Bramhapureeshwarar temple, Thirupattur- Trichy

Brahmapureeshwarar temple is situated  30Kms from the town of Trichy , Tamilnadu .This temple is known as  Brahma sthalam ( temple where Brahma is worshipped)

It is believed that one can change one's fate by worshipping   Lord Brahma here( Thailaiyezhuttu mattrum deivam )

The main deity is Lord Siva ,Brahmapurreshwarar blessing the devotees along with  His consort Parvati, Babrahmapureeshwari . Lord Brahma has a separte shrine, one finds devotees praying here fervently seeking His blessing to fulfill their wishes. The temple has Pathanjali Muneevar Jeeva samadhi  also.

It is believed that Lord Siva along with Parvati blessed Brahma when he undertook a penance to seek blessings of the Lord. For more information click  here

The other temple where Brahma is worshipped is Uthamar koil in Trichy itself.

How to reach- Trichy is well connected by road , rail and air and there many budget as well as luxury hotels.

Pictures in this link
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPZMdhwKYFmxVDu0dT-CbgGZQmjn_WQW1r7WIYx

Gunaseelam Sri PrasannaVenkatachalapathy temple, Tamilnadu

Prasanna Venkatachalapathy temple is a famous Vishnu temple in Gunaseelam  about 20 Kms. from Trichy.This temple attracts lot of pilgrims and people also believe that worshipping the deity here helps one to cure mental and physical ailments. Pilgrims stay here for about 48 days ,worship God and partake the prasadam from the temple and get relief from their problems.The temple looks neat and clean.

Legend is that sage Gunaseela used to visit Tirumala to have the darshan of Lord Balaji , once he requested God to come to the place where he was and God obliged, pleased with the sage's devotion. The temple is small when compared to the huge temples I have visited. There is a mandapam and a water tank outside the temple.
How to reach- Trichy is well connected with rail, road and air. 
Accommodation facilities are excellent as this is quite big town which attracts lot of tourists.

Tirukkozhi, Azhagiya Manavalan temple - Urayur, Trichy, Tamil Nadu

 Azhagiya Manvalan temple is second Divya desam after sri Ranganatha Swamy temple.   There is no Utsavar here. Namperumal, the Utsavar of Sri Rangam temple is brought here for the yearly Panguni Uthram  festival. This place is also the birth place of Tirupaana Alwar, a great devotee of Vishnu. Temple architecture is very simple. This temple is not crowded like the Srirangam temple. One can worship the God, in peace.
This is the place where Lord married Mahalakshmi  known here as Kamalavalli Nachiyar when she was born as an ordinary human being because of a curse incurred. Here the deities are in kalyana Tirukolam.

Trichy is well connected by road, air and rail.Excellent accommodation facilities are available in the town.
To see other temples in and around trichy click here

PHOTOS
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPcQofYq5mNrnoSQem690outJvJWCA2OcYSzEjl

Appakudathan temple- Tiru Koviladi, Tamil Nadu

8 th divya desam Of Vishnu
The temple is situated in a tiny village of Koviladi on the banks of river Kaveri. The Moolavar , in a reclining pose is known as Appa Kudathan and  here we find Markendaya muni near the Lord.  This temple is considered to be older than Srirangam temple.  There is a huge silver pot , the appa kudam  (A  sweet made of rice) near the Lord's right hand and it is believed to be full of appam as this Lord is fond of the same.

The Utsavar here is known as Azhagiya Manvalan , Namperumal and Appala Rangan.. He is flanked by Boodevi and Sree devi thayar.There is also a Santhana Gopala here and  the belief is that a childless couple would be blessed with progeny if they offer their worship to the Lord here.

Legend is  that a king was cursed by sage Dhurvasa when he accidently killed a Brahmin during a hunting expedition. To get liberation he was asked to feed 1000 hungry Brahmins. During the feast the Lord Srinivasa, disguised as a Brahmin consumed all the food meant for the 1000 people. Not satisfied with that, Lord asked the king to feed Him a pot of Appam ( sweet) The moment he ate the appam the king was liberated.  Since then he came to be called as Appa Kudathan and here for daily Pooja appam is offered to the Lord.

