Tamilnad temples - Rare temple of Lord Siva with 2 consorts

Normally deities in the temples of Lord Siva will the lord with his consort Parvathy in the same name. Gauri, Girija, Dakshayani or Uma etc all different manifestations of goddess Parvathy. There is one temple where Lord Siva is seen with goddess Parvathy on one side and goddess Ganga on the other  side. The lord is in the posture of sitting in Padmasana. The temple is in a village called Devampadi Valas near Pollachi, Coimbatore District in Tamilnad.

Tamilnad temples - Navagraha Suryanar - Sun temple at Thirumangalakudi

Suryanar  - Sun temple 

 As per the astrology the sun placed in favorable position in the horoscope gives intelligence, perception, strength and character, endurance, stamina, vitality, positive spirit, courage, confidence and leadership. If the placing is not correct then the result will be dullness of intellect and perception, weak will and character, eyes and head  troubles. The Surya's worship benefits us by giving strength, health, good eyesight, intelligence, relief from skin ailments and longevity of life.The worship include among other things abhishek (sacred bathing) by cool water, offerings of wheat and archana with lotus of red color to please the lord Suryanarayan. Those of the devotees who are unable to go to the other Navagraha temples or the problems from other planets may offer the necessary worship or parihara pooja to the respective planets in their respective shrines in this temple. The best way is to go to the temples dedicated to the respective planets which are withing 50 km from here. Preferable days to worship here is Sundays. Reciting Surya mantras, Surya gaythri etc are good.

First worship Prananatheswarar and Mangalambigai at Thirumangalakudi

Before worshiping at the Suryanar temple the devotees have to go to worship Prananatheswarar and Mangalambigai at Thirumangalakudi. Long back the place where this temple situated was a forest of Vellerukku (white Calotropis gigantea of the Asclepiadaceae plant family). Now there is no forest but still the Erukku plants are there. The Suryanar temple is situated in the same village at a distance of about one km. After offering worship at the Prananatheswarar and Mangalambigai at Thirumangalakudi the devotees are to proceed to the Suryanar koil (temple).

 Procedures of worship at the Suryanar temple

Before worshiping at the main deity other procedures are to be followed.  In the Suryanar koil (temple) first we worship lord Ganapathi in his shrine. Here the Lord Ganapathi (Ganesha) is known as the Kol Vinai theertha vinayakar. Vinai theertha means one who removed the sins. It is the legend that the Navagrahas gave relief to a muni who had sinned and the Lord Brahma cursed him to be afflicted with disease. When the Navagrahas cured the muni suffering from the curse of Brahma, Brahma got angry and cursed in turn the Navagrahas to contract the disease cured by them in the muni. The muni now was upset as also the Navagrahas, as for his sake the Navagrahs had to suffer. He along with the Navagrahas prayed to Brahma for relief to him and the Navagrahas. Brahma advised them to go to Vellerukkakadu (Velle means white, erukku means Calotropis gigantea of the Asclepiadaceae plant family and kadu means forest - forst of white calotropis giganta plants) at Thirumangalakudi village and worship the lord Prananatheswarar and his consort Mangalambigai for release from the curse and cure. Accordingly they went to Thirumangalakudi and worshipped there. After this they went to a place little away from here and installed an idol of Lord Ganapthi and offered penance to please him. Lord Ganapthi (Ganesh) was pleased with them and they got the papa vimochan (release from the effect of curse - salvation). The muni as a mark of gratitude to the Navagrahas who suffered for his sake built a temple in this place where they had done the penance. Since worshiping to the lord Ganapathi gave them release from the sin - curse the lord was named as Kol Vinai Theertha Vinayakar.

After offering worship at this Vinayagar shrine, we go to the narthana (dance) mantapa (hall) and worship the Natarajar there. From here proceed to the sanctum of the main shine of Suryanar. There on the left to the entrance, offer worship to the idols of deities of Kasi Viswanathar (in lingam form) and Visalakshi. Proceed from here to the Deity of Suryanar (sun god) offer worship and after that offer worship to Guru bhagavan (Bruhaspathi) whose idol is facing the Sun deity. After this come out and go to the shrines of other Navagrahas in anti clock direction and worship Saneeswaran (Saturn), Budhan (Mercury), Angarakan (Mars), Chandra (Moon), Kethu, Sukran (Jupiter) and Rahu. From there proceed in clockwise direction and return to the Kol Vinai Theertha Vinayagar. There are sign broads placed to guide the devotees correctly. These are to be carefully observed and followed. 

The sthala vriskham (holy tree of the temple) is Vellai Erukku (white mandar - Calotropis gigantea). It is considered that idol of Pillayar (Ganesha, Vinayaga) made out of Vellerukku is very auspicious. Such idols are sold in shops here. The only problems is there are also duplicate idols painted like vellerukku idols.

