Sri Unnamulai Ammai Samedha Sri Annamalaiyar Temple, Thiruvannamalai aka Sri Abithakujamba Samedha Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple, Thiruvannamalai

The Thiruvannamalai mountain

Thiruvannamalai is a place, the beauty, history and magnificence of which can be spoken about and written in multitudes of episodes over a long period of time. To speak about the place in a single post exhibits my ignorance, of the many features of Thiruvannamalai which would make one astounded in awe and submit to the will of the Supreme Power. Honestly, even to see the tip of the iceberg, one has to stay in the place for atleast a month, covering one place at a time out of the many.

The Rajagopuram

Thiruvannamalai is one of the five "Pancha Bhootha Sthalas", the shrines of the five elements. It represents the element of Fire. The mountain itself is considered to be a form of Lord Shiva. It is why the pilgrims perform Girivalam or the circumambulation of the mountain. In an outline, Thiruvannamalai has one of the biggest temples ever built in Tamilnadu,the Arunachaleswarar Temple, it has the ashrams of Sri Ramana Maharishi, Sri Seshadri Swamigal, Yogi Ram Surat Kumar, the Ner Annamalai Temple, the Aadi Annamalai Temple and the eight shrines around the mountain where the Ashtadhik Balakaas or the guardians of the eight principal directions offered their prayers to Lord Shiva by creating Lingas.

I had earlier visited Thiruvannamalai twice, once when i was a child, my mom says and the other was quite recently, probably 3 years back. But back then, all i knew was to worship the Lord and look at the architecture in awesome reverence for the Sthapathis(architects) who had built this great temple. I didn't have this blog nor was i good enough in capturing photographs. But thank God, this time, it was a very beautiful experience. The security had been tightened up. They did allow photographic capture of the architectural beauty although its tacit that the main shrines are not to be photographed by anyone. My joy knew no limits but yet again, this time, it was a very quick visit that I seem not to have finished even one-fourth of what i had in mind.

The Nandi just after entering the temple from the East

From time to time, I stop my thinking to see if i'll ever be able to say all i have , in one post. We reached the temple at around 11 am and were actually running late. So we hurried up to see the main shrines of Lord Annamalaiyar and Goddess Unnamulai Ammai. We stopped in the shrine of Vinayaka, said a quick prayer and hurried towards the sanctum sanctorum. We finished the darshan of Lord Annamalaiyar and Goddess Unnamulai Ammai and then took rounds around the temple, seeing the other shrines of the Utsavar, Lord Vinayaka, Lord Subrahmanya, Lord Bhairava, the navagraha and the Sthala Vriksham(temple tree), a Magizham tree, Mimusops elengi, the temple site www.arunachaleswarar.com says. There are two ponds inside the temple complex, the Sivagangai Theertham and the Brahma Theertham. In a very special sight, near the Navagraha, is a shrine for the Chitra Guptas, the chief accountants of Yama loka, who weigh the goods of every soul against its bads.

Visting the sprawling prakarams inside the temple complex, i realised that my knowledge about prakarams, whatsoever, was very minute. Thiruvannamalai is one of the largest temples, ever built, covering a land area of nearly 32 acres. And to cover it and get enraptured in the beauty of the entire temple in a day is too much to ask for.

The exquisitely carved temple walls

Around the Arunachaleswarar temple are the eight lingas that one comes across when performing the Girivalam. They are

1. Indra Lingam to the east
2. Agni Lingam to the southeast
3. Yama Lingam to the south
4. Niruthi Lingam to the southwest
5. Varuna Lingam to the west
6. Vayu Lingam to the northwest
7. Kubera Lingam to the north
8. Isanya Lingam to the northeast

Each deity namely Indra, Agni, Yama, Niruthi, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera and Isanya are the guardians of the respective directions. In addition to the eight lingas, there is also a Surya Lingam. From the shrine of the Niruthi Lingam, when you look at the mountain, you see the face of Nandhi. Its so hair-raising to see the face of the bull emerge from the mountain. And there is also a place called the Pancha Mukha Darisanam. Its a place from where the mountain is like Lord Shiva resting on His back. The mountain resembles a huge form, with a head, chest, body, a raised knee and finally the erect foot. Like this, the mountain remains a mystery at many other places, some known, many unknown.

