1. K A N Y A K U M A R I
2. TIRUCHENDUR MURUGAN TEMPLE
Our next destination was the famous Thiruchendur Murugan Temple, just two hours by bus..This temple has been in existence for millennium, according to the Puranas.Tiruchendur temple is believed to be a commemoration of Lord muruga's victory over Surapadman. The temple is situated so close to the sea that waves from the Gulf of Mannar lap at the eastern perimeter wall of the temple. During the last 1000 years, this magnificient temple has grown from its original modest size to its massive structure of nine storeys high standing over 140 feet. The Gopuram and the sculptures depicting interesting events was constructed roughly 300 years ago. The temple is always crowded with thousands of devotees shouting "Arohara", "Vel..Vel". You come out with your face and forehead smeared with holy ash. Quite an exhilarating experience. We stayed in a hotel adjacent to the temple. We were again fascinated by the sea and enjoyed bathing to our hearts content. We visited Nazhi Kinaru, a rare natural phenomenon where there is a big well and inside this well is a small well. The water in the larger well has sulfurous smell and is dark, but the water in the small well is clear and sweet. According to the legend Lord Muruga's troops were thirsty and Muruga planted his spear or Vel at this spot and caused fresh water to gush out from the big water well. About 500 years ago, the Dutch looted some of the idols in the temple and carried away in their ship. There was a sudden storm and the frightened crew threw the idol into the sea. Legend has it that an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga saw a vision of the idol's position in his dream and rushed to the spot, where a lemon was floating and Garuda was flying- indicating the spot and recovered the statue. It is amazing to know that the Tsunami of 2004 did not enter the temple even though nearby areas were affected. If you see the TV showing the Main Festivals like Skandha Sashti and the surging crowds in the beach adjacent to the temple you will feel like visiting this place.
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3. T H I R U V A I Y A R U
As a child I have stayed sometimes in my uncle's house here at Thiruvaiyaru a town near Thanjavur, situated on the banks of the river Kaveri. Thiruvaiyaru means Five Rivers around the city namely Arisilaaru, Vennaaru, Vettaaru, Kudamuttiyaaru and Kaaviriyaaru. It has an old Shiva temple dedicated to Panchanatheeswar and pilgrims flock to this temple throughout the year. I vividly remember the giant elephant kept there. I used to join the elephant when it was taken to the river for its daily bath, quite an exciting sight. Recently when we visited this temple, we took part in the ritualistic processions. Thiruvaiyaru is more renowned for its association with Saint Thyagaraja, who, along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri, comprises the Trinity of Carnatic music. While Tiruvaiyaru is a pilgrm centre, Saint Thyagaraja is a legend. I have visited the one-roomed house near the Shiva temple where Thyagaraja composed some of his greatest works. It is amazing to learn that Thyagaraja was advised to do Rama Nama japa for 96 crore times and he completed it in 21 years. His devotion to RAMA is legendary and his compositions are the work of a genius. When the King of Thanjavur heard about his genius and invited him with many rich gifts to join the royal court,Thyagaraja was not inclined and rejected the invitation outright. Thyagaraja composed his songs mostly in Telugu and some in Sanskrit. The enchanting "Endaro Mahanubhavulu" composed by him is an unparalleled rhythmic beauty. It is the fifth Pancharatna sung during Thyagaraja Aradhana, the commemorative music festival held every year at Thiruvaiyaru in the months of January to February in Thyagaraja's honour. This is a week-long festival of music where thousands of ardent fans of classical music admirers and hundreds of Carnatic musicians from all over the world converge at his resting place SAMADHI and the five Pancharatna Kritis are sung by one and all in unison. It is an amazing tribute to the genius. I am blessed to have witnessed this unique event many times and seen the all time greats of Musical wizards in person.
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4. K U M B A K O N A M
KUMBAKONAM was known as "temple town" and "Cambridge of South India" during British times. I came here when I was a boy and decades later when my sister lived here. The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. "Kumbakonam" alludes to the mythical pot (kumbha) of the Hindu god Brahma that contained the seed of all living beings on earth, which got displaced by a pralaya (dissolution of the universe) and ultimately came to rest at this spot where the town of Kumbakonam now stands. This event is now commemorated in the Mahamaham festival held every 12 years attracting miilons of people from all over the globe. Apart from about 200 Hindu temples within its municipal limits, there are several thousand temples around the town thereby giving the town the sobriquets "Temple Town" and "City of temples". You begin to feel like searching for the town in the crowd of temples. Sarangapani temple is the largest Vaishnava shrine and Adi Kumbeswarar Temple is the oldest Shaiva shrine in the town, believed to be constructed by the Cholas in the 7th century. The Oppiliappan Kovil, the Swamimalai Murugan temple and the Airavateswarar temple at Darasuram are located around Kumbakonam. The Airavatesvara Temple built by Rajaraja Chola during 12th century is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur and the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple that are admired as the Great Living Chola Temples. Kumbakonam also has a number of mathas. The Sri Sankara Matha of Kanchipuram was moved and remained in Kumbakonam for 220 years until the 1960s. You can spend the whole year visiting different temples daily. We used to take a bus in the morning and return in the night after visiting as many temples as possible in and around the town.