Andhra temples - Lord Siva in rare Sayana (lying down) posture - Surutapalli Pallikondeeswar

 Place of Surutapalli Pallikondeeswar Temple

This is an article giving the details of the deities of the shrine and deities of the Surutapalli Pallikondeeswar temple, the specialities of this temple, the legends associated with this place and deities here. 

There are many temples where Lord Vishnu can be seen in sayana (reclining - lying down) pose. The Lord can also be seen in sitting and standing postures. But it is very rare to find any other god or goddess in the lying down (palli konda kolam or kidantha kolam) posture. One such rare temple where the Pallikonda eeswar (pallikonda means lying down and eswar means god) Lord Siva is in a village Surutapalli in Chittoor District of Andra Pradesh on the border of Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is about 56 km from Chennai on the Chennai - Thirupathy route via Uthukottai.

Surutapalli Temple with many shrines

Maragathambigai shrine

The shrine of Goddess Maragathambigai has to be visited first which is between the shrines of the Valmikeeswar on to the left side of entrance to the complex. On to the right side of the Gopuram is the Pallikondeeswar shrine, the main deity of this Surutapalli temple. The garbha griha (sanctum) of the shrine of Maragathambigai is guarded (dwarapalaka) by Lord Kubera (God of wealth) with his consort Sanganidhi on left side and with his another consort Padumanidhi on the right side.  Since Kubera is the keeper of Wealth praying to him first before entering to the shrine of Maragathambigai is considered as appropriate. The goddess inside is standing with Kamadhenu and Karapaha Viruksham on one side each of the goddess to symbolize prosperity. 

There are some other images of Gods like Varasidhi Vinayaka (Lord Ganesha), Sri Venugopala Swami (Lord Krishna), Kasi Vishwanathan with Visalakshi and others present in the inner praharam of the temple. 

Valmikeeswar shrine

After offering worship to goddess Maragathambigai one has to offer worship at the Valmikeeswar shrine which is to the left of the shrine of the goddess.  The idol is in the form of Linga as is the case in most of the Siva temples. But here the Linga is in triangular shape. The deity of this temple is believed to have been installed by the Sage Valmiki to invoke blessings of Lord Siva before his starting to write the great epic Ramayana during the life time of Sri Rama itself. Hence the name.  At the Valmikeeswar shrine offer worship to Lord Valmikeeswr. The Valmikeeswar is a Swayamboo (self manifested - came into being on its own) Linga.

Ramalingeswar shrine

Opposite to the Valmikeeswar shrine is the shrine dedicated to Ramalingeswar. The idol here is believed to have been installed by Sri Rama on his return from Lanka after killing Ravana. He wanted to offer prayer to Lord Siva and he installed this Linga and hence the shrine got the name Ramalingeswar shrine. The Valmikeeswar and the Ramalingeswar are face to face to each other. This is a specialty in this temple that the idols of Lord Siva face each other whereas in most of other Siva temples there will be a Nandi facing the lord in front of Siva Linga.  

In the sanctum on one side Sri Ram and Seeta Devi and on the other side idols of Bharatha and Satrugna are found. There is an idol of Anjaneya (Hanuman) facing Bharatha and Satrugna which is another specialty as Hanuman (Anjaneya) will always be looking at and praying to Sri Rama and Seeta Devi.  The Hanuman's posture may be in appreciation/admiration for what Bharath & Satrugn (brothers of Sri Rama) have done for his master (Hanuman's master Sri Rama) and consort even  though they were in a most advantageous position to enjoy the wealth and power for themselves.

Dakshinamoorthy idol 

On the South side wall of the Valmikeeswar shrine on the outside, an idol of Dakshinamurthy (Lord Siva as Guru Bhagavan - Jupiter) with his consort Tara is installed. This beautiful idol of Dakshinamurthy called by some as dampathya Dakshinamurthy is another specialty in this temple as this may be the only Dakshinamurthy idol with his consort. The posture of the Lord Dakshinamurthy is also special in that the left is kept in raised and the knee folded in such a way that the feet is resting on the seat itself and the Lord's right leg is pressing the mischievous demon on the ground as usual. The consort Tara is standing behind the Lord and her face is seen as if peeping. Worshiping this Lord on Thursdays will help to have the devotees' desires fulfilled, have marriage with good partner and a peaceful life.