The Ner Annamalaiyar Temple: Along the Girivalam, is a temple, called the Ner Annamalaiyar Temple. From this temple, one gets a full view of the mountain in a straight line of sight. Hence the name Ner Annamalaiyar Temple. Ner in Tamil means Straight.

The view of the mountain from the Ner Annamalaiyar Temple

All along the way, one can see many Nandhis, the vehicle of Lord Shiva, sitting facing the mountain. This also says the mountain itself is a form of Lord Shiva. Thiruvannamalai is also the home to hundreds of seers and siddhas, who live in the mountain and live on the offerings of the pilgrims, chanting the Lord's name.

Though the visit was a rapid and a short one, it was a very memorable one. Many thanks to the Lord. As is said in Thiruvasagam's Sivapuranam, "Avan arulale avan thaal vanangi"(To worship His feet by means of His own Grace), even to worship God you need His grace. I plan to visit the temple again, a well planned and a longer one.

Sri Karunambika samedha Sri Dandeeswarar, Dandeeswaram, Vedasreni (Velacheri)

Velacheri is a buzzing place in the metropolis of Chennai, Tamilnadu. In Velacheri is a place called Dandeeswaram, that houses a very ancient temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. He is worshipped and celebrated as Lord Dandeeswarar and His Consort, Goddess Parvathi is worshipped and celebrated as Goddess Karunambika.

The temple as seen from the main road

According to the India Concept of time, 360 human years make one divine year.

4800 divine years make the Krta Yuga

3600 divine years make the Treta Yuga

2400 divine years make the Dvapara Yuga

1200 divine years make the Kali Yuga

These four yugas together comprise what is called as one Mahayuga. And a thousand mahayougas make one Kalpayuga, 432 crore human years.

Source: India 1000 to 2000, a millennium book of reference.

In the Treta Yuga, the four Vedas were abducted by an asura called Komukaasuran and were later rescued by Lord Vishnu. In order to get rid of the Asura dosham, (a defamation caused by an asura), the four Vedas namely, Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana, upon the advice of Lord Brahma, arrived at the Taraka vanam and prayed to the Shiva linga there. The Lord who was pleased with their prayers came before them and cleansed them of their dosham. Hence the name of this place is Vedasreni, that morphed to Velacheri in later times.

How the place Dandeeswaram got its name?

In the Dwapara yuga, there lived a sage called Mrigandu. He performed astounding penance toward s Lord Shiva, who, having been pleased with his penance, blessed him with a son, Markandeya. Markandeya was destined to live only till the age of sixteen. When the time came for his life to end, Markandeya was in his prayers to Lord Shiva and could not be harmed by the death messengers of Lord Yama, the demi-god of Death in Hindu mythology. Finally when Yama himself came to take Markandeya’s life, by accident of fate, his paasakayiru, the death noose, that cuts all bonds of materialism, fell around the Shiva linga too. Enraged, Lord Shiva, took away the Dhanda (a staff) from Yama. Upon the advice of Sage Narada, Yama arrived at Vedasreni and worshipped Lord Shiva creating a thadakam, a pond of lotuses. Lord Shiva’s rage was pacified and He came down to give back Yama his Dhanda and hence the place is celebrated as Dandeeswaram and the Lord as Dandeeswarar. The pond is now venerated as Yama Theertham.

The temple:

The Rajagopuram

In the outer prakaram, as one enters the temple, is the Lord who takes the first respects, Lord Vinayaka as Veda Vinayakar. In the left corridor of the outer prakaram, are Valampuri Vinayakar and the 63 nayanmaars, tamil saints who are celebrated as the primary devotees of Shiva. There are shrines of Lord Vaidheeswarar, Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sokkanadhar. The Sthala Vriskham, the tree of the shrine, is a very unique feature. It’s a Vilvam with 13 leaves in each stalk, as opposed to the occurrence of three leaves in each stalk. Then in the north eatern corner is the Navagraha. And as one comes clockwise towards east, there is the shrine of Naagar and in the east, is the Gvajasthambam or the Kodi Maram. There are the small shrines of Kalai Sandhi Vinayakar and Balasubrahmanyar facing the Gvajasthambam on the east .

