Visiting Temples Down South

1.0 When we go places, most often, we assign importance to visiting the shrines nearby and around. My recent Tuticorin trip which began on 28-01-2007(Day1-Sunday) by Mysore-Tuticorin Express, was to spend sometime with Babu, my younger brother , who is all set to bid good bye to the place after retiring from work last month. The idea to visit Tuticorin was also promoted as there was an invitation from him to visit 'Navathirupathi Temples' situated on the banks of Tamiraparani river which are well known among the 108 'Divya Deasams' and whose "Mangalasanams" are sung and endorsed by Nammalwar. Neela, my elder sister and Sekar my younger brother, both from Chennai, also arrived Tutiorin with the same intention. A time-table was prepared by all of us to make the most use of the precious time at our disposal. I have pleasure in sharing the experience we gained thru' these pages:-

2.0 Day 2 (29-01-2007- Somavaram) - Kovilpatti was the first place of visit,a place where I was born in 1943 but not visited so far though I used to pass thru' in a vehicle when I was going to places closeby.. Sri Chenbagavalli Amman is the presiding Goddess and the standing posture with full of grace was a satisfying sight to see again and again. It was "saya-rakshai'(Sandhya or twilight) time best suited for dharsan. We had dharsan next at the Siva Shrine the god residing there is known by the name
"Poo-Vana Nathar". There is another Perumal Kovil behind this temple by name Govindaraja Perumal which we visited before returning home late in the evening.

3.0 Day 3 (30-01-2007- Tuesday) - Nanguneri & Tirunelveli :- Less than two hours journey from Tuticorin in the Nagarkoil route, Nanguneri is situated where Thothathiri Nathan also known as Vanamamalai is the presiding deity.The kshethram is one of the 108 Divya Desams. Daily the deity is bathed in liters of oil and there is an oil well, where oil used for the abhishekam gets stored. The oil cures ills when applied to the body.

In Tirunelveli Nellaiappar is the main deity and Kanthimathi is Ambal's name. Nellai is the short name for the town. We went to the original Tirunelveli Halwa Shop where non-stop sale of halwa was going on . We have to wait in the 'Q' and luckily before the 'sold-out' sign board was hung, we bought a kg. of the mouth - watering & fresh,tasty halwa .

4.0 Day 4 (31-01-2007-Wednesday) - Thiruchendur & NavaThirupathis :- Since Nava thirupathi Temples are open upto 12 Noon only , we started the day @ 5A.M. itself with an objective to complete the day's schedule. Thaipoosam was on 1st Feb and hence fearing rush , we chose to visit Thiruchendur first. We reached the sea shore @ 6:30 a.m. where the waves sing back and forth in praise of "Senthil Andavar'' . Thai-Poosam rush was seen one day in advance and we were lucky to enter Special Dharsan -Q and were seated just infront of "Senthil Andavar".

We began the tour of NavaThirupathi at 8a.m. itself. Each place is linked to one of the 'Navagraham',
. The first place of visit was
(i) 'Thirupperai'-the Deity being "Makara Nedung Kuzhaikathar"- it is also
known as Sukra-Kshethram. Sukra and Varuna did penance here and God relieved Varuna from a curse. Sukran (rasi) is incharge of rains & Varuna is the rain god..
(ii) ' Thirukkolur ' is linked to "Angaraha' where the Moolavar is ' Vaiththamaanidhi".
According to 'sthala- purana', Kubera lost one of his eyes, wealth and figure due to his misdeed and came to 'Thirukkolur ' and did severe penance. Lord Narayana relieved him partly from the curse and gave him half portion of the wealth and told him that those devotees who worship there will beget wealth. The lord is in 'AnanthaSayanam' posture and VaithamaaNidhi means the treasurer of Navanidhis or wealth.
(iii)In "AzhwarThirunagari", moolavar is "Aadhinadhar"and this is also known as 'Guru" Kshethram. Once Brahma askedfor a suitable place on Earth to do penance for invoking Narayana's blessings, and the latter referred Brahma to 'Azhwar Thirunagari".'Adhinadhar' gets the name as HE became guru to Brahma at this place. Hence the place is linked to "Guru' graham.
(iv)"Erattai (Twin) Thirupathi" gets the name as the place was enshrined by "Aswini Devas" who are twins.Aswini Devas were not getting their share of "Havir Bagham"and prayed to Narayana. They were asked to worship ''Devarpiran" in Erattai Thrupathi. A devotee by name "Subrabur" plucked lotus flowers for daily worship of."Aravindhalochanar" and one day he couldn't do so due to floods. "Devarpiran" appeared infront of him and accepted the devotee's worship. The devotee is also known as 'Aravindalochar".Aswini Devas also followed worshipping the Lord by Lotus flowers and obtained ''Havir bagam" form the Rishis who were performing severe penance. The pond here is known as 'Aswini Theertham" and the water removes all ills. The place is linked to "Kethu" graham.
(v)Another Erattai Thirupathi is close by and is linked to 'Rahu' Graham. "Devarpiran" is the moolavar.
Subrabur came to this place to do penance and found one bow and arrow on the ground. When he happened to touch them, they got transformed into a man and a woman. They were originally Devas and were cursed by Kubera. They got emancipation at this place. This place is also where DEVAS including Indra, the Lord of the Earth, Varuna, the Lord of Water and Vayu, the lord of wind, were blessed by Narayana by HIS Nirmalya Darshan. The deity took the name on account of this episode as "Devar Piran".
(vi)"Thirupulingudi" is linked to 'Budhan' graham. "Bhoomi Palagar" is the moolavar.
Once BhoomaDevi became angry that she was not being given equal importance as Lakshmi and disappeared to ''Patala Lokam" with the result the Bhoomi became dry and utter dark. Thirumal assured BhoomaDevi of equal respect and brought her back from Patala. He thus saved Bhoomi and gets the name as "Bhoomi Palagar".Indra also got moksham from "brahmahathi dosham" by taking bath in this place. The deity is in Ananthasayanam posture upon Adhisesha. The 'Pada" darshan of the Lord, can be had thru' a window when we come around the praharm. The connecting thread from the nabhi of Perumal to the Lotus where Brahma is seated can be seen when having darshan of the Moolavar.