The main deity of Pallikondeeswar shrine

The shrine of the main deity - the Pallikondeeswar - of Surutapalli temple is on the right to Valmikeeswar's shrine is the shrine for Pallikondeeswar (Palli konda = lyingdown, Eswar = god) or kidantha (lying down - reclining) eswar  shrine.In the sanctum of the shrine the idol of the deity of Lord Siva (huge 16 feet) is in a reclining posture having his head on the lap of goddess Parvathy (known here as the goddess Sarva Mangalaambigai)  just like the Ranganatha temples where Loard Vishnu will be in reclining position keeping the head on the lap of goddess Lakshmi.The specialty of this deity is that the same is in human form and in reclining position, unlike the usual Linga form found in almost all other Siva temples. The Lord's consort Parvathy is in siting pose with the Lord's head on her lap. On to the either side of the goddess Parvathy are the idols of Kamadhenu (the celestial cow) and Karpaka Viruksham (Holy tree known for granting boons to) which came out of the palaazhi (milky ocean) manthan (churning). There are several other deities inside the sanctum. The idols of Sun and Moon gods are found on either side of the goddess Sarva Mangalaambigai. Other gods namely Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, Goddess Laxmi, Sage Maarkandeyar, Sage Agasthair, Valmiki, Indran, Sage Naradhar, Lord Subramaniyam with His consorts Valli and Devayani and Lord Ganapati are also seen here to know the well being of the Lord and to pay their respects to the Lord for his courageous act of protecting the Universe by holding the Haalaahala poison in his throat.

Many other Gods in the Surutapalli Pallikondeeswar Temple

There are  several other idols of saintly persons and gods found in this temple of the Pallikondeeswar or kidantha eeswar at Surutapalli. They are the idols of Valmiki (sage who wrote the great epic Ramayan), Appar, Sambandar, Sudarar, (all the 3 are greatest devotees who spent their lives writing and singing the hymns of the lord Siva) Varasiddhi Vinayagar, Kasi Viswanathar with consort Visalakshi Thai, Sri Venugoplar, Nandi, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahalakshmi, Saraswathi, Saptarshis and other gods.  

 There is a shrine for goddess Rajarajeswari known as Rajamathangi. Local people here feels that there is an underground tunnel (cave way) leading to the famous Siva Temple known popularly as the Kalahasthi Temple on the way to Thirupathi. The tunnel is closed according to the local people.

Specialties of the Surutapalli Pallikondeeswar Temple

In almost all the Siva temples Vibhhooti (Bhasm - holy ash) is given as prasad. Here Vibhooti is not given and only the holy water collected from the abhishek (water used for sacred bath) is given as prasad.Just as in the Vaishnav temples the blessings of the lord is given by touching the 'Chadri' (a metal crown like thing) on the heads of the devotees.

The main deity is in form of human being reclining pose and this is the only exception of this kind in Siva temples. All other Siva temples will have only Linga as the idol of the deity except for the Utsavamurthy (idol taken in procession during temple festivals) of the temple which will have form other than Linga. This pose is found only in the temples of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ranganath

Unlike other temples there is no separate shrine for Lord Ganapathi.

Most of the deities in this temple are with their respective consorts. For example Pallikondeeswar with Sarva Mangalambigai, Valmikeeswar with Maragathambigai, Vinayagar (Gnapathi) with Siddhi and Buddhi, Saastha with Poorna and Pushkala, Kubera with Sanganidhi and Padmanidhi, Dakshinamurthy with Tara, Kasi Viswanathar with Visalakshi and Subramanya (Karthikeya) with Valli and Devayani. Other gods like Sri Rama is seen with Seeta, Vishnu and Mahalakshmi, Brahma and Saraswati are others.

Normally all shrines of Siva will have a Nandi (carrier - vehicle of lord Ox) facing the idol of Linga in the front. Here instead of this normal position the Nandi is outside. It is placed in such a way that the Nandi will be facing the Valmikeeswar through the grills fixed in the walls of Ramalingeswar shrine. Abisheka to the Nandi will be done during Pradhoshas.

Lord Dakshinamurthy will normally be alone where as here he is with his consort. The only other place where Dakshinamurthy with consort is found in the temple of Sakthi Dakshinamoorthy’ in Thirukallil. The pose of the idol is also unique here as mentioned earlier.

Lord Subramanya is facing South (the direction of Lord Yama the god of death). Hence people believe that worshiping Lord Subramanya here removes the fear of death.

The shrines of Valmikeeswar and Ramalingeswar are opposite to each other and the Lingas of these two shrines face each other. The reason for the twin shrines are said to be for the reason that Valmiky and Sri Ram prayed together at the same time to Lord Siva.

The idol of the deity of Lord Ganesha is made out of Salagrama

In front of the Valmikeeswar shrine at the left side there is a stone which has imprints of footprints of kids. It is believed to be that of the twin sons of Sri Rama and Seeta Devi, the Lava and Kusha.This stone was lying buried in the temple premises without anybody knowing about it. During the year 1976 the Maha Periyavar (great sage) of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peeddham Sri Sri Chandrasekhar Saraswathi came and camped for about 40 days. During this period the Swamiji suggested to dig a particular place and on digging the place the stone with the foot prints of Lava and Kusha was found and kept the same in the present place. This gives the hint that the Lava, Kusha might have been brought up here while Seeta Devi was exiled and which further suggests that Sage Valmiky had his 'Ashram' here.