In the inner prakaram, on the right wall, bordering the Sanctum Sanctorum, are shrines dedicated Maha Ganapathi, Yoga Dhakshinamurthy, Lingodhbhavar, Brahma, Durga and Chandikeswarar. All of them, except Chandikeswarar are in niches carved in the outer wall of the Sanctum Sanctorum. In the left wall of the inner prakaram, are the Utsava Vigrahas, Somaskandhar, Chandrasekarar, Valli Devasena Samedha Subrahmanyar, VInayakar, Mahalakshmi, Saraswathi, Gnanasambandhar. In the Natarajar Mandapam, are Lord Shiva as Nataraja and Goddess Sivagami along with Manikkavaasagar, one of the top four Shiva devotees in Tamil Literature. In the far north east of the inner prakaram is Lord Bhairava, the guarding deity. Then as one comes further east is Lord Mahavishnu and Sambu Suryar.

The Garbha Graha:

In the innermost lair, is the Garbha Graha or the Sanctum Sanctorum. This is where the presiding deity of Dandeeswaram, Lord Dandeeswara, facing east resides and is worshipped. To his left facing south is Goddess Parvathi as Goddess Karunambika. Flanking the entrance to Lord Shiva’s shrine are Lord Vinayaka and Valli Devasena samedha Subrahmanyar.

Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy, Surutapalli

Surutapalli is a village in the Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh, India. In this village is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, a very special temple indeed for many are the unique features in this temple. Surutapalli is a place that’s 56 kms from Chennai, TamilNadu. The route is Chennai -> Redhills -> Periyapalayam -> Uthookottai -> Surutapalli. From Tirupathi, its 75 kms. The route is Tirupathi -> Puoor -> Nahalapuram -> Surutapalli. It was really an amazing trip to this temple, as unexpected as astounding.

The Rajagopuram

The temple has an outer prakaram, an inner prakaram. In the inner prakaram lies the Garbagraham (the Sanctum Sanctorum), that has the shrines of Shiva and Parvathi. Sitting at the entrance of the shrine of Lord Shiva, is the God who gets the first respects, the destroyer of all obstacles, Lord Ganapathi. Surutapalli is the place where Sage Valmiki, the composer of the Ramayana, a great epic in Hindu Mythology, performed severe penance towards Lord Shiva. Moved by his devotion, the Lord appeared in front of him. Sage Valmiki is a ‘Svayambhu’ linga, a self-formed one, worshipped as Lord Valmikeswarar. This is the Pradhosha Murthy, the one who takes the offerings on the day of the Pradhosham. Opposite Valmikeswarar, is Lord Shiva as another Linga. The Goddess is worshipped as Maragadhambika.

In the outer wall of the ‘Svayambhu’ linga, facing south, is a very unique feature besides the Nardhana Ganapathy. Lord Dhakshinamurthy is usually in a state of deep meditation and is always seen alone without His consort, Parvathi. But in Surutapalli, is one of the rarest sights. Lord Dhakshinamurthy is seen with His consort as “Dhampathi sametha Dhakshinamurthy” (Lord Dhakshinamurthy as a couple; dhampathi - couple). He is believed to bless people with good matrimony and children. And the specialities have just begun. Facing west, is the Lingodhbhavar, the Lord in the form of an endless column of fire and Lord Vishnu decides to find out the root while Lord Brahma sets out to find the peak. The carving of Lord Vishnu as Varaha, the boar is very intricate and excellent. I felt like I’ve never seen a carving of Varaha on the Lingodhbhavar, so intricate and well featured. Facing north besides Brahma, is Goddess Durga. Unlike the usual ferocity, her face is so smiling that one can keep looking at her. And like Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai, she too has a parrot on her hand, something that is very special for a Durga statue to have.