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5. " OUR LADY OF VELANKANNI "
It was our good luck that the break down of our vehicle gave us an opportunity of sight-seeing at Velankanni, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.. Vailankanni church "Our Lady of Vailankanni" built in the late 16th century, now raised to the status of basilica in 1962 by His Holiness Pope John XXII, is the most popular site. The imposing church building with inspiring architecture is painted white in stark contrast to the roof of the church with striking red tiles. Quite a stunnig sight. The Gothic style of architecture is another unique feature of the church. Legend is built around apparitions and miracles and the nine-day festival and celebrations draws nearly 2 million pilgrims each year. The annual carnival is celebrated here with all pomp and gaiety. The shrine is spick and span radiating rays of hope and piety. The main statue " Our Lady holding the Baby Jesus", standing majestically on the globe is imposing. The museum opposite to the Basilica has a very rich variety of exhibits which includes the precious offerings made by the devotees. Biblical incidents are depicted on both sidewalls with beautifully produced fresco.
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6. C H I D A M B A R A M
7. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, PONDICHERRY
We made a flying visit to Puducherry, another famous town on the eastern coast facing Bay of Bengal, part of the Pallava, Cholas, Pandya, Vijayanagar Empires and finally the French until 1954. The historical city has many beautiful colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues preserving much of the colonial ambiance and hence a popular weekend destination. It is a blend of spiritual aura, French colonial heritage, Tamil culture, virgin beaches and the cosmopolitan flair of many nationalities in a small but varied city. The principal attraction in Pondicherry for tourists is the ashram founded by Sri Aurobindo Ghose, a political revolutionary, poet, educator and spiritual visionary. We visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, located on sea coast, one of the most popular and wealthiest ashrams in India. We could not visit Auroville (City of Dawn) an "experimental" township located north-west of Pondicherry. It is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. We visited the Ashram and then the near by beach. We drove to the Manakula Vinayagar Temple, a very famous Hindu temple of Lord Ganesha. In Tamil, 'Manal' means sand and 'Kulam' means pond. Earlier, there was full of sand around the pond. So, the people called the god as Manal Kulathu Vinayagar means God near the pond of sand. Later, it was named as MANAKULA VINAYAGAR.
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8. M A H A P A L I P U R A M
9. K A N C H I P U R A M In Hindu theology, Kanchipuram is one of the seven Indian cities to be visited for our final attainment, Moksha. The city is a holy pilgrimage site for both Saivites and Vaishnavites. It has been a centre of the glorious Dravidian Heritage, for Tamil language and Culture for centuries. Kanchipuram, a Spectacular Temple city known as city of thousand temples reflecting the Glorious History and Traditions of South India. The notable among them being Kailasanathar Temple, Kamakshi Amman Temple, Varadarajar Temple...vishnu, Vaikunta Perumal Temple and the largest temple in the city being Ekambareswarar temple. Many of these temples are the beautiful work of Pallavas and Cholas.
In the Kamakshi Amman Temple, goddess Parvati is depicted in the form of a yantra, Chakra or peetam and all pujas and sacrifices are offered to the Sri Chakra. Adi Sankara is closely associated with this temple and is believed to have established the Kanchi matha 2500 years ago. The Kamakodi peetham and Kammakshi amman temple are closely associated with the life of Sankaracharya and has the distinction of an unbroken line of 70 Acharyas.
I vividly remember being blessed by PERIYAVA Sri Chandrasekara Saraswathy and spending a whole day with hundreds of devotees, many decades ago. I remember PERIYAVA staying in a thacherd hut in the outskirts. I had the fortune of watching the saint taking ritualistic bath in the temple tank. My maternal grandfather was a devotee and was known to PERIYAVA who used to enquire about him.