At present there are several deities in the shrines and are overcrowded to a great extent. The temple management is planning to create separate shrines for some of the deities like Ganesh, Subramanya, Sapthamaathaas (7 sacred mothers) and Navagrahas etc. The Rajagopuram is a small one and it is to be made a bigger one with 5 tier.

Most important days are Pradosha days (Thrayodasees - 13th Sayam Sandhyas of the Lunar months)

Legends abut the Surutapalli Pallikondeeswar temple

The legend about the Pallikondeeswar is that during the churning of the milky ocean several valuable items came out. The Kamadhenu and Kalpa Vruksha found on either sides of the Maragathambigai  in the shrine also came from the churning of the ocean. These 2 items are powerful enough to give any boon to those whom these 2 feels like giving. But the first thing happened was that the serpent king Vaasuki which was used as the rope to bind the Meru Parvath for churning the milk, was about to vomit a deadly poison which if touches the ground will destroy the entire universe with all the living thing. When they wanted solution, Lord Vishnu suggested to seek the help of Lord Siva and accordingly the gods and the demons jointly prayed to Lord Siva. Siva promptly took the poison which came out of Vaasuki in his mouth. Goddess Parvathy saw this and felt that the lord will be reduced to ashes if the poison reaches the stomach due to the strength of the poison. So to prevent this pressed the throat of the lord with her hands to prevent the poison reaching the stomach. The poison got stuck to the throat and his throat turned into blue color due to the poison. For this reason Lord Siva is called Neelakantan (one whose throat is blue). When the throat was pressed, the poison was about to fall from Siva's mouth which would have been disastrous. To prevent this Lord Vishnu covered Siva's mouth with his hand resulting his becoming dark bluish in color and the poison sticking to the Siva's throat.

The poison was taken by Lord Siva on the dasami day (10th day of the Lunar month). Due to the effect of the poison he swooned in this place and goddess Parvathy (as the Sarva Mangalambigai) sat here and kept the head of the lord on her lap during his rest. This is the reason attributed to the peculiar pose of Lord Siva in reclining state with the head on the lap. The idols of all the gods present here indicate their coming here to inquire about the well being of the lord and to thank his for protecting the universe. The gods and holy persons came here and waited for the lord to recover from the swoon. He recovered on the thrayodasi day (13 the day at the Sayam Sandhya time - 4 to 6 pm) and was pleased with the presence of all gods and holy persons and danced with joy in between the horns of the Nandi. That is the reason for the importance of Pradosha time (dusk of 13th day of Lunar months). The Pradosha of Makara month is the Mahasivarathri day.

Address:
Trust Board, Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy Devasthanam,
Surutapalli, Dasukuppam Post, Nagalapuram M.D.,
Chittoor District Pin-517 588 (A.P.)

Darshan Time:
Morning : 6.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Evening : 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Pradosham days morning 6.00 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.
Sani Pradosham is especially important

Since it is not very far from Chennai (about 55 km) people can stay at Chennai where accommodations are plenty.

Tamilnad temples - Mandaikadu Bhagavathiamman Temple

Mandaikadu Bhagavathi Amman Temple

There is a Bhagavathi (goddess) temple which is for the women like the famous Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple of Kerala is for men. It is known as the Ladies Sabarimala temple. This temple is in a place known as Mandaikadu (also pronounced as Mondaikadu) in the sea coast. The shore is covered with coconut trees. It is near to the Colachel Port on the North East side. It is temple of 7^th century, a temple of 14 centuries (1400 years) old. As the name suggests the temple is dedicated to Bhagavathi Amman. Women go to this temple with ‘vratha’ (a set of rituals to be observed by devotees) and at the end of the ‘vratha’ they carry an ‘iru mudi kettu’ (a cloth bundle with two bag like pouches) containing the Pooja items and offerings, to the Mandaikadu Bhagavathi Amman, on their heads just as men do in their worships to the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. As per the local people the temple was renovated thrice. 

Peculiarity (specialty) of Mandaikadu Bhagavathiamman Temple 

The deity in this temple is special and rare – it is in the form of an ant hill (puttu) with 5 heads. At present the height of the ant hill is about 12 feet and the belief of the local people and others connected with the temple is that the ant hill is growing gradually. The face of the goddess is at the upper end of the ant hill. There is a Srichakra (holy disc) near the ant hill on ground level. It is a temple built in Kerala temples style though it is in Tamilnad. It may be because the entire District of Kanyakumari was in Kerala and at the time of States reorganizations parts of the areas were exchanged between Kerala and Tamilnad. If I remember correctly this area went to Tamilnad and the Malabar area which was under Tamilnad was released to Kerala. The Mandaikadu Bhagavathiamman Temple is a very simple styled one unlike most of the temples of Tamilnadu with the clay (mud) tile roof. 

Offerings at Mandaikadu Bhagavathiamman Temple

Those who want t get married with good spouse or where there is delay in marriages, the devotees offer silk cloths and mangalsutra to the goddess with a prayer. 