Then as one comes around Valmikeswarar, to the left of Him, are also present Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman. There is a stone slab, that has the impressions of small pairs of feet, proclaimed to be the feet of Lava and Kusha, the two sons o f Lord Rama. It is believed that Lava and Kusha played here. In the entrance to the chamber of Lord Shiva are also present Lord Rama with Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman along with Bharata and Shatrugna.

Along the western wall of the inner prakaram, facing the Lingodhbhavar is another speciality. Called “Ekapaadha Trimurthy”, is a carving, depicting the trinity standing on one foot. In the centre is Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu to His left and Lord Brahma to His right. One foot of Vishnu rests on the Garuda and one foot of Brahma rests on the Swan. The other foot of both joins with the foot that all three are depicted standing on. The shrine of Lord Subrahmanya with Valli and Devasena faces south, yet another speciality. There is also a deity of Sage Valmiki, depicted sitting and having a turban on his head.

The Nandi in the temple front

In the outer prakaram, is the Sthala Vriksham, a peepal tree that is so huge and tall and widespread, hosting the shrine of the Nagaraja. In the southern corridor of the outer prakaram, lies the ultimate uniqueness of Surutapalli.

In one of the rarest and the most unique sights across any Indian Temple, is Lord Shiva depicted as resting on the lap of Goddess Parvathi. He is worshipped as Pallikondeswarar. (Palli - Tamil – Sleep, Konda – Tamil – to have or to be, Eswarar – Tamil - Shiva). Lord Shiva is always worshipped in the form of a Linga. But here at Surutapalli, the Lord is in bodily form. For the goodness and safety of all the worlds, Lord Shiva drank the Aalahala poison, emanated during the Churning of the Milk Ocean. And the Goddess, fearing the danger, stopped the poison at Lord Shiva’s throat and stopped it from entering the body, giving Shiva the much celebrated name, Neelakhanta, the one with the blue throat. Feeling giddy from the consumption of Aalahala, the Lord is seen resting on the lap of His wife Parvathi. All the sages, devas and angels are singing around Him requesting Him to get up and restore balance in the world. Heeding to their prayers, the Lord wakes up and performs the “Anandha Natanam”, the dance of immense happiness or bliss. It was the Sandhya Kaalam or the evening, of Thrayodhasi (the thirteenth day after a new moon or a full moon), when this happened. This is the reason why the evenings of Thrayodhasis are celebrated as Pradhoshams. Hence Surutapalli is held as the “Aadhara Kshetram” for pradhoshams.

Siruvapuri Subrahmanyar Temple

The lush greenery of Siruvapuri

Siruvapuri, is a place near Chennai in TamilNadu. A near village, with all its lush green fields and plantains, narrow roads and lily ponds. Also known as Chinnambedu, Siruvapuri has a temple dedicated to Lord Subrahmanya, the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. In the outer prakaram sits the principal deity, Lord Ganapathy, the destroyer of all obstacles and the bestower of good fortunes.

A pond of pink lilies

In the inner prakaram, is Lord Shiva as Annamalaiar, Goddess Parvathi as Unnamulai Amman and Subrahmanya with Valli in the Kalyana Kolam (marriage pose). In the Garbagraha or the Sanctum Sanctorum, is the main presiding deity of the temple, Lord Subrahmanya. He stands alone with a smiling and radiant face. Only the Arathi or the Deepam is shown to this deity. The chantings and offerings are done to another Lord Subrahmanya’s deity in the outer prakaram referred to as the "Adhi Moolavar Sannadhi". There are also the deities of Muneeswarar, Venkatrayar, the one who had helped build the temple, Bhairavar and the Navagraha in the outer prakaram.

The Rajagopuram

Siruvapuri is also famous for its being mentioned in the Thiruppugazh, a collection of hymns on Lord Subrahmanya. The name comes in four hymns.
1) Andarpadhi kudiyera....
2) Seedhala vaarija paadha namonama....
3) Vel irandenu...
4) Piraviyaana....