The first time we visited this unique geographical spot was when my sons were in school. It was a thrilling moment to stand on a spot where the confluence of three great seas can be witnessed in Kanyakumari, in the southern most tip of mainland India. It is no wonder that even Swami Vivekananda and Mahathma Gandhi were fascinated by this unique geographical phenomenon. Kanyakumari is one of the few places in the world where one can witness both the sunset and sunrise at the same beach due to its geography. Even the sands of the beach had multiple colour shades. You get an eerie feeling standing there facing the ocean on all the three sides, except behind your back. The crowd and excitement of the tourists makes the place vibrant. I made a serious mistake of taking my boys into the sea and stood over a rock and within moments the tidal waves submerged the rock. We were stranded on the rock almost knee-deep in rising tides and with great effort and risk we managed to rush back to the land when one of the waves was receding. The local fishermen admonished me for trying this foolhardy at high tide time. We retreated to our hotel and in the night visited the famous Kanyakumari temple, the oldest and the most ancient landmark of Goddess Kumari who prayed to Lord Shiva to be accepted as wife by him, hence the name of this place. I still remember the dazzling diamond nose ring worn by the Goddess.
Next day we visited the Vivekananda Rock, about a hundred meters from the shore using the ferry service between the mainland jetty and the rock. We visited the Swami Vivekananda Mandap and the other belonging to a Holy Foot. It is amazing to recall that Swami swam in turbulant waves to this rock. In another rock nearby stands Thiruvalluvar Statue dedicated to the greatest Tamil poet and saint, carved out of many rocks that were then joined together. The statue is about 133 feet long which corresponds to 133 chapters in the greatest epic–Thirukkural, written by the saint. In the evening we visited the Gandhi Mandapam where one could witness the 'Sangam' (confluence) of the three oceans. Gandhi admired the beauty of the place and after he died, his ashes were brought to this place. It is said that on the 2nd of October, Gandhi's birthday, every year, sun rays fall through a small hole on the roof, exactly on the spot where his ashes are kept. We also visited Vivekanandapuram, the headquarters of the Vivekananda Kendra and thea well stocked library therein. We were so happy that we extended our stay by two more days.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. TIRUCHENDUR MURUGAN TEMPLE
Our next destination was the famous Thiruchendur Murugan Temple, just two hours by bus..This temple has been in existence for millennium, according to the Puranas.Tiruchendur temple is believed to be a commemoration of Lord muruga's victory over Surapadman. The temple is situated so close to the sea that waves from the Gulf of Mannar lap at the eastern perimeter wall of the temple. During the last 1000 years, this magnificient temple has grown from its original modest size to its massive structure of nine storeys high standing over 140 feet. The Gopuram and the sculptures depicting interesting events was constructed roughly 300 years ago. The temple is always crowded with thousands of devotees shouting "Arohara", "Vel..Vel". You come out with your face and forehead smeared with holy ash. Quite an exhilarating experience. We stayed in a hotel adjacent to the temple. We were again fascinated by the sea and enjoyed bathing to our hearts content. We visited Nazhi Kinaru, a rare natural phenomenon where there is a big well and inside this well is a small well. The water in the larger well has sulfurous smell and is dark, but the water in the small well is clear and sweet. According to the legend Lord Muruga's troops were thirsty and Muruga planted his spear or Vel at this spot and caused fresh water to gush out from the big water well. About 500 years ago, the Dutch looted some of the idols in the temple and carried away in their ship. There was a sudden storm and the frightened crew threw the idol into the sea. Legend has it that an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga saw a vision of the idol's position in his dream and rushed to the spot, where a lemon was floating and Garuda was flying- indicating the spot and recovered the statue. It is amazing to know that the Tsunami of 2004 did not enter the temple even though nearby areas were affected. If you see the TV showing the Main Festivals like Skandha Sashti and the surging crowds in the beach adjacent to the temple you will feel like visiting this place.
