Meenakshi Sundareswarar Shiva Temple – Ammankurichy

This beautiful Shiva temple is located in Ammankurichy, a small and serene hamlet near Pudukottai. This is one among the proud monuments of India belonging to Madurai Nayak Dynasty period (1529 to 1736 AD) and has been enlisted under protected monuments of Archeological Survey of India.

There are two separate shrines for Chokkanathar, the presiding deity and for Meenakshi, His consort. Both these deities resemble the Madurai Chokkanathar and Meenakshi, hence a devotional feel of having Darshan at Madurai could be felt.  On the intersection of these shrines, beautifully carved stone statues of Nayak kings and their queens worshipping the Lord could be seen. The king responsible for construction of this temple is Poochi Nayakar. On each pillar of the temple we could see the lifelike sculptures of Ganesha, Shiva in dancing pose, Kali and other deities. On the back side of the temple premise (inner praharam), there is a small shrine for Lord Subramanya. On the left side of the entrance to the temple, there is a stone slab containing inscriptions that talks about Poochi Nayakar king and the endowments he offered to the temple. The outer praharam of the temple is styled in the pattern of Thanjavur temple, a big banyan tree at the main entrance to the temple adds to the elegance of the temple.

Either Tiruchirapalli or Pudukottai can be the base for visiting this temple. From Tircuhirapalli, buses plying to Ponnamaravathi can be boarded to reach Ammankurichy. Pudukottai district in total contains 58 monuments enlisted in ASI (http://www.asichennai.gov.in/trichy_sub_circle.html) and is a great haven for anyone interested in Archeology and historical studies. This list contains an interesting mix of Siva, Vishnu and Jain temples.

Sivaloka Thiagesar Shiva Temple – Thirunallur Perumanam (Achalpuram)

This temple is located at Achalpuram (15 kms from Chidambaram) and has very special events associated with it – one is Thirugnanasambandar got married as per the wishes of his parents in this temple and the other is he attained mukthi along with his parents and relatives. During Sambandar’s marriage, divine mother Parvati herself took the role of inviting people who flocked the temple and distributed Vibhuti (sacred ash) to them. To commemorate this, even now in the Ambal temple inside the premises, Vibhuti is offered to devotees as against the norm of offering Kumkum. After the marriage, it is said that Siva Jyothi appeared in the temple and Sambandar along with his relatives and four more nayanmars entered the Jyothi to remain in eternal bliss with Lord Siva. This Paadal Petra Sthalam has been sung by Sambandar (2 pathigams).

Close to Achalpuram, there is a village called Nallur and it is said that the marriage procession of Sambandar started from this place. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Rama – Sundara Kothandaramar temple, worshipping in this temple is believed to remove the obstacles in marriage. This temple is also worth visiting but unfortunately it’s in a dilapidated condition.

On the Chidambaram-Sirkazhi road, immediately after crossing the kollidam bridge, there will be a road branching to the left. The temple is about 5 kms on this road. There is another paadal petra sthalam- Mahendrapalli at about 6 kms from this temple. Both the temples can be covered in the same visit. Bus bound for Mahendrapalli from Sirkazhi or Chidambaram can be taken but the frequency is very limited. It will be better to have a private transport arranged from Chidambaram.

Open from 6 am to 12 pm and from 4:30 pm to 8 pm every day.

Lord Siva: Sivaloka Thiagesar, Perumanamudaya Mahadevar.

Ambal (Goddess): Thiruvenneetru Umaiammai, Swetha Vibhuthi Nayagi.

Sthala Vriksham : Maa (Mango tree)

Theertham : 11 theerthams

Thirumeni Azhagar Shiva Temple – Mahendrapalli

This Paadal Petra Sthalam praised by Thirugnanasambandar is located at Mahendrapalli about 25 kms from Chidambaram.

As per the legend, Indra the Lord of devas has worshipped here. Indra is also known as Mahendra, hence the place got the name Mahendrapalli. Lord Brahma, Sun and Moon have also worshipped here. In the month of March, sunlight directly on the Shiva linga daily (lasts for a week).

The temple tank just in front of the temple is very special. As per the legend, Lord Krishna offered ritual prayers for His ancestors and because of this, Sun and Moon also came and worshipped. It is believed that worshipping in this temple is said to alleviate the Pithru (family ancestors) dosham.

On the Chidambaram-Sirkazhi road, immediately after crossing the kollidam bridge, there will be a road branching to the left. The temple is at about 11 kms on this road. There is another paadal petra sthalam- Achalpuram at about 6 kms from this temple which will first come while travelling in this road. Both the temples can be covered in the same visit. Bus bound for Mahendrapalli from Sirkazhi or Chidambaram can be taken but the frequency is very limited. It will be better to have a private transport arranged from Chidambaram or Sirkazhi.

Open from 9 am to 12 pm and from 6 pm to 7 pm every day. Since the number is visitors is less, this temple is likely to be in a closed condition mostly but the temple priest is living just adjacent to the temple. On request, he will be able to open the temple and offer the Darshan.

Lord Siva: Thirumeni Azhagar, Somasundarar

Ambal (Goddess): Vadivambal, Vadivambigai.

Sthala Vriksham : Thazhai

Theertham : Mahendra Theertham

Panchanatheeswarar Shiva Temple – Vadugur (Thiruvandarkoil)

This temple located in Puducherry is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams praised by Gnanasambandar. This is beautiful temple under the control of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and has several inscriptions dating back to the period of Parantaka Chola and other great Chola kings like Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola.

