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.

Jagadish Mandir, Udaipur , Rajasthan

Jagdish Mandir is an iconic temple  in Udaipur   and is situated atop a small hill. This temple in the lake city was built by Maharana Jagatsingh in 1651.The temple is a magnificent edifice, the whole  structure built completely in marble and has intricate carvings on every inch of this temple.

The presiding deity here is Lord of Universe Jagadish ; Lord Vishnu.

Dressed in bright silks and ornaments the deity's eyes hold you under His spell.

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The mount of Lord Vishnu;Garuda here is  a bronze idol,  is very charming and has  a   shrine  facing the main deity,

There are sub shrines around the temple and the surroundings are maintained very well.

A flight of stairs leads one to the temple and one can totally enjoy  peace here. 

No one would leave this temple in a hurry as the peace and divine vibrations here hold you spell bound.

The pale glow of setting Sun presented an extra aura around the temple  as we visited in the evening. One can forget the outside world and focus on the divinity here.

Sharing a small collection of pictures.

Govindji ka Mandir,Jaipur, Rajasthan

Govindji Ka Mandir  is a beautiful temple nestled in the heart of the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Govind means  protector of  cows, another name for  Krishna who is darling God of many all over the world. This temple was  built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh II , He built this temple in such a way so that he can see the Lord from his palace. Sawai Jai Singh  got the image of Govindji from Brindavan.

It is believed that this deity resembles exactly like the Lord Krishna when he was at birth and this image was created by Krishna's great grand son known as Bajranabh. The idol is small and decorated well.

This temple is visited by thousands of pilgrims everyday and worship is offered in the form of Aarti and Bhog 7 times a day.The Bhog  is distributed among the devotees.

 (I am back,was away from  blogging due to personal commitments. Hope and pray I will be active as I was in the past. I missed all my blogger friends, shall be visiting all of you soon).

Wish all dear friends  a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!

Flowers for the Lord 

Nemam temple, Jeyam Kondeswararar Temple, Tamilnadu

I have already blogged about some of the 'Temples in and  around Karaikudi', and 'Soumya Narayana temple', in Sivaganga district of Tamilnadu. This is yet another temple I visited recently which is just 6 kms from the Pillyarpatti koil.( click the first link )

The deity of Nemam temple is Siva, known as Jayamkondeswarar and His consort is  Soundaryanayaki. Just outside the main shrine, we find a disfigured idol of the same Goddess which is  supposed to be the original idol. Usually disfigured , damaged idols are not worshipped  in any temples but here it is  worshipped as per the wishes of the Goddess.  The temple is a treasure trove of  art work and has richly ornamental pillars and life size statutes from mythology. There are shrines for  Vinayagar and Muruga on either side of the main shrine.

The temple has a beautiful pond with lot of lillies . Water tanks in front of the temple is a common sight in most of the Karaikudi temples. There is also a shrine for Vinayaka near the tank. The ceiling of the temple has a Rasi chakra representing all the Zodiac signs and also has paintings related to Siva Puranam. This temple is situated in serene and calm village and the trees around the temple is a safe haven for parrots. Bees also have made the ceiling their homes. Could find 2 beehives at the entrance itself.  

How to reach Karaikudi

Can be reached from Madurai and Trichy which are at 70 Kms and 82 Kms respectively. Both the cities have airports and railway stations. Karaikudi also has a railway station.

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.

Check pictures here

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipM0_Fba7ObYcsssxH3JyfiRgHWatctuT9Blw34W