3. T H I R U V A I Y A R U
As a child I have stayed sometimes in my uncle's house here at Thiruvaiyaru a town near Thanjavur, situated on the banks of the river Kaveri. Thiruvaiyaru means Five Rivers around the city namely Arisilaaru, Vennaaru, Vettaaru, Kudamuttiyaaru and Kaaviriyaaru. It has an old Shiva temple dedicated to Panchanatheeswar and pilgrims flock to this temple throughout the year. I vividly remember the giant elephant kept there. I used to join the elephant when it was taken to the river for its daily bath, quite an exciting sight. Recently when we visited this temple, we took part in the ritualistic processions. Thiruvaiyaru is more renowned for its association with Saint Thyagaraja, who, along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri, comprises the Trinity of Carnatic music. While Tiruvaiyaru is a pilgrm centre, Saint Thyagaraja is a legend. I have visited the one-roomed house near the Shiva temple where Thyagaraja composed some of his greatest works. It is amazing to learn that Thyagaraja was advised to do Rama Nama japa for 96 crore times and he completed it in 21 years. His devotion to RAMA is legendary and his compositions are the work of a genius. When the King of Thanjavur heard about his genius and invited him with many rich gifts to join the royal court,Thyagaraja was not inclined and rejected the invitation outright. Thyagaraja composed his songs mostly in Telugu and some in Sanskrit. The enchanting "Endaro Mahanubhavulu" composed by him is an unparalleled rhythmic beauty. It is the fifth Pancharatna sung during Thyagaraja Aradhana, the commemorative music festival held every year at Thiruvaiyaru in the months of January to February in Thyagaraja's honour. This is a week-long festival of music where thousands of ardent fans of classical music admirers and hundreds of Carnatic musicians from all over the world converge at his resting place SAMADHI and the five Pancharatna Kritis are sung by one and all in unison. It is an amazing tribute to the genius. I am blessed to have witnessed this unique event many times and seen the all time greats of Musical wizards in person.4. K U M B A K O N A M
KUMBAKONAM was known as "temple town" and "Cambridge of South India" during British times. I came here when I was a boy and decades later when my sister lived here. The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. "Kumbakonam" alludes to the mythical pot (kumbha) of the Hindu god Brahma that contained the seed of all living beings on earth, which got displaced by a pralaya (dissolution of the universe) and ultimately came to rest at this spot where the town of Kumbakonam now stands. This event is now commemorated in the Mahamaham festival held every 12 years attracting miilons of people from all over the globe. Apart from about 200 Hindu temples within its municipal limits, there are several thousand temples around the town thereby giving the town the sobriquets "Temple Town" and "City of temples". You begin to feel like searching for the town in the crowd of temples. Sarangapani temple is the largest Vaishnava shrine and Adi Kumbeswarar Temple is the oldest Shaiva shrine in the town, believed to be constructed by the Cholas in the 7th century. The Oppiliappan Kovil, the Swamimalai Murugan temple and the Airavateswarar temple at Darasuram are located around Kumbakonam. The Airavatesvara Temple built by Rajaraja Chola during 12th century is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur and the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple that are admired as the Great Living Chola Temples. Kumbakonam also has a number of mathas. The Sri Sankara Matha of Kanchipuram was moved and remained in Kumbakonam for 220 years until the 1960s. You can spend the whole year visiting different temples daily. We used to take a bus in the morning and return in the night after visiting as many temples as possible in and around the town.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. " OUR LADY OF VELANKANNI "
It was our good luck that the break down of our vehicle gave us an opportunity of sight-seeing at Velankanni, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.. Vailankanni church "Our Lady of Vailankanni" built in the late 16th century, now raised to the status of basilica in 1962 by His Holiness Pope John XXII, is the most popular site. The imposing church building with inspiring architecture is painted white in stark contrast to the roof of the church with striking red tiles. Quite a stunnig sight. The Gothic style of architecture is another unique feature of the church. Legend is built around apparitions and miracles and the nine-day festival and celebrations draws nearly 2 million pilgrims each year. The annual carnival is celebrated here with all pomp and gaiety. The shrine is spick and span radiating rays of hope and piety. The main statue " Our Lady holding the Baby Jesus", standing majestically on the globe is imposing. The museum opposite to the Basilica has a very rich variety of exhibits which includes the precious offerings made by the devotees. Biblical incidents are depicted on both sidewalls with beautifully produced fresco. 6. C H I D A M B A R A M
Chidambaram, just about 10 km from the Bay of Bengal, is one of the great temple complexes of South India, in terms of its antiquity, richness in terms of worship and festival traditions, in architectural & sculptural splendour, in its association with music and dance. The other important features of the Temple comprises of Kanaka Sabha (Golden Hall) Nritta Sabha (Hall of Dance) Raja Sabha (Royal Hall), also called 1000 Pillar Hall. The four majestic towers or gopurams have representations of deities and mythological scenes. The roof of the sanctum sanctrorum is covered with gold plates. Chidambaram is a center second to none in representing the rich cultural heritage of India. The dance of bliss, or the Ananda Tandavam of Shiva is said to symbolize the five divine acts of creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment and bestowment of grace.