The temple was in a dilapidated stage when I visited and the renovation work was in progress. Very few people visit this temple  but the sanctum dazzles with all its brightness as it houses the Lord and his family.The priest Srinivasa Bhattar enthusiastically explained about the history and legend connected with the temple. As it is erroneously reported in many sites that the Lord is holding the appa kudam in his right hand. he specifically asked me to write clearly that the kudam is 2 feet away from the moolavar.
Kamalavalli thayar has a separate sannidhi here.
This is one of the  Pancha Ranga Kshetrams Others are  at Srirangam,  Kumbakonam,  Tiru Indalur in Tamilnadu and  Sri Ranga Patinam near Mysore in Karnataka

The temple timings are 7.30 am to 1 pm., 4.30pm -8.15p.m

To reach Koviladi, one can take Tiruchi- Kallanai- Tirukattuppalli route. It's located 25 Kms east of Trichy.
Buses ply from Tiruchi central and Chathiram bus stand with a frequency of 1/2 hr,.
Cabs charge around Rs. 400 for the up and down trip from Trichi to Koviladi.
Accommodation - Good hotels are available in Trichy.

PHOTOS
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMfZVTMwRYlEF88cptTyqjO6xmvCpV6huNLrT6s

Trichy Temples- Uthamar Koil

Uthamar Koil  is one among the 108 divyadesams of Vishnu. This temple is unique as this temple houses  all the Trinities- Vishnu, Siva and Brahma . Brahma has very few temples in India and this is an added attraction for this temple.  Here we find a blend of Vaishavisam and Saivism.

The temple is very simple and does not have huge towers like other temples. Facing east is the temple of Purushothaman (Vishnu) . Here he is in Sayana Kolam , meaning- reclining on Aadisesha. The Panchaloha idol of Purushothaman and his consort Poorna Valli Thayar are stunning.  Garudalwar is facing the Vishnu's shrine.Outside there are separate shrines for Mahalakshmi and Poornavalli Thayar. 

Facing South is the shrine for Dakshina Moorthy and on the  West side is the temple of  Siva known here as Bhikshadaneshwar and his consort is known as Soundarya Parvati . She has a separate sannidhi inside this temple. At the entrance of this temple there is a  niche for Gnana Guru and Nandi is facing the Siva sannidhi. There are separte shrines for Krishna, Varadaraja, and Azhwars and Chakrathazhwar. 

The legend goes like this- Siva removed one of Brahma's head in a fit of anger and he incurred a curse. To get salvation Siva went around the world with Brahma's skull to beg for food, hence the name Bhikshadaneshwar. Whenever some one filled his vessel with food it disappeared  and he remained hungry. Finally he  reached Uthamar koil and  Mahalakshmi filled it with food thus ending Siva's hunger.

At the Northen side is the shrine of Brahma and next to it is his consort Gnana Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge. Brahma grants here all the wishes of his devotees as Vishnu directed him to do so. Childless couples offer their prayers at this temple to beget offspring.

 It is also believed that once Vishnu wanted to test Brahma and  He  hid in a Kadambha tree. Brahma was worried and started searching and found the Lord here in the form of a  Kadamba tree and worshipped him . Perumal blessed him by giving Him the privilege as the creator of all lives. Lord Brahma stayed here blessing his devotees.

How to reach: This temple is in Srirangam and is 5 Kms from Trichy town. Trichy is well connected by rail, road and air. 

Regular buses ply  with good frequency to Srirangam.

One can also hire auto rickshaw or cabs.

Accommodation - A number  of hotels are available in luxury , economy and budget category.

