82 Kms respectively.

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.

Pictures here.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMfze0kmrXYHjDOtyXZu81RH4s9hh7T4ZaaguDa