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Chayavaneswara
Temple
2 miles from Tiruvengadu, the magnificent Chayavaneswara
temple is situated at Chayavanam in the Chaikadu district of
Tamil Nadu. Just a mile away from Kaveripatnam, the place
where the River Cauvery meets the sea, it is an important
pilgrimage centre for the Hindus. Held in much reverence and
sanctity, the pilgrims visit this temple after ablution at the
confluence to offer their homafe to the deity, Lord
Chayavaneswara, and seek his blessings. According to Hindu
customs, having a holy dip at the confluence of a river with
the sea is religiously meritorious and absolves one of all the
sins and makes one pure to meet the Supreme Lord. However,
there is an absurd but interesting legend attached to the
temple to state its significance. It is said that the temple
is closely connected with Iyarpagai Nayanar, one of the
sixty-three Nayanmars (Saivite saints) of the South.
Krishnapuram Temple
6 miles from Tirunelveli, Krishnapuram temple displays a
sculptural splendor like none other. More than 300 years old,
the figures in Arulnigu Venkatachalapati temple look as alive
and young as ever. It is interesting to see that besides the
usual statues of deities, the sculptures also depict scenes
from the court life. Another unique feature of the temple is
the musical pillars that emanate interesting sounds, when
tapped. It encloses the temple of Lord Venkatachalapati
installed here with amazing statues of Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.
The Mandam to the north of the temple is known as Veerappa
Naick Mandapam with two beautifully carved elephants adorning
its entrance. The six pillars at the Mandapam exhibit Puranic
scenes with dexterity and look life-like. The stone for
carving out the idols produce melodious musical sounds when
struck at different places.
Kumbeswara Temple
The largest and the oldest Shiva temple at Kumbakonam is
dedicated to Lord Kumbeswara and Goddess Sri Mangalambigai.
The temple is an architectural and sculptural gem with a
128-ft high Gopuram carved intricately. It houses a shrine of
Adi Vinayaka (Lord Ganesha) and Navarathri Mandapam that
enshrines a single block of stone on which all the 27 stars
and 12 Rashis (zodiacs) have been carved out. The temple also
enshrines a rare specimen of the image of Lord Subrahmanya
with six heads and six hands with different kinds of weapons.
The temple also has an extensive collection of silver 'vahanas'
(chariots) that are used carry the deities around at festival
times. It was originally built by a Chola ruler only to be
renovated later by the Nayak King. However, some of the old
antique idols are still enshrined here such as those of 'Sri
Ambal', 'Sri Durgaiamman' and 'Sri Kirathamoorti'.
Meenakshi Temple
Madurai, the oldest and second largest city of Tamil Nadu,
is built around the Sri Meenakshi Sundareswara temple in a
lotus-shape. The interesting legend attached to Madurai goes
like this. Built in magnificent Dravidian architectural style,
the Meenakshi temple has a religious icon of South India and
is known for its fantastic and splendid sculptures. Once Indra
killed a demon performing penance. However, he could not get
rid of his guilt and wandered from place to place with a heavy
heart. However, he felt a sudden relief surging through him
while passing through a forest of Kadamba trees in Pandya
land. On enquiry, he found out about the Shivalinga under a
Kadamba tree beside a lake in the forest. He worshipped it in
reverence and built a small temple around it.
Murugan Temple
One of the 33 major temples of Tamil Nadu, the ancient
temple of Lord Murugan at Tirupporur is 45 km from Chennai. It
dates back to the times of Pallavas and is known by different
names like Poriyur or Yuddhapuri or Samarapuri. There are many
legends related to Tirupporur and one of them relates to Lord
Shiva relieving Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi from the
curse of Kanva rishi. This Lord Shiva and his son Murugan are
worshipped here. According to the Sthalapurana, it was here
that Lord Murugan with his consorts Valli and Devayanai
granted protection to the demi-gods and explained the true
meaning of Pranava or the real truth to them and Agastya Muni.
Thus, the hill behind the temple is known as 'Pranava Malai',
where Lord Vishnu is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva.
Inscriptions dating back to as early as the 10th century and
12th century can be seen in the temple here. |
