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 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.

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.