 Vimanam  atop of Lord  Purushothaman (Vishnu) Sanctum

 

Shiva's shrine

Outside the temple 

Aerial View of the temple

Trichy Temples- Neelivaneshwar, Tirupanjali

 Tirupanjali Neelivaneshwar temple is 5 Kms from Tiruvellarai Pundareekaksha Perumal temple and about 20 Kms from Trichy. It is situated in a beautiful village surrounded by greenery. This Siva temple is also one of the padal petra sthalams . The Lingam of Neelivaneshwar is very small and is a Swayambhu Lingam . Neeli means banana trees and there are lot of banana trees in this temple and is considered as the sthala vriksham .

The Gopuram here also looks incomplete or worn out like the Tiruvellarai temple. The second tower known as Ravana Vayil is intact. There is a Siva Lingam just outside this tower in a small shrine known as Chotrudaieeshwaran . It is believed that the Lord himself served rice to the the saint Tirunavukkarasar who was hungry and tired when he was on his way to this temple and later Siva appeared here in the form of a Lingam . There's a festival here in the month of Chithirai related to this event.

Before entering the Ravana vayil tower pilgrims have to offer their prayers at the shrine of Yama the God of Death. I think this is the only temple where we have a shrine dedicated to God of death This shrine is in a cave under the ground. To save Markendeya from the clutches of Yama, Siva kills him and it is here that the God resurrected him. Yama here is in the form of a child. People offer special poojas for longer life and to ward off ill effects.

This temple does not have any Navgraha images. There are 9 steps leading from the Ravana Vayil tower inside the temple and this is built with the belief that the Navagrahas themselves were like slaves to Ravana. There are nine small pits near the Nandi in front of the main Lingam and are worshipped as Navagrahas.

The main deity Neelishwarar is also known as Adhikara Vallabhar as the deity here restored Yama all his powers to perform his duty.There are two shrines for Amman here ,one for Visalakshi and other for Neela Nedunkann Amman. This shrine has a separate dwajasthambha.

Parvati had performed penance here and she wished to have some shade during her penance and the sapta kanyas became the plaintain trees to provide shade to Her. Hence the Neelivanam ,with 7 plaintain trees occupies a special place in the temple. Devotees perform special rituals on Sundays to these plantain trees here in belief that this will lead them to matrimony. The plantain trees have yellow threads tied to it as part of the ritual. See the photo.

How to reach: Trichy is well connected by rail, road and air. It is better to hire cabs to reach this temple as the frequency of buses are very low.

                                                     The Main tower

                                               A View from Outside

                                             Ravana Vayil, the second tower

 

Chotrudaieeshwar  shrine on the left side    

                                                      Inside the Main tower

                                                 The Sthala Vricksham

Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple- Sri Rangam (Trichy)

Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple is the biggest temple in Trichy , covering an area of 156 acres. It is the first and foremost among the 108 divya deshams of Vishnu and here, the Lord Ranganatha ( Vishnu) is in a reclining pose on Aadisesha. The massive idol of the main deity is beautiful . The Utsavar is fondly called as Nam -Perumal meaning "Our Lord" in Tamil, Azhagiya Manavalan " the handsome groom" while His consort Ranganayaki is known as Thayar meaning "Mother".

Sri Rangam is an island surrounded by river Kaveri. There are 21 towers for this temple and the temple is enclosed by 7 concentric walls with a length of 6 miles. With in these towers situates the whole town. The town cannot be separated from the temple. The temple is the biggest functioning Hindu temples in India. This temple is about 2000 years old.

The outer most tower on the South side is the tallest, called as Rajagopuram with 13 tiers and as you walk towards the main sannidhi you cross 6 more towers. The temple is an architectural marvel and also houses a 1000 pillared mandapam. The 4 th tower is the one which leads us inside the temple and here one gets an opportunity to get on to the terrace of the temple for a panoramic view of the whole temple complex. . Non- Hindus are allowed to go up to the 6 th tower and not beyond, near the Lord Ranganatha's Gold plated sanctum.

The Garudalwar facing the Ranganathar is a massive form around 15 feet in height, in a sitting posture facing the main sannidhi. Photography is banned here. Vaikunda Ekadashi festival is very famous and pilgrims throng the temple to have a darshan of Lord Ranganatha during this 21 day festival.