(vii) In Perungulam , the deity is Venkatavanan and is linked to 'Sani' graham.
Kamalavathi wished to marry the Lord of Perungulam and the lord came before her and bore her in His heart. Kamalavathi's mother was captured by a demon in protest who kept her in captivity. The lord waged a war seated on Garuda and retrieved her. The deity is also known as "Mayakoothan". The Garuda who helped the lord in the battle is given equal status in the sanctum sanctorum.

(viii)Naththam or Shri Varaguna Mangai where the deity is "Vijayaasanar" is linked to Chandra graham. Lord Narayanaadvised a devotee by name " Vedavi '' to worship HIM in the Sri Varagunamangai by a mantra 'Asanathai". The deity gets the name "Vijayaasanar" after this episode.
(ix) SriVaikuntam, when we entered this 9th Navathirupathi Temple, though it was nearing 12N, we were allowed inside.After we had darshan, the temple was closed. Srivaikuntam is linked to Surya graham.and the Lord is Vaikuntanathan, Uthsavar is "Kallarpiran". Brahma lost the secret Grantham of creativity, in the Pralaya kalam and did penance in Srivaikuntam to retrieve it from the clutches of a demon who stole it. Thirumal gave darshan to Brahma and got back the secret Grantham. Here the deity was installed by Brahma as Vaikuntanathan.The temple went underground once. The Pandya King happened to notice a cow showering milk at a barren place. The king ordered the place to be dug open and was surprised to see the temple
underneath.In this Temple The Sun God's rays fall at the feet of the Lord twice a year once on 6th day of Chitrai and again on the 6th day of Tula month. Another interesting story is linked to Srivaikuntam. A thief by name, 'Kaladhooshakan' used to go for stealing only after worshipping Vaikuntanathan and later deposit a part of what he stole to the Lord and another part to the needy public everyday. As saying goes, every thief gets caught oneday or the other, Kaladhooshan was also caught red-handed. The thief surrendered to God and told "Kallarpiran" that HE too was a party in the theft. Kallapiran appeared before the King and advised him to look after the needy public whom the king was neglecting. The Lord gets the name from the King as "Kallar Piran". The sculptor pinched Lord's cheek as he was drawn by the beauty of the deity and today also while having darshan of the deity Kallarpiran, the devotees can see the mark made by the sculptor.
We were satisfied that we were able to have dharsan at all the Nava Thirupathis as planned, besides seeing Thiruchendur first in the morning.

5.0 Day 5 (01-02-2007- Thursday) : We had some work to perform in the morning and hence started the journey @ 3p.m.after rahukalam. The first place we reached was SRIVILLIPUTHUR @4.30p.m.Srivilliputhur Station is between Tenkasi and Virudhunagar. The Lord is Vadapathra Sayi ( RangaMannar), Bhujangasayanam. Aandal Kodhai or Choodikkodutha Nachiyar worships the Lord here. The tower of the Temple looks majestic and a treat to behold . This has been adopted as a symbol by Tamil Nadu govt.

