Hi The temple trip was very good. We were able to cover the 'Thirumuraithalangal ' as well as ' Divya Desams ' in the Trichy /Cbe area. the route taken was Cbe- Palladam-Kangeyam- Kodumudi-Karur- Kulithalai- Trichy. While at Trichy we stayed at Sri Veeraraghava Ramanuja Kootam run by Tridhandi Jeer's mutt. Good clean rooms, reasonably priced. Very close to the Rajagopuram. The taste of Coffee at Murali's (he does only coffee ) is still lingering :) The temple visits only made me feel how much we shd appreciate the nayanmaars for visiting each of them at a atime when transportation was almost nil & also the kings & others who built & maintained the temples. The itenary I've given below. For a detailed account of each temple visit http://www.sankriti.blogspot.com/ where the individual temples are posted -one a day.
Just returned from a tour of some Shiva temples in the Kumbakonam Tanjore belt. It too 4 days but was worth every minute. Went to some really remote one. Here's the list:
- *thingalur*-- moon temple - *swami malai* -- murugan temple - *thiruvazhansuzhi *-- vinayagar temple - *patteeswaram* -- "durgai" temple - *tharasuram* -- siva temple--UNESCO's done a really classy job with this one. - *thiruvarur*-- siva temple--incredible spiritual experience inspite of not being a spiritual person myself. Only siva temple with the Lord in human form, why? the explanation given by the priest was vague. - *RRC samadhi,Udayalur* - *thiruvarur* -- durgai temple for astham and chitrai star - *alangudi-*- guru temple - *suriyanar* --sun temple - *thirunageswaram*-- ragu temple - *thirupuvanam* -- sarabeswarar temple-nice temple.the inner sanctum's pillars were more like the Pallava,Mughal type. Pandya,Chola pillars are of rectangular cross section but these were more artistic. hope some of our group can throw more light into this. - *uppiliappan* -- vishu temple - *kanjanur*-- sukkiran temple - *ayyavadi* -- prathyankara devi temple--This goddess is said to have been worshipped by the Cholas before going to war. Also Agasthiyar prayed here. Any more details? - *Gangai konda cholapuram*-- siva temple - *thirunallar*-- sani temple - *keeghaperumpallam *-- budan temple - *thirukadaiyur temple*-- abirami temple - *thirumayanam temple*-- siva temple--This was an incredible experience. A must for people visiting that side. A single person is maintaining this temple. This place was visited by our group sometime back and i made it a point to visit this one after reading about it here. Thanks to this group. - *vaitheeswaran* -- chevvai & sivan temple - *seerkhazhi *-- sattanathar & siva temple - *chidambaram* -- siva temple--Surely the most beautiful temple of the lot. The spadika linga pooja was wonderful. The pillar corners and sanctum corners are so precise that it is incredible to believe that they did thismanually with a chisel and hammer. We are struggling for simpler designs with modern machinery. Incredible! - *nachiar temple*-- vishnu and kal karudan temple - *tanjore* -- siva temple
> - *thirupuvanam* -- actually thirubhuvanam poovanam is near your madurai
> - *keeghaperumpallam *-- budan temple
budhan is at thiruvengadu. kila perumpallam has kethu shrine romba meymaranthu kumbittaayo?
> - *thirukadaiyur temple*-- abirami temple > - *thirumayanam temple*-- siva temple--This was an incredible > experience. A must for people visiting that side. A single person is > maintaining this temple. This place was visited by our group sometime back > and i made it a point to visit this one after reading about it here. Thanks > to this group.
the group did not make a visit . though individual members did. the temple looks exactly like thirukadaiyud di 30 years back. hope you have taken photos to compare on what development and renovation does to a temple. i dont think one kalvettu was lost when thirukadaiyur was renovated. kudavoil says history is lost when renovation is done. i wish to state that temples are meant for worship. safe and secure for devotees. they being historical archives is a secondary issue.
> - *chidambaram* -- siva temple--Surely the most beautiful temple of > the lot. The spadika linga pooja was wonderful. '' at 10 30 in the morning the maragatha natraja is also given an abishekam at that spot.
> If temples are meant for worship, four walls and a roof is enough. Why > multi-storeys and beautiful sculptures? Can we take out upper floor > stones for building forts and dams? Single floor will be comparatively > safer for devotees than multiple floors. Isn't it? ;-)
Hi exactly there comes the ego of the builder. 20 feet lingams and 216 feet vimanams, and naming the temple after himself. know who I am talking about. venketesh
Why four walls and a roof; no need for any building. One can worship the inner God. Why the parliament building; better fight outside; more viewers. Why dams; dams burst or opening all the sluices only drowns the downlands. Why forts; the inmates (prison/fort) suffer; can't get out without getting killed.