Those who are handicapped offer limbs made of silver to the deity for their cures.  

Those who go with the prayer for children offer cradles for their getting the blessings from the goddess for children. 

Those who feel that they are affected by evil looks of bad persons offer crackers for relief from the effects of evil looks.  

Devotees suffering from incurable or terrible headaches offer an item like a kind of pudding made out of rice flour, sugar/jaggery and water called Mandaiappam and take part of it as prasadam. 

Some devotees place the food on the floor and eat it after Pooja as prasadam. This prasadam and offering is called the ‘man soru’ eating. Man means mud and soru means cooked rice. 

The general belief f the devotees is that the goddess do not disappoint those who go to her with sincere devotion with the requests. 

Festivals of Mandaikadu Bhagavathiamman Temple

The annual festival is known as the Mandaikadu Kodai. This falls in the month of March – April of the English calendar. The festival is celebrated for 10 days known as the Masi (Masi is the name of a Tamil calendar month) festival. During the festival the Tamilnad Tourism Department arranges photographic exhibition and other programs. This festival draws huge crowds of around 10 lakh people.

Apart from the above festival, Pournamis (Poornima), Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are important days in this temple. 

Poojas are performed 4 times a day and the timings are

Morning	-	5.00hrs
Noon	-	12.30hrs
Evening	-	18.30hrs
Night	-	20.30hrs

The Holy trees for this temple are Bo Tree (peepal) and Neem tree.

How to reach Mandaikadu Bhagavathi Amman temple

The temple is situated in Mandaikadu village in Kanyakumari District of Tamilnad on the sea shore neat to the Nagarcoil – Colachel State Highway. It is about 4 km from Colachel, 5km from Thingalnagar, 22 km from Nagarcoil, 41 km from Kanyakumari, 70 km from Thiruvananthapuram and 100 km from Tirunelveli.

Bus facilities are available from Nagarcoil. Nearest Railway Station is Iranial and Nagarcoil.

Nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai.

Accommodation facilities

The temple complex is having facility for staying. Charge may be around Rs 100. At Nagarcoil lodges are available for charges ranging from Rs. 250 to Rs. 400

Legend about the Mandaikadu Bhagavathi Amman temple

His Holiness Sri Sanklaracharya was performing pooja to the Sri Chakra here with his devotees. One day the Srichakra did not turn as was the custom after the pooja was over. The Acharya stayed back here and he attained Samadhi in this place. The present ant hill grew in the place where the Srichakra existed at that time. Over a period of time the place was deserted and became like a forest area. Once when some children were playing in the area and hit the ant hill and they were injured. This news went to the then ruler of the area the King Marthanda Varma of Travancore kingdom. He came to know of the incidents and he ordered a temple to be built in this place and arrange for Poojas regularly. Gradually the temple became famous with the satisfied devotees becoming its advertisers.

Tamilnad temples - Jvarhareswar - Lord Siva where jeera and pepper are Offered for fever cure

Sangameswrar/Jvarahareswar

There is a Siva temple in Tamilnad where the special offerings are black pepper and cumin (jeera). The temple is in Bhavani a place in Erode district of Tamilnad. The Siva temple is dedicated to Lord Siva in the form of Lord Sangameswara (Lord of sangam - joining - uniting). This may be probably due to the joining of the rivers Kaveri and Bhavani at this place. Just as at Allahabad (Prayag) a third river but invisible to the eyes, Saraswati (flowing underneath) is joining with the Ganga (Ganges) and Yamuna to make the sangama, at Bhavani a 3rd river invisible (flowing underneath), Amuda River is joining the the other 2 rivers of Kaveri and Bhavani. This place of the temple of Sangameswara is also known as the Southern Prayag (Dakshina Prayag) due to the confluence of the 3 holy rivers. The principal deity of the temple,  Sangameswara is facing river Kaveri. There are sub shrines for upa devathas namely Lord Ganesh, Lord Dakshinamurthy (a form of Lord Siva), Lord Subrahmania, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Mahalakshmi, Lord Venugopala (Sri Krishna), Goddess Durga and Lord Nataraja (another form of Lord Siva), Lord Saneeswarar. Next to Lord Saneeswarar there is a shrine with Jvarahareswar in it. Besides there are special place for the 63 Nayanmars (staunch devotees of Lord Siva who can visualize the Lord and who have sung many verses in praise of the lord which are codified and made stotras. The consort of the presiding deity is powerful Goddess Veda Nayagi and has a shrine for her in the complex. On the bank of the river there is a Peepal tree and beneath the tree there are naga devathas.