The Ananda Tandava posture of Lord Shiva is one of the famous iconic posture recognized around the world by many. Shiva represents apocalypse and creation. This celestial dancing posture of Shiva is shown as the source of all movement within the cosmos. The symbolism of Nataraja is religion, art and science merged as one. In God's endless dance of creation, preservation, destruction, and paired graces is hidden a deep understanding of our universe. The gestures of the dance represent Shiva's five activities, creation, protection, destruction, embodiment, and release. Chidambaram is one of the five holiest Shiva temples, each representing one of the five elements=Pancha Bhoota Stalam. The presiding deity of the Chidambaram temple is represented by space, one of the five elements of the universe and is known as Akasa Lingam. The other four temples in this category are Arunachaleswara at Thiruvannamalai (fire), Jambukeswara at Thiruvanaikaval-Trichy (water), Nathar at Kalahasti (wind) and Ekambareswara at Kanchipuram, (earth) . The temple is referred to in all devotional literature as Bhooloka K ailasam, or Kailasam. It was amusing but intriguing, to glare at an empty space shown as " Chidambara Rahashyam".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, PONDICHERRY
We made a flying visit to Puducherry, another famous town on the eastern coast facing Bay of Bengal, part of the Pallava, Cholas, Pandya, Vijayanagar Empires and finally the French until 1954. The historical city has many beautiful colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues preserving much of the colonial ambiance and hence a popular weekend destination. It is a blend of spiritual aura, French colonial heritage, Tamil culture, virgin beaches and the cosmopolitan flair of many nationalities in a small but varied city. The principal attraction in Pondicherry for tourists is the ashram founded by Sri Aurobindo Ghose, a political revolutionary, poet, educator and spiritual visionary. We visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, located on sea coast, one of the most popular and wealthiest ashrams in India. We could not visit Auroville (City of Dawn) an "experimental" township located north-west of Pondicherry. It is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. We visited the Ashram and then the near by beach. We drove to the Manakula Vinayagar Temple, a very famous Hindu temple of Lord Ganesha. In Tamil, 'Manal' means sand and 'Kulam' means pond. Earlier, there was full of sand around the pond. So, the people called the god as Manal Kulathu Vinayagar means God near the pond of sand. Later, it was named as MANAKULA VINAYAGAR.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. M A H A P A L I P U R A M
We visited this seashore town of architectural beauty along the Bay of Bengal, in the company of my brother and relatives. The monuments of Mamallapuram, scattered around mound of boulders, are excellent specimens of Dravidian temple architecture and Pallava art and rightly recognised as WORLD HERITAGE group of Monuments. It is a treasure-house and feast for the eyes of art lovers to pass through the rock-cut rathas, sculptured scenes on open rocks like Arjuna's penance, the caves of Govardhanadhari and Mahishasuramardini, the Jala-Sayana Perumal temple (the sleeping Mahavishnu) etc., You are prone to recall the name of King Narasimhavarman from History books at this world famous spot. There are nine monolithic temples including the Five rathas of Pandavas of Mahabaratha carved out a single rock. You admire their plan, elevation and expertise in creating these exquisite monuments. The lone giant ball of a rock is a great attraction. Just around the hustle bustle of Mamallapuram, the prestine beach invites you for a stroll. We spent a lot of time playing around in the waters until my uncle lost his slippers. Somebody said, the ocean will reject and return it in some other spot
.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9. K A N C H I P U R A M In Hindu theology, Kanchipuram is one of the seven Indian cities to be visited for our final attainment, Moksha. The city is a holy pilgrimage site for both Saivites and Vaishnavites. It has been a centre of the glorious Dravidian Heritage, for Tamil language and Culture for centuries. Kanchipuram, a Spectacular Temple city known as city of thousand temples reflecting the Glorious History and Traditions of South India. The notable among them being Kailasanathar Temple, Kamakshi Amman Temple, Varadarajar Temple...vishnu, Vaikunta Perumal Temple and the largest temple in the city being Ekambareswarar temple. Many of these temples are the beautiful work of Pallavas and Cholas.
In the Kamakshi Amman Temple, goddess Parvati is depicted in the form of a yantra, Chakra or peetam and all pujas and sacrifices are offered to the Sri Chakra. Adi Sankara is closely associated with this temple and is believed to have established the Kanchi matha 2500 years ago. The Kamakodi peetham and Kammakshi amman temple are closely associated with the life of Sankaracharya and has the distinction of an unbroken line of 70 Acharyas. I vividly remember being blessed by PERIYAVA Sri Chandrasekara Saraswathy and spending a whole day with hundreds of devotees, many decades ago. I remember PERIYAVA staying in a thacherd hut in the outskirts. I had the fortune of watching the saint taking ritualistic bath in the temple tank. My maternal grandfather was a devotee and was known to PERIYAVA who used to enquire about him.
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