A Rose garden on the way back

Puri Jagannath Temple at Uthandi

This day, the 18^th of June, I’d been to the Puri Jagannath Temple in Uthandi, Chennai, Tamilnadu. The temple is situated about 16 kms from the Thiruvanmiyur Bus stop. It’s a straight drive from the Thiruvanmiyur Bus Stop along the East Coast Road, ECR.

The temple is in a beautiful location at a 300-400 feet from the shore. Built in the architecture very similar to that of the Puri Jagannath Temple, in Puri, Orissa, it stands apart from many other temples one can see in Tamilnadu. Temple architecture varies from place to place and changes gradually from North to South India but the final architectural comparison between northern and southern styles is drastic in variations.

I had been to the temple in the evening around half past six when it was still bright outside. There’s a large “Dhvajasthambha” or the Flag Post at the entrance that’s sculpted as standing on a tortoise. Such a structure is termed “Meru” in Temple Architecture. The flag post had also carved on it the “Dasavathars” or the Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It also had various divine creatures sculpted on it.

First is the Shrine of Ganesh. Then Kasi Viswanath, Maa Vimala, Maa Laxmi, Lord Jagannath and the Navagraha. The main Sanctum Sanctorum has the presiding deities of the temple, “Lord Krishna, Lord Balabhadra(popularly referred to as “Balram”) and their sister, Subhadra”. There is also the “Kalpatharu”, the tree under which are installed the Vahanas of the deities in the temple.

The Mooshika of Ganesh
The Peacock of Karthikeya
The Nandi of Shiva
The Simha of Shakthi
The Swan of Saraswathi
The Garuda of Vishnu
The Owl of Lakshmi
The Airavat of Indra

It was a full moon day. It coincided with the “Snaan Poornima” day (the Full Moon day on which Snaan(Bathing) takes place) in the temple wherein the main deities are brought forth out of the Sanctum Sanctorum and bathed and prepared for the Rath Yathra or the “Tour of the Chariot”, that happens every year. The priests performed the Mangal Arthi for the deities. It was a wonderful experience.

The moon was slowly going up the sky. Sitting at the steps, looking at the moon, with the wind from the seashore adding a comforting element to the already beautiful ambience of the temple was more than just beautiful.

The spire of the Temple was so majestic when looked at from beneath it. The hall beneath the Sanctum Sanctorum has paintings of the Zodiac and the Ramayan on its ceiling. There are three sculptures on the outer wall of the Sanctum Sanctorum. One was the Varaha Avatar, (the avatar of the boar), then Narasimha Avatar(the avatar of half-man, half-lion) and the scene where Lord Vishnu measures the three worlds with His all pervading form as Thiru Vikrama Perumal. The inner ceiling of the Sanctorum is vivid with a lot of beautiful paintings.

Uthandi is a place on the ECR. There are also buses running from Thiruvanmiyur to Kovalam, that’ll take you to Uthandi.

Marundeeswarar Temple, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai

This evening, I went to the Marundeeswarar Temple at Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, Tamilnadu. Its about a 3 minute walk from the Thiruvanmiyur Bus Stop. Its a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. He is worshipped as Lord Marundeeswarar and His Consort, Shakthi is worshipped as Goddess Thripurasundari. This is one of the very ancient temples in Tamilnadu. It had recently been renovated and the Kumbabhishekham performed last month in May. Today was a Sunday. I reached the temple at about 4:30, around the beginning of the Rahu Kaala.

First was the deity who is always worshipped first, Ganesha. Then Valli Devasena Sametha Subrahmanya. Then I entered the inner sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Marundeeswara. Purana says that Kamadhenu, the cow of eternal prosperity offered milk and showered the Linga. The darshan was a very nice one.