As per the legend, the demon Mundasuran got a boon from Lord Shiva so that he will be protected from death due to devas and other lords. Because of this boon, the demon started waging wars with devas including Brahma and defeated them. They prayed to Lord Shiva for help and He instructed Vadugabhairava to kill the demon. He slayed the demon and in order to alleviate the sin of killing the demon, Bhairava prayed to Lord in this shrine. The place itself came be to known as Vadugur after the Bhairava’s name but the current name for this place is Thiruvandarkoil.

This temple is located on the Villupuram – Villianur – Puducherry Highway, after crossing the Tamil nadu border within 3 kms in Puducherry the temple can be reached.

Open from 6 am to 10 am and from 5 pm to 8 pm every day.

Lord Siva: Panchanatheeswarar, Vadugeeswarar

Ambal (Goddess): Thirupurasundari, Vaduvagirkanni

Bhakthajaneswarar Shiva Temple - Thirunavalur

Thirunavalur near Villupuram Town, Tamilnadu has the privilege of being the birthplace of Sundarar, one among the four great Saints of Saivism. This place is also called Thirunamanallur.

This Paadal Petra Sthalam has been praised by Sundarar in Thevaram. As per the legend, Lord Vishnu before taking taking the Narasimha Avatar to kill the demon Hiranyan, worshiped Lord Shiva in this temple. There is a separate shrine for Lord Vishnu inside the temple premises.  There is also a shrine for Sundarar and his consorts Paravai and Sangili. Another legend is that Sukran worshiped the Lord here and got his Dosha absolved. Hence it will be beneficial for those who are having Sukra Dosha to have darshan and pray to the Lord Bhakthajaneswara in this temple.

This place is located on the Chennai - Thiruchirapalli Highway. after crossing Villupuram there is a place called Madapattu and Thirunavalur is about 2 kms from this point. Those travelling by bus should board bus from Villpuram and get down at a place called Kedilam. From this place, another bus which is plying on Thirukovilur to Thirunavalur should be boarded to reach the destination.

Lord Siva: Bhakthajaneswarar, Thirunavaleswarar

Ambal (Goddess): Sundarambigai, Manonmani

Sthala Vriksham : Naaval

Theertham :Garuda Theertham

Temple is open from 6 am to 12 noon and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm everyday.

Sundarar praises the Lord as follows

The Lord who annihilated the three worlds of demons by a single arrow, one who forcefully dragged me to Thiruvennainallur for my deliverance, one who deserved the service from four faced Brahma, Indra and Vishnu resides in Thirunavalur!

An Android App for Lord Shiva Temples

A comprehensive android app to know about the important temples of Lord Shiva especially the Thevara Paadal Petra Sthalams. Please click the link below to get the app.


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maha.lordsivatemples&hl=en

A temple as holy as Kasi in Virudhachalam, Tamilnadu

Whenever someone thinks of India’s spirituality, the first name to strike the memory is Kashi. It is such a holy city in Varanasi to be called as Spiritual Capital of India. I was pleasantly surprised when I came to know of the Lord Siva Temple at Virudhachalam which is a Mukthi (salvation) temple and considered as holy as Kashi. This temple is called as Virudha Kasi and worshipping here is regarded to give the same benefits of worshipping Kasi Viswanathar.

Virudhachalam is about 215 kms from Chennai and well connected by bus and train. The temple is at a distance of 2 km from the railway station.

This is a large temple with 5 temple towers and each of them are seven tiered. Upon entering the main tower, there is a view point on the left side from which I could see the magnificient view of all the gopurams (towers). Lord Vinayaka’s temple inside the campus is unique by its location 18 feet down the ground level. Hence He is referred as Pathala Vinayagar. After having Darshan of Lord Vinayaga, I entered the main tower which is named as Gandaraditya tower after the Chola King Gandaraditya who is the forefather of Raja Raja chola. Gandaraditya himself was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva and sung hymns in praise of the Lord which is part of Panniru Thirumurai (Saivism literature). Another significant feature I could see is things which were in multiple of 5 – five Nandis, five Praharam and five Kodimaram (flagstaff). After having the Darshan of Pazhamalainathar in the sanctum, I went to circumambulation of temple premise admiring the beauty of the sculptures in the temple tower.

On the southwest inside the temple premise, there is a Lord Muruga temple with 28 Siva Lingas installed in it. As per the legend, each of these Lingas represent the 28 Saiva agamas and praised by Arunagirinathar in his literary work Thirupugazh on Lord Muruga. There is an amazing 3000 year old Vanni Tree ( Botanical name -Prosopis cineraria) which is considered as the Sthala Viruksham.

This Paadal Petra Sthalam has been praised by Sundarar (3 pathigams), Gnanasambandar (7 pathigams) and Appar (1 pathigam). It is said that when Sundarar visited this temple he had 12000 gold coins and felt uncomfortable to travel along with this, hence he left the coins in Lord Siva’s custody here and collected back in Tiruvarur. Thus the lord acted as the treasurer for his devotee Sundarar!

Lord Siva: Pazhamalainathar, Virudhachalesar

Ambal (Goddess): Periyanayaki, Virudhagambikai, Balambikai

Sthala Vriksham : Vanni

Theertham : Manimuthar

Temple is open from 6 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 9 pm every day.