> > After a long professional career, I have realised that it is preferable > to have an 'AND' solution instead of an 'OR' solution. e.g. cost or > quality; wages or productivity; sethu or canal. It is preferable to have > both - archiving and renovation. When you put the 'AND' condition as a > dominant one, problem solving enters a different domain. > > Sampath
Hi Sampath
that would be true, very much true if you look at temples as place of worship and a place of education a place of worship and a place of safety even today in so many paadal petra sthalams the temple is used for paddy threshing.
but after seeing so many temples i realised one thing. there is not much history engraved in them.
the entire kalvettus of the big temple has been deciphered and wouldnt ontribute 10 pages to a book on RRc. ask SPS. its only about temple admin and finances and donations. the same is true for most temples.
i think some photos of the dilapitated kailasanathar kovil in uthiramerur to which a group trip was organised are in the folder. we went with a good heart that somehow tro us a renovation could be arranged . but nothing happened. the locals even bought us a free lunch hoping some renovation would come thro. the 1000 year old temple will become a pile of rubble in a few years. sometime soon i will post the comparitive pictures of thirukadaiyur and thirukadaiyur mayanam. you could call them twin temples. one has been fully renovated and the other not touched. even the chols thought of it. the first major round of renovation came under sembian madevi who converted burnt brick temples to stone temples. venketesh >
RRC is just named it after him, left few inscriptions and no sculptures of him(or only one?). But if you look at Ramses II of Egypt (Ramses the great), he build a massive temple Abu Simbel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel) for Sun God where he even shown equal to God (Sitting in Garbhagriha with the Gods) and you can see only his statues (4 60 foot in the front and around 8 inside hall on both sides) and his heroic activities on the wall. Same story at Temple of Karnak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak)
I can quote from Balakumaran where as soon as you look and compare the temple with yourself, you will feel that you are nothing, you are not even dust. I feel the same whenever I look at the vimana. And another quote where "All kings palaces were destroyed and lost only the temples remain" which again tells that we are just dust compare to supreme and make us feel humble.
Hi great we should be humbled before god and his home. i happened to travel yesterday to thirunindravur. that was a place pusalar - no better than a beggar built a temple for shiva. he didnt build it out of stone and mortar. how could he? a man struggling to be fed. but so great was his devotion that he built the temple for the lord in his heart. today a temple stands where he imagined the temple and aptly called hiruthayaalishwarar. i wasnt keen to go to the temple. how could a monument of stone ever replace that supreme devotion. it was a devotion that was answered by god. who told the pallava monarch in his dream that the pauper's imaginary temple was better and preferred by him than the stone temple the monarch was raising.
yes sir i was humbled when i crossed thiruninravur yesterday
Hi SPS but the thiruvisaipa of tanjore calls the temple rajarajeshwaram 10 times. and we discussed before too. an ancient temple in kerala is called rajarajeshwarn temple. venketesh
> > It is Raja RajEEswaramudayar Paramaswamin .. > > Rajarajeeswaran is the presiding deity in Thiruveezhimizhalai.. > > HERE Vishnu performed Siva puja with 999 Lotus flowers and when could > not get the 1000th one, he was to use his OWN EYE and the Siva who > came out to prevent was named as RAJARAJEESWARAN !! > > Again to show the Siva - Vishnu harmony.. > > Kalki was fully aware of these details.. hence brought out > Azhwarkadiyan - Vandhiathevan dialogues !!! > > Only a Thiruvayil (Main Entrance ) is named after RRC as RAJARAJAN > THIRUVAYIL in the Big Temple ! > > > anbudan / > > sps > ============================= > > > left few inscriptions and no > > sculptures of him(or only one?). But if you look at Ramses II of > Egypt > > (Ramses the great), he build a massive temple Abu Simbel > > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel) for Sun God where he even > > shown equal to God (Sitting in Garbhagriha with the Gods) and you > can > > see only his statues (4 60 foot in the front and around 8 inside > hall > > on both sides) and his heroic activities on the wall. Same story > at > > Temple of Karnak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak) > > > > I can quote from Balakumaran where as soon as you look and compare > the > > temple with yourself, you will feel that you are nothing, you are > not > > even dust. I feel the same whenever I look at the vimana. And > another > > quote where "All kings palaces were destroyed and lost only the > > temples remain" which again tells that we are just dust compare to > > supreme and make us feel humble. > > > > No offense meant. > >
///// Hi exactly there comes the ego of the builder. 20 feet lingams and 216 feet vimanams, and naming the temple after himself. know who I am talking about. venketesh //////
During the tour we visited Tiruvarur. Even though my father is a regular visitor this was my first time. Can you please tell me why the Lord is worshipped in human form here unlike other places where he's in Lingam form?
Thirukandiyur, one theory that the golden palace built by aditya was here and not kanchi???
doesnt kandiyur have both a thevaram shrine and a divya prabandha shrine?
Thirumazhapadi,
gosh . you went to my favourite temple. did you see the dakshinamurthy on a nandi in the rear. excellent somaskandar too. and what a beautiful goddess- alagammai
always reminded of abirami andaadhi 'alakukku oruvarum ovvaatha valli....' when i see her.
Sikkal, near sikkal a similar temple called kiivalur. built by a chola king. looks like a miniature of the big temple.
Thiruchengaatangudi, place of parajothi of ss fame
Hi shiva does have human forms in other places too. nataraja, thoniappar- sirkali , kala samhara murthy in thirukadaiyur, agora murthy in thiruvengadu. other than that a human form appears in temples where he promised agastiyar a vison of his marriage. venketesh
> One Scholar a month is a good suggestion. > > We can take up certain published materials earlier and put them for > ready reference of our members also - Scholar-wise . > > Airavatham Mahadevan, Dr. Nagaswamy, Dr. Kalaikkovan, Dr. Rajavelu, > Dr. Sathiamurthy, Nadana Kasinathan, Dr. Kudavoil, Dr. TS Sridhar > and the like. > >