Around the shrine of Lord Shiva, are a variety of other idols. To the direct left of the Lord, facing him is a Pillayar. Then on the pradhakshanam or the clockwise round, comes the King of Dance, Nataraja. To the north is Chandeswarar facing the Lord and Goddess Durga facing North. In the far north east corner of the inner shrine, is the Guarding Deity Bhairavar. In the same corridor as Bhairavar, is an array of Shiva lingas totaling to a 108. Further on the pradhakshanam comes Vishnu, the protector, facing east. Opposite Vishnu in the corridor pedestal, are Lingas of Badrinatheswarar, Jambulingeswarar and Arunachaleswarar. On the pradhakshanam along the south comes Lord Dakshinamurthy, the bestower of knowledge and the eradicator of ignorance followed by another Pillayar. Opposite Dakshinamurthy, start the idols of the 63 Nayanmars or Shaivite Saints.

The shrine of the Goddess Thripurasundari is outside the Shrine of Lord Marundheeswarar. Outside Her shrine, in one of the pillars is present a carving of Lord Sarabeswarar, an incarnation of Lord Shiva initiated in order to control the rage of Lord Narasimha, after the latter consumed the blood of an asura named Hiranyakashipu after killing him and hence went out of control. Worshipping Lord Sarabeswarar in the Rahu Kaala is very sacred. I also got to worship Him in the special hour.

The temple is situated in the ECR. There are also many other temples along this road. They include Shirdi Sai Baba temple, Puri Jagannath Temple, Thiruvidanthai Nithya Kalyana Perumal Temple to mention a few.

Thiruperur Temple, Coimbatore

Thiruperur, is a place in the city of Coimbatore, TamilNadu, India. About a half an hour journey from the Coimbatore Railway Junction. In this place, is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is worshipped as “Lord Patteeswarar” and His Consort is worshipped as “Pachai Nayagi / Maragadhavalli” (Pachai is a Tamil word that means Green and Maragadham is another Tamil word meaning Emerald that’s green in Colour. Nayagi/Valli are Tamil words used in addressing the Feminine). The main idol of Lord Shiva as in almost all places is in the form of Linga. But the linga’s shape is very unusual, probably the first of the kind I have seen. The Linga is a Svayambhu (natural and not sculpted) in the form of a flat-faced square. The Aavudaiyar (the middle of the linga) is a large square part.

Another special sight was the statue of the Bhairavar, the Guarding Deity at all Shiva Temples. Usually Bhairavar is seen with his Vahanam (vehicle), a dog. But here He has no Vahanam. Since Thiruperur is considered a Mukthi Sthalam, (the shrine of Salvation), Bhairavar is benign and less fierce and doesn’t have a vehicle (which adds to his ferocity). Here he is worshipped as Gnana Bhairavar.

Apart from the above, Thiruperur still holds a place for a very special pride. In the Natarajar Mandapam, stand eight tall pillars intricately carved with various divine forms. Every sculpture in this description is intricately and exquisitely carved with brilliant attention to details.

As one enters the Mandapam, the first pillar on the left has carved on it a life size sculpture of Lord Shiva as the “Kalithol Porthiya Murthy” (kali – Tamil – elephant, thol – Tamil - skin ). Lord Shiva, in his fight with an asura, who took the form of an elephant, is depicted as having torn the elephant and wearing its skin upon him as a blanket. Lord Shiva is seen standing upon the head of the elephant. The four legs of the elephant with the toes and the tail are beautifully carved. The ornaments of the Lord have also been carved magnificently. The face is so vivid with details.

The second pillar has “Agni Veerabhadrar”. Veerabhadrar was created to destroy Daksha, who intended to insult and humiliate Lord Shiva by not inviting Him to the sacred Yagna that Daksha was performing. Not heeding to the words of Shiva, His wife (and Dakshan’s daughter), Dakshayini attends the Yagna only to be humiliated further. So Dakshayini sacrifices herself by entering the Yagna’s fire. Infuriated by this, Shiva creates Veerabhadrar, who destroys the Yagna and beheads Daksha, who later begs for Shiva’s pardon and the Lord grants him back his life with his head replaced with that of a goat. In this sculpture, the trident of Veerabhadrar is seen piercing into Daksha’s forehead. He wears a Sarpakundalam on his left ear and a Makharakundalam on his right ear.(Sarpam – Sanskrit – Snake, Kundalam – Tamil – earring, Makhara – Sanskrit – Capricorn but no goat in Hindu Mythology). There is also sculpted a scorpion that is said to be very special in a statue of Veerabhadrar.