This place is  holy place as explained as the same is considered as the Dakshina Prayag. Pilgrims come here take bath in the river and offer their worship to the deities here. The Jvarahareswar (jvara means fever and hareswar means the lord who eradicate = remover of fever) deity is considered as a very powerful deity. Patients with mental trouble may get relief from their mental problem by offering special offerings like 'abhisheaka' (sacred bath) to the Jvarahareswar with cooling items and offer cooked rice, black pepper, jeera, rasam, leaf vegetables etc with praying to the Lord with archana of Bilva dala (Bael leaves). The belief of the devotees is that by heartfelt prayer to the Jvarahareswara will relieve the patients of their diseases especially the fever.

How to reach Sangameswrar/jvarahareswar Temple

The temple is 16 km away from the Erode Railway Station. Nearest airports are Coimbatore and Trichy.

Bhavani Town is the nearest town from where and Erode Town plenty of buses are plying to this place.

Accommodation: Nearest place with accommodation is Erode and the hotels may of budget type hotels.

There are many other temples around Erode.

Tamilnad temples - Navapashana Navagraha temple in sea water - Devipattinam

Navagraha temples

There are several temples independent or within the complexes of other famous temples dedicated to Navagrahas (9 celestial planets). For Hindus Navagraha is very important as they believe that the Navagrahas play a vary important role in one's life. Depending on the position of the Navagrahas, people experience all round prosperity, health, education, property and life partner etc. Similarly if the Navagrahas or some of them are in bad position/s the persons concerned will suffer from various problems regarding health, wealth and life situation etc. There are literature suggesting various appeasement rituals to pleas the lords controlling the Navagrahas to increase prosperity or to remove the difficulties due to the positions of the navagraha (9 planets).

Devipattinam Navapashana Navagraha Temple

There is a special temple dedicated exclusively for the Navagrahas in  Tamilnad. The temple is near to the famous Rameswaram Sri Ramanatha Swamy temple. The Navagraha temple is known as Navapashanam temple. The temple is situate in Devipattinam village near Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram (Ramanad) District of Tamilnad. The specialty of this temple is that the 9 deities of the Navagrahas are installed in the sea near to the shore in the village. It is believed that the stone idols of the Navagrahas were installed by Lord Sri Rama to appease the Graha devathas (planetary deities) by fixing 9 stones (rock pieces) a few meters into the water of the sea near to the shore before he went  to Lanka to wage war against the demon king Ravana in order to rescue his wife Sitha from the demon king. After installing the deities Sri Rama worshiped the Navagrahas installed by him along with Lord Siva for removal of the troubles from his life. It was not much known earlier may be due to the deficient conveyance facility and infrastructure facilities of the place as it is a very small village on the coastal area in Devipattinam. Now most of the devotees who come to the famous Rameswaram Temple also come here and worship the Navagrahas. The idols may not be visible at all times depending on the water level in the sea, the Bay of Bengal. During low level of water at low tides the idols will be clearly visible. Some of them very much above water level as the height of the stones are not identical. During the periods when water level in the sea is high the idols may not be visible as they are under water. There is a bathing ghat here close to the Thilakeswar Temple which is also known as Navagraha temple.This temple is dedicated to Lord Siva in the form of Thilakeswar with goddess Parvathy (known as Soundaryanayagi). There is also an idol of Goddess Durga with eight arms with weapons in each of the arms. The deity is worshipped with ellu - tila or gingelly seeds. 

This is a very important center for performing Tarpan (offering of water with till seeds) to the ancestors.

The Navagraha Navapashana (also pronounced as Nava bhasanam) temple at Devipattinam  is  about 15 kms from Ramanathapuram town. Buses going to Karaikudi stop at Devipattinam very near to the temple. 

The water used to be very good. But now due to the greatly increased flow of devotees who come here to worship liter the place and the sea with garbage and is increasingly getting polluted as the days go by.

Karnataka templese - Mahimapura Garuda Ranganathaswamy hill temple

Mahimapura Garuda Ranganatha Swamy temple is a temple very near to Bengaluru City. It is about 52 km. The temple is in a small village actually a hamlet. The temple is on rocky hill. The hill is about 300 feet in height. There are steps made by cutting notches n the rocky hill. On both the side of the steps steel railings are fixed to hold as support for climbing. But the climb is a bit steep with around 300 steps to the top of the hill. The temple is small and is on top of the hill. The sanctum sanctorum houses the idols of the deities Lord Ranganathaswamy, his consort goddess Lakshmi and the Lord’s vehicle/carrier the Garuda (golden eagle – Krishna Parunthu).

The uniqueness of this Mahimapura Garuda Ranganathaswamy hill temple is that the main deity the Lord Ranganatha is in the form of a jaggery mound (Nirakari). The Lord is like the Lord Venkataramana with Shankhu (conch shell), Chakra (discuss) in two hands and the other two hands in the posture of Abhaya and Varada. The idol of the deity of Garuda is also in the Garbha Griha along with his master. Here Garuda is equally important as his master. Normally in other temples of Lord Vishnu, the Garuda will be present in the dwajasthamba (flag pole) or as a sub deity or as a carrier fixed in from of his master ready to carry his master wherever his master wants to go.