Enroute to Thayar sannidhi I found something interesting, There are 5 holes in the floor just in front of a small Vishnu shrine, inside a lotus pattern and pilgrims were trying to put their fingers inside and peeping towards the direction Ranganatha swamy's shrine. It is believed that the Goddess used to look at the God by supporting her hand on the floor. Pilgrims were trying to experience the same.( see photo)

Ranga Thayar idol is beautiful and she is in a sitting posture and has the Panchaloha idol in front. There is also a Gold plated mandapam here to conduct special poojas for the deity. There is a small gallery in front of the Thayar sannidhi and there are some fabulous paintings of Narasimha Moorthy. There are shrines for Chakra thazhwar and Anjaneyar, Ramanujar and a dozen others dedicated to various forms of Vishnu like VenuGopal, Narasimhar etc. The Kodanda Ramar sannidhi and Utsavar of Andal also is very attractive.

I have already written about the legend of Ranganatha in my earlier post , Trichy- Rock fort temple how he came to reside in Sri Rangam.

Andal shrine is of great importance here. She was a great devotee of Lord Ranganatha and she is believed to have merged with the God here. The Tiruupavvai (collection of hymns) composed by her praising the Lord is sung by young and old in the month of Marghazi .( December mid-January mid)

Trichy is well connected by rail air and road. Srirangam also has a railway station but for a good stay it better to stay in Trichy town which is just 5 Kms.

Trichy - Rockfort temple,

Rockfort temple stands tall on a magnificent hill which is believed to be 3500 million years old. This temple dates back to 7th  century. This hillock forms the landmark of bustling Trichy town.

 There are two temples here one for Siva and the other for Vinayagar known here as Ucchi Pillayair , Ucchi means  zenith . The deity here sits and watches the whole Trichy town from the summit. The  Uchipillayar temple  is very small , one has to climb about 400 steps to reach the summit. One can have a panoramic view of the whole town from the top of the hill.

The legend is that after slaying Ravana , Rama before proceeding to  Ayoydha  presented an idol of Vishnu -Ranganatha,(the post soon to follow) to Vibeeshana , Ravana's brother. En route to Lanka  to his kingdom he reached Trichy. Many Gods were not in favour of him taking this idol to Lanka so they sent Vinayagar to prevent Vibeeshan from doing so. Vinayagar appeared in the form of a young lad and when Vibeeshana wanted to perform his ablutions he asked the boy to take care of the idol with the condition that it should not be kept on the ground. But Vinayagar kept it on the ground and it got routed there. Enraged by this Vibeeshana chased Vinayagar. It is believed that Vinayagar to escape the wrath of Vibeeshana came and hid in this rock. What ever the legend may be, the trip to the temple was a great experience.

Before ascending the Ucchi Pillayair temple, mid way through, there is a Siva's temple  very famous here known as Tayumanavar meaning "He became a Mother also" 'He' here stands for Lord Siva. The legend is that a woman while giving birth to her child suffered as she was alone and prayed to Lord Siva. God appeared here as a mother( midwife) and helped her to deliver her child safely. Many 'mothers to be' reach the temple and offer their prayers and seek the blessings of the Lord. 

The Sivalinga here is huge and around 6 feet high . Amman has separate sannidhi . There are shrines for Somaskandar, Nataraja- Sivakami, Subramanya, Vinayagar, Durgai and Kalabairavar.  Lord  Jeerakeshwar is special to this temple and he is adorned with sandal paste and it is believed that worshipping him would cure many ailments.There is a huge mandapam just outside the Tayumanavar sannidhi and it has exquisite paintings of the legend associated with the temple . The tower of Amman sannidhi can be seen at close quarters from this hall.

Amman sannidhi is few steps below the Siva's sannidhi and the dwajasthambam and Nandi mandapam  are also there in this level.  Photography is prohibited inside the temple. In between the Tayumanavar temple and Ucchipillayair temple lies the Pallvas cave and is a store house of brilliant art work.