The third sculpture is “Urdhuva Thandavar”, depicting the scene of the dance that took place between Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali, a form of Shakthi at Thiruvalangadu. In this sculpture is also seen Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Karaikal Ammaiyar, a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva who was granted the boon of seeing Shiva’s dance at Thiruvalangadu. Since this dance is said to have taken place before Shiva taking away one of the heads of Brahma, Brahma is sculpted as having five heads instead of the usual four. The Lord Shiva is seen as taking his earring back to his ear all by his foot. This is how he won over Kali since a woman is not allowed to go to such a posture in dance.

The next sculpture, the fourth and the final one on the left side as one enters the mandapam, is that of Lord Ganesha as "Nardhana Vinayaka" or the Dancing Ganapathy. Excellent carving of a smiling Ganesha, His ornaments and His being balanced atop His vehicle, the Mooshika include the intricacies.

On returning from the Mandapam, the first sculpture is the one exactly opposite Nardhana Vinayaka is the six-faced "Lord Subrahmanya". He is depicted with six faces with the sixth face hidden in the pillar. All faces are benign with a blissful smile. The various weapons that he carries on His twelve hands are beautifully carved and His vehicle, the peacock is also carved with special attention to its feathers.

The next one is that of “Thiruvalangattu Kali”. This is the one exactly opposite to “Urdhuva Thandavar”. The ornaments of the Goddess are brilliantly sculpted. This is not it all. When seen from the front, from Urdhuva Thandavar’s point of view, the Goddess portrays a look of humility at being outsmarted in the dance by Shiva. But when looked at from the side, her face bears the usual fierceness of Kali.

On the next pillar, opposite “Agni Veerabhadrar” is “Agora Veerabhadrar”. (Goram – Sanskrit – Fierce, Agoram – Sanskrit – Without ferocity and hence benign ). The crown, the garland and his girdle have been depicted with such detail.

On the final pillar, opposite the first one, is the sculpture of Lord Shiva as “Bhikshadanar”. When the two wives of a sage, become egotic and proud about their righteousness as Rishi Pathnis, the Lord assumes the form of a Naked Man and goes asking for alms, in an attempt to restore their humbleness. Seeing His beauty and charm, the two wives are sculpted on either side of the pillar as having lost their minds. There is also a demon termed the “Kurat Bhoodham”. He is a minion in front of the Lord and he carries a big bowl on his head in which the Bhiksha (alms) is collected.

Thiruperur is a must see temple for all people who get to visit Coimbatore. I do not have any pics of the sculptures as photography was prohibited inside the temple. There was neither a publication of the sculptures by the temple authorities. Such temples stand testimony to the architectural brilliance of ancient India, that cannot be matched even by today’s technology. If I had spent more time at the temple I’m sure I’d have come across more subtle specialties in the architecture.

My Visit to the Isha Foundation’s Dhyanalinga Ashram in Coimbatore

A write-up that’s coming up after a really long time since I’d planned to do it. In a weekend of March, I went to Coimbatore. For long, I’d been wanting to visit the Dhyanalinga Temple located at the foothills of Velliangiri. We started in the morning of Saturday, this was gonna be a weekend to remember!!

Its almost a 40-minute drive from the main city of Coimbatore. Located near the Western Ghats, Coimbatore had a really enjoyable temperate climate. All along the way I stopped to click snaps of the scenic beauty around. On the way that one takes to the Isha Foundation where the temple is located, one is normally induced to think “ What sort of a place could be beyond this?”. Going beyond vast expanses of coconut and palm plantations, crossing little canals, the site of cattle grazing on the patches of green, they all added to the rustic beauty of the already tranquil atmosphere. The Isha Foundation had erected signboards leading to the temple every 1 km after we entered the limit within 8 kms from the temple. And suddenly I noticed that the surrounding plantations got more large and the forest on the other became more dense. Now we were in a real interior place, far from the screeching horns and the roaring engies of the city roads.