From Bangalore city there are 3 trips of bus service. But there is more bus service from the town of Nelamangala a town in the Bangalore district on the way to Mahimapura Garuda Ranganathaswamy hill temple village from Bangalore city.

It being a hamlet there may not be food facility there. But if only 3 – 4 people are there in the group, if intimated to the family of the priest of the temple in advance, they will make vegetarian food for about Rs 40 per head. If the group is having more members, the priest has to be informed well in advance. Otherwise, Nelamangala town is having food joint to suit all which is only about 20 km from the hamlet.

The hamlet is a beautiful pristine one without the corruption of the city in addition to the Mahimapura Garuda Ranganatha Swamy temple . A visit to the temple and spending some time in the village will be strengthening the body and mind.

Karanataka temples Sivaganga (Sivagange) Gangadhareswara temple

Near to Bengaluru about 60 km on the National Highway There is a hill temple of Lord Siva, The Gangadhareswara. The hill is a tall one. This temple is a cave temple in the hill with tall Gopura (temple tower) at the entrance to the temple. Entering through the gopura we will reach the hall and at the end of the hall the sanctum sanctorum (Garbhs Gudi)of the Lord Gangadhareswara is there. The deity of Lord Gangadhareswara is in the form of a Linga. Behind the sanctum there is a hole in the rock and lucky people can touch the water in the hole if they lie down and put the hand inside. It is the belief that those who can touch the water are blessed by the Lord Gangadhareswara. On the way there are other shrines in the hills and few Nandi statues. There are also few water springs on the way some with very little water and some with water up to waist deep. It is a wonder that at the height in the dry rocks water springs and water bodies are present. From the highest point of the hills one can have the view of the towns around for a long distance. It is not only a religious place. It is a good picnic spot also. On Sundays it will be over crowded. Elderly persons may find it difficult to climb to the top. There are small steps or notches made on the rock to climb and on both sides of the steps/notches railings are provided for holding. For them there is a temple at the bottom of the same deity of Lord Gangadhareswara. The place is having large number of monkeys. They do not harm normally but check the persons, sometimes even the pocket fir eatables. They may take or snatch cameras or mobiles and throw away which cannot be retrieved. People should take the items in closed bags. On top food will not be available as people plan the trip in such a way that they return to a nearby town by afternoon. It is a place worth visiting.

Kerala Temple Sabarimala Ayyappa – Sri Dharma Sastha Temple festivals and rituals

 Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple

Sabarimala is the temple where maximum pilgrims (devotees)visit in Kerala on annual basis. In the entire South India this is the 2^ndbusiest temple after the Tirumala Thirupathi Srinivasa temple in Andhra Pradesh. Sabarimala is a hill shrine has to be reached by walk and climb of steep hills of the western Ghat ranges in the Pathanamthitta District of Kerala State in South India. The vehicle to the temple can go only up to the holy Pampa River. The Sabarimala Temple is dedicated to the Lord Ayyappa who is the incarnation of the Lord Sri Dharma Sastha. The temple is not open on all the 365 days of the year unlike other temples of Kerala. The Main period of worship is during the Mandala pooja times which starts around November middle and ends in the last week of December. After that the temple will be closed for few days and will open again during the 1^stweek of January. 

Sabarimala temple is a unique temple in India

This is a unique temple and may be the only one or one of the very few temples in India where any person irrespective of the religion,caste, community can go and offer worship. The only exception is that women between the age of 10 and 50 are not allowed to offer worship and are not allowed in the temple. The reason is that the period of menses may interfere and since strict observance of abstaining is required the presence of the women may create problem, for the other devotees. For the normal prescribed way of worship and pooja at this temple strict adherence of prescribe code of life is to be followed.Once the devotee wears the garland of beads known as ‘Mudra garland’ he/she is called by all as Ayyappa Swamy or Swamy or Ayyappa irrespective religion,caste, creed or community or age or sex by everybody. That person is identified with the Lord. There are 2 types of devotees or pilgrims who visit the temple. This is in tune with the Hindu philosophy of ‘Adwaith’ (non dual - that is god and self is one and the same). When one climbs the 18 steps to enter the temple complex the first thing on which the eye falls is a board at the entrance of the temple building with the word ‘Thathwamasi’ (meaning you are that – that means god) One group is the casual pilgrims who may be about 10 to 15 % only of the total devotees worshiping here, who go there and just worship and come. They have separate entrance to the premises of the shrine. The other group the main group comprising 85 to 90 % of the devotees go through the eighteen steps to be climbed to enter the shrine.  This entrance is allowed only to those devotees who observe the code of the temple prescribed for the devotees. 

