Adi Keshava Perumal Temple -Tiruvattar, Kanyakumari District

 Do you know, there is a temple dedicated to Anantha Padmanabha Swamy in Tiruvattar, Kanyakumari district similar to the one in Thiruvananthapuram.     Lord here is  known as Adikesava Perumal  and is believed to be very much more older than the Padmanabha Swamy of Thiruvanthapuram.

This temple was part of Kerala and was under Travancore kings but presently it is part of Tamilnadu  after State reorganization. This is one of the 108 divyadesham of Vishnu, Nammalwar has sung hymns in praise of Lord Adi Kesava here. Legend  also says that Lord  killed the demon Kesi and came to be known as Adi Kesava .There is lot of resemblance in pooja rituals of Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruvattar temples.

 Known as the Dakshina Vaikuntam,  one has to view the Lord through three dwaras akin to the Padmanabha temple.  it is said that both deities are reclining on Adisesha in respective temples  facing each other . This temple is surrounded by 3 rivers Pahrli, Kodhai and Tamirabharani,

One can view the  Lord; the saligrama sila only with the help of oil lamps in the sanctum and one may get a better view if one can have darshan from the raised platform outside  the sanctum. The Panchloha idols  were being worshipped outside and  we  could have beautiful darshan.

The temple is  a magnificent edifice and is on an elevated ground. One has to climb a few steps to reach the temple. The temple corridors on all four sides are lined on either side with  granite  pillars.

Beautiful murals and sculptures  from our puranas  decorate the walls and interior.  There is huge dwajasthambam as this a Mahakshetram and there is small shrine for Tiruvambadi Krishna. One can enter and exit the temple through East or West gate. 

Tiruvattar is a village panchayat and is 6 kms form Marthandam  in Kanyakumari district.

The temple surroundings are serene and very  clean. The peace and quiet one feels during the visit was a added blessing. 

Dress code -women can wear saris/chudidhars. Men can enter the inner precincts of the temple without shirts just like any Kerala temple. Those who plan  Kaniyakumari can definitely add this in their itinerary.

No Photography allowed inside the temple .

A few pictures from my recent visit.

                                                                   Western Gopuram

                                                                 Front side of the temple

                                                            Eastern Gopuram

                                                             The Banyan tree with Nagas 

                                                                         The main temple

Kalyana Venkataramana temple- Karur, Tamilnadu

Kalyana Venkataramana temple is in Thanthoni, 5 Kilometeres from Karur on Dindigul road. This temple is situated on sacred Thantodri hill and is known as Then Tirupati . The temple can be reached by climbing 40-50 steps. The temple is simple in style and  the Lord  here is a swayambhoo moorthy and is about 10 feet tall. The idol reminded me of Lord Jagannath of Puri as the face of this Perumal is also not chiselled well . This uniqueness itself lends a charm to this Lord . He adorns Lakshmi on His chest and is in a standing posture  with head slightly bent as if readily waiting to listen to His dear devotees.

Sandals are offered to this deity  and that is known as Chemmali Samarpanam.

This temple is believed to be more than 300-years old.

Some pictures I captured a few years ago.

Ulagalanda Perumal Koil - Tirukoilur, near Tiruvannamalai

Ulagalanda Perumal Koil  (Lord  who measured the universe) is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu which is situated 35 Kms from Tiruvannamalai; is one among the 108 divyadesams of Vishnu.

The temple is very ancient and the idol of the Moolavar known as Trivikrama is huge and made of Tharu wood.( deodhar). The idol is brightly painted decked up well with right leg  lifted up as if measuring the sky.

Inside sanctum we also find idols of King Mahabali  sitting near the Holy feet and there are other idols of Brahma, Mahalakshmi and Vamana. There is also a huge idol of Garuda , Lord Vishnu's mount outside the sanctum facing the main deity. A 40 feet Garuda pillar facing the temple  is also a speciality of this temple. Thayar, Lord's consort  has a separate shrine.

There are shrines around the temple for Lord Narasimha , Andal and Lakshmi Hayagrivar.
There is Lord Venugopala swamy shrine in the first prakaram and the idol here is made of saligrama. Many offer prayers here  before proceeding to worship the main deity.This is one of the Pancha Krishna temples and Utsavar here is Gopalaswamy, a beautiful idol with a whip in hand and cows around.
There is also a swayambhu Durga near to Lord's shrine and she is worshipped here during Rahukalam.

Details and legend related to temple can be found here 

Jain Monastery, Sittanavasal, Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu

 Not far away from the town of Pudukottai is Sittanavasal , abode of Jain  saints . 

Uneven rock cut steps, up a small hill leads one to  the monastery. The monastery is quite small, it has a small  sanctum with idols of 3 Jain Tirthankars. Just outside the sanctum too, there are two statues of Tirthankars.  The ceiling outside the sanctum has 7 th century frescoes.  Though we cannot identify the painting on our own, a good effort was made by the guide who is posted there.

Frescoes as mentioned by the guide are  - Fish floating in a pond, a lady adorned with jewellery ;   jewellery was very much in use in 7th century too :)  ,beautiful maidens plucking lotuses , a saint clad in saffron robes  and elephants playing in the pond. Some have started peeling off.

The monastery is in a rock cut cave . The unique thing about this place is- if one enters the sanctum and concentrates on one’s breath, inhales and exhales slowly then we can hear a humming sound something like vibrations reflecting from the wall.  The sanctum is a very small room with no windows. What baffles me a lot is, when we talk, it does not resonate. That small room might have been used by the sages living there. This looked as if abandoned and neglected for a few years and it has come under the  Archaeological department of India now. Have a look at pictures I could capture. Photography inside the monastery is prohibited.

Visiting time is 10 Am -6 Pm.  A small fee of Rs. 5  charged  per head, if one wants to enter the sanctum. We visited this in May and found it was not the right time to visit as the scorching Sun made the climb difficult.
Sittanavasal is about 15Kms frm Pudukottai town.