There was this signboard that said “Dhyanalinga Temple 1 km”. The excitement was building up. And suddenly out of nowhere, there sprang a white structure with a large flat roof on a set of columns. This was the entrance to the Foundation. Yipeee!!!! We were there at last!!

The entrance was adorned with a huge pillar of about 3 sq feet base and a whopping 17 foot height. The pillar had on it, carved the three religious symbols of Hinduism (the Aum), Christianity (the Crucifix) and Islam (the Crescent). On the exact opposite face was the representation the Seven Chakras of the human body.

There was a lot of snake sculptures giving the place an effect of being dedicated to the worship and protection of snakes. This might be because of the fact that Shri Patanjali, a very popular blessed saint in the Hindu Scriptures, hailed as the father of Isha Yoga is depicted as half man- half snake.

We entered the premises of the temple. The air bore it. Peace and Tranquility greeted us with outstretched arms. Everything about this place was so earth bound and natural. The shrine where the Dhyanalinga is located is at about the centre of the complex. They have these prayers called “Nadha Aradhana”, Nadha meaning Sound and Aradhana meaning Worship. More than a place of worship, the shrine of the Dhyanalinga is basically designed to be a centre for meditation.

The geometry of the Dhyanalinga Shrine is a very huge dome. It is a pillarless elliptical dome that’s 76 feet in diameter, claimed to be constructed with no steel, cement or concrete. (Dimensional details courtesy: www.dhyanalinga.org). As we entered the shrine, I saw the statue of Patanjali and called out to my dad. There came a person, draped in white requesting me to be silent with nothing but a smiling gesture. We were asked to roll up our pants to knee level in order to minimise the rustle when we walk around. And I understood the reason when we entered the dome, the shrine of the Dhyanalinga.

Every single step reverberated in the dome with such a magnification. A small snap of the fingers was reproduced as if uttered in front of a microphone whose output was fed to a High-Watt speaker. We settled ourselves on the floor in front of the Dhyanalinga. The sight of the Dhyanalinga was so breathtaking and magnificent. Standing almost 10-12 foot tall, it occupied a vast portion of the inner chamber. There were nooks in the dome where people could sit and meditate. Everyone was in the meditation posture, a lot of foreigners too.

In a few minutes, the Nadha Aradhana began. In a very mystifying low tone, the hums and chants and the xylophone and the guitar take us into a world where we tend to forget all our sorrows and transcend into a world of bliss. It was an experience too ecstatic to be put into words. After the Aradhana was over, we went round the Dhyanalinga once and left the main shrine.

The next place to visit was the Theerthakund – a 35 feet subterranean water body. Whats so special? It has a mercury linga weighing 680 kg immersed in water. (Dimensional details courtesy: www.dhyanalinga.org). Batches of men and women have to visit the Theerthakund every half an hour alternately. The devotees are allowed either to enter the waters and touch the holy deity or just stand in the waters. But for the first type, they had to take a bath in the premises of the Ashram. All the facilities are provided and the Ashram even gives them special clothes for wearing into the Theerthakund.

I chose the second type and hence went into the Theerthakund in my own clothes and stood in the water, eyes fixed on the mercury Linga. The water flows into this 35 feet subterranean place from above, as if from a waterfall. The water was so chill. And I ascribed it to the mercury of the deity. The ceiling had a beautiful painting that covered the entire stretch. It depicts a scene from the MahaKumbhaMela, a very sacred spiritual festival in India. We are allowed to stay inside for twenty minutes after which we should start leaving so that the next batch can come and visit the Theerthakund.

And then in the outer edges of the ashram, there are small stalls for photographs of the Dhyanalinga and other merchandise, a canteen where the visitors can help themselves to some light meals. It was time to leave. It was a beautiful experience and I’d advise everyone to visit the Dhyanalinga Ashram when they get a chance.