The Mandala Vrath or code to be observed 

The code includes the color of the dress which can be black, saffron or yellow. These devotees have to observe certain minimum conditions.They include the abstinence from all sensual pleasures like sex, non vegetarian food, smoking and drinking liquors etc. They have to get up early in the morning before 5 am take bath, go to a temple nearby to pray and come home and do some pooja and Bhajans for some time. Then only they can have their coffee/tea or the lite refreshments. As far as possible they should avoid going out and spent time thinking about the almighty or good things only. If they go out they have to take bath on entering the house. They can have light lunch of simple food. Evenings they have o take bath and go to temples and pray and worship at home. This code was supposed to be observed for a ‘Mandala’ period.A Mandala period is 41 days. At the end of this period only the devotees are to climb the 18 steps to the temple. But now it is not strictly followed. It can be from to more than 41 days according to the intensity of the devotion of the pilgrim. When the code is to start the devotee has to wear a garland of beads mostly of dry Thulasi stems or Rudraksha beads. If the devotee is going for the first time, he has to take the vratha under an experienced guru (teacher) who is one have visited the Sabarimala temple for 18 times observing the codes. These are only the brief details and the actual observance is more elaborate and severe.

Irumudi Kettu

Iru mudi kettu (means 2 knotted bundles). As the name suggest the devotee has to carry a bundle of 2 knots. One knot contains the item for worship at the temple and on the way shrines. The other is the personal belongings. The filling up of this Irumudi kettu is known as the kettu Nirakkal (filling up of the bundle). This has to be done under the guidance of the Guruswamy. 

Mandala pooja at Sabarimala temple

The Mandala pooja is done during the period Mandala. Though Mandala means 41 days usually the period of Mandala is observed from the 1^stof Malayalam month named Vrischika (Scorpio zodiac) and continues up to 11 days of the next month of Dhanu (Sagittarius zodiac). This period normally falls from mid November to the end week of December.  On these days there will be daily poojas in the temple and devotees can go and worship. On the last day of the Mandala a special pooja called the Mandala pooja will be performed. After this the temple will be closed for few days. Again it will be opened from the 1^stweek of January to the 15^th of January for the Makara vilakku poojas. 

Makara vilakku festival

Makara vilakku festival is the most important festival of the Sabarimala temple. During this period the temple will have the maximum number of pilgrims visiting and the maximum congregation on any single day will be on the Makara vilakku day. The festival culminates in the Makara vilakku functions.Makara vilakku is a ritual of the temple of lighting of a huge quantity of at a distance of 4 km. The lighted  camphor can be seen at Sabarimala across the distance of 4 km. The light will appear like flickering due to the flame o the camphor. This was earlier mistaken as the Makara Jyoti for a long period till2008 when the temple authorities explained that it is a man made camphor fire at the time of the Makara Samkramam (transition of Sun from the zodiac Sagittariusto Capricorn). The transition time of Sun into the Makara month (Capricorn) is known as the Makara Samkramam. Makara Samkramam is a very important holy day for the entire Hindus. This is the day when the Utharayana (northern hemisphere– celestial) period. This period is till the Karkataka Samkramam which is also very important to the Hindus. From the Karkataka Samkramam to Makara Samkramam it is Dakshinayanam period. The lighting of the camphor at the Samkramam is the Makara vilakku. The camphor fire light will appear three times around 6.30 pm how it is done is to light the camphor and after a few seconds the flame will be extinguished by use of wet gunny bags throwing over the camphor fire. After a gape of some seconds the process will be repeated 2 more times so that the light appears thrice. There is coordination between the Sabarimala temple priest and the person responsible at the Ponnambala medu to synchronize the actions of both the places. The third time light will coincide with the opening of the Sanctum door at Sabarimala temple to do the deeparadhana (aarathi) to the lord in the presence of about a million devotees. At the time of the Samkramam a star will appear in the sky which is the Makara star. This is known as the Makara Jyoti. 

The next day after the usual connected functions like the Malikapurathamma procession and Guruthi pooja the temple will close. 

The temple does not open of all days of all the months.Apart from the above mentioned festival times of Mandala pooja and Makaravilakku festivals the temple will open only on the 1^st of every Malayalam calendar moths for 5 days when the devotees may go and offer the worship.

Kerala Temples - Ezhumangad Siva temple

Ezhumangad Siva temple - Ezhumangad, Arangotukara

In Ezhumangad village there is an old temple dedicated to Lord Siva. Ezhumangad is on the Shornur - Kunnamkulam route under the Thirumittakode Panchayath.  The idol is a Siva linga good height and circumference. The temple is facing East side.  In addition to the Linga mentioned, there is another Swayambhoo Lingam (natural lingam existing of its own). Sub deity is Lord Ayyappa. No other idols or shrine are there. But there is a place for Ganapathi without idol and for the goddess there is only Sankalpa (belief of having the goddess presence). There is no utsavam. Sivarathri is observed in this temple. 

The temple is on the Shornur - Kunnamkulam bus route. Get down at Ezhumangad stop. The temple is near to the stop.