We continued the journey from Villiputhur to Sankarankovil where the Moolavar is " Sankara Narayana ", Sankara and Narayana are in 'ArdhaNariswara' form here. The icons for Sankara can be seen on one side and of narayana on the other side. Hari and Haran are one and the same and what matters is dedication and devotion.As we have to pass thru' Kovilpatti in the return path, we took a chance to go to shri Chenbagavalli Amman Temple at 9.40p.m. To our luck the temple was open on account of Thai-Poosam that day. Lord Subramanya was well decorated and wa seated in the palanquin. We were all at smiles as our attempt late in the night to visit the temple proved fruitful. We also got 'Sundal prasadam' in the temple.We returned to Tuticorin after worshipping at Srivilliputhur, Sankaran kovil and at Kovilpatti and the clock showed that it was exactly 11p.m., as we entered home.

6.0 Day 6 (02-02-2007-Friday) ; RAMESWARM-Ramanatha Swamy. We reached Rameswaram by 3p.m. and took a lodge in the guest house run by Bajrangadas Seva Trust which is located infront of kanchi Sankar Mutt. We had the view of The Bay Of Bengal just infront of the guest house on 'Sannadhi Street'.. We worshipped Siva which was brought by Anjaneya .We also had darshan of the main deity Ramanatha Swamy made of sand by Sita Piratti and worshipped by Rama . That day being "Thai Vellikizhamai we also performed archani at Gomathi Amman sannidhi.

7.0 Day 7 ( 03-02-2007-Saturday) : - We had bath early in the morning in the sea, followed by bath in 22 wells adjunct to the temple. One Sastrigal by name Sri Parvatha Rajan, 24 New street, South Gopuram Ph.04573-222532 made arrangements for bathing in the sea and in 22 wells. I had taken the reference from Sankara Mutt at Bangalore . Another reference I had was to meet Anandapadmanabha Vadyar at Sankar Mutt in Rameswaram but he was not available when I enquired.

We had darshan again at Ramanatha Swamy Temple after the bath. We then left for Dhanushkoti for sight seeing and for purchasing Valamburi Shanka. We also utilized the opportunity to visit PRESIDENT ABDUL KALAM'S HOUSE. PRESIDENT'S ELDER BROTHER ,also Kalam, by name, welcomed us and we had the honor of taking a photograph of the house along with the elder Kalam . We then started the journey to Madurai.
Madurai - we reached by 4p.m.and had darshan of Meenaksi Amman and Sundareswarar. The tourist rush, now-a- days, is very high in the temple. We went by the special entry in both the Sannadhis and had good darshan.

8.0 Day ( 04-02-2007-Sunday) : We had darshan in F.N. at Azhagar Malai -of Pazhamudhicholai Murugan along with HIS consorts Valli & Daivanai. There in the hill exists a perennial water flow called "NUBURA GANGAI" - water gushing thru' a passage over thousands of years non-stop,' a sight to see'. We then visited Govindaraja Perumal temple in the hill, also Karuppanna Swamy, the guarding deity of the 18th step.In the after noon, we left for Pillaiyarpatti . Ganesha is in a majestic form here. we had special darshan at close quarters.

9.0 Day 9 (05-02-2007-Monday) : I did not get accommodation in the night train leaving Madurai on 04-02-2007. Others left for their respective destinations. However I had earlier reserved a confirmed berth in Mysore Express leaving Madurai on 5th Feb. night.
In the morning I vacated the lodge at Madurai and boarded a bus leaving for Palani at 6.30a.m. itself. In Palani also the rush was heavy after Thai Poosam. Luckily I managed to get the entry in the special Q on payment and had darshan of Palani Aandavar by 11a.m. I returned @3.30 p.m. to Madurai and had lunch. I had skipped the b/f earlier with the intention take the earliest bus to Palani. I had enough time at my disposal as Mysore Express was to leave only @8p.m. I left for Thiruparankundram temple at 4p.m. There are 5 Deities Subramanya with his consort Daivaanai, Ganesa, Siva, Durga and Narayana - all beautifully carved in stone in the cave temple.
I came to the Madurai Railway Station straight from Thruparankundram, collected my baggage from the cloak room, and boarded Mysore Express for Bangalore at 8p.m.

10.0 Day 10 (06-02-2007-Tuesday) : The Mysore Express was on time and I reached home by a prepaid Auto.
I have pleasure in presenting the details to all , as when Joy is shared , it gets doubled. I have included certain specific details and also ' sthalapuranam' which I had collected with a view that it might be of use for reference at a future date. I chose to write the text in a narrative form and at certain places in a story telling manner in order to deliver the message.

Regards.