  Have a look at the pictures I could gather during my recent visit.

How to reach: Well connected by air , road and rail from all important destinations.

Accommodation- Budget and luxury class hotels are available. 

Public conveyance -  City buses, auto rickshaws,  taxis and call taxis are available regularly.

Photos-1 & 2 The Uchipillaiyar temple, 3. steps leading to the temple 4, A tower on the rock, 5& 6 Tayumanavar temple 7,8, 9, 10, Pallava caves,11,Gold plated sanctum,12, Entrance of  Tayumanavar temple13, 14 A view of Trichy town the famous St. Joseph's church dating back to 18th century and bridge across river Cauvery.

Trichy Temples- Pundareekaksha Perumal Koil, Tiruvellarai

Trichy is an important town in Tamil nadu and is situated on the banks of river Kaveri. Like any other Tamil Nadu towns, this town also abounds in temples and the famous land mark of this region is the famous Rock fort temple which you would be coming across in one of my posts soon. Trichy is around 100 miles from Madurai.This time I am taking you to an ancient temple and I was awe struck when I saw this temple. Each temple has some thing unique and here also I found something which was interesting and amazing,.read on.....

This temple dates back to a period older than Ramayana and is situated about 17 kms. from Trichy town and is one among the 108 divya deshams of Vishnu.

Tiruvellarai means white rock and this temple is situated on a white granite hill which is 100 feet high . The deity in this temple is known Pundareekaksha Perumal. In Tamil it means Chendamarai Kannan and its English translation would be God with Lotus Shaped eyes. The temple has a main tower , which is in an unfinished state, nevertheless looks grand and I would say it adds certain charm to the temple.This temple is surrounded by a 36 feet high wall and resembles a fort . The second tower leads us inside the temple and we were wonder struck by the colourful huge sculptures on the wall which were painted in bright shining colours.The Bali peetam here is a huge one and the third tower leads us into the inner prakaram of the temple. Here also, like the Varadarajar temple in Kanchi we have to climb a fleet of steps to reach the sanctum.There are two dwaras (doors) leading to this sanctum . One is called as Dakshinayana dwaram and the other is Uttarayana dwaram. The dakshinaya dwaram remains open from Aadi to Marghazi ( August to Jan Mid) so we entered through the Dakshinayan door . The other door remains open from ( Mid January- July) Thai -Aani. This is in accordance with the movement of the Sun's path.

The main deity is around 12 feet in height and has Sun and Moon on either side of the deity offering their services to him. Then Garuda and Adisesha ( The serpent God in a human form, as the main deity is in a standing posture) are also near the main deity. Markendeya Maharshi and Boodevi are sitting near His feet and is believed to have prayed here at this place. The Utsavar is also a beautiful idol along with his consort beside him . The female deity is the custodian of the temple.

The temple maintains beautiful garden outside and it is famous for its Swastika shaped tank on the Northen side of the temple. I was wonder struck by seeing this . This shape it seems is to give privacy for people, while having bath. But there is no water at present as some renovation work is in progress. This is also under the care of Archaeological Survey of India. There are many inscriptions in the temple and it also mentions about this unique pond which was built by one feudal Lord under Pallava kings. The temple gets very few pilgrims . The temple precincts are kept neat and clean.Outside prakaram has the Thayar Senkamala Valli , and Chakra Thazhwar sannidhi. It was really a great experience, felt as if travelled thousands of years back into a bygone era.

The temple was built by the Emperor Sibi who is supposed to belong to a generation four times earlier to that of Rama. The legend is that Emperor Sibi found a white boar and started chasing it and it hid into an ant hill. Markendeya Muni who was doing penance nearby asked the king to pour milk over the ant hill and discovered a huge idol of the Lord. The Pallava Kings and Hoysala kings have contributed a lot in the reconstruction of the temple.

How to reach- Trichy is well connected with rail, air and road. To reach the temple it is better to hire a cab as frequency of buses to Tiruvellarai is quite low. This temple is on the Trichy- Thuraiyur route.