Thiruvanaikaval temple (Tamil Nadu)

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Thiruvanaikoil is a beautiful small urban village at Tiruchirappalli district (‘Trichy’, ‘Thiruchirapalli’, ‘Tiruchinopoly’, ‘Tiruchi’) in Tamil Nadu of Southern India. Thiruvanaikoil is also familiarly known as Tiruvanaikoil, Tiruvanaikaval, Thiruvanaikaval, Thiruvanaika, Thiruanaikaa. Thiruvanaikoil is around 3 Kms away from the heart of Trichy city and adjacent to Srirangam another small historic town and one of the holy places in India. Thiruvanaikoil and Srirangam are in the banks of river Cauvery. Literally these two places form an island, surrounded by river Cauvery and river Coleroon.

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This ancient temple dedicated to Shiva (Jambukeswara) and Parvati (Akhilandeswari) is one of the foremost Saivite shrines in Tamilnadu. This large temple celebrates Shiva as Jambukeswara, an embodiment of the element water and is often referred to as Appustalam and is hence one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams the other four being Tiruvannamalai (fire), Chidambaram (Space), Kanchipuram (Earth) and Kalahasti (Air) respectively. The Sri Jambukeshwara Temple is dedicated to Lord Siva and has five concentric walls and seven gopurams. It is built around a Siva lingam partly submerged in water that comes from a spring in the sanctum sanctorum. Non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple. The complex was built in the same time when Sri Ranganathaswamy temple was also built.

The presiding deity is Lord Siva as Kalahasteeswarar. The Siva Linga here is one of the five supreme Lingas representing the five elements (Panchabutha Lingams): water (appu), fire (tejas), air (vayu), ether (akash) and earth (prithivi). The Linga form in Kalahasti is believed to represent vayu. Even today the flame placed in Garbhagraha inside the temple flickers indicating the presence of the wind while there is no entry of wind to disturb the flame. The air is just sufficient to breathe in. This according to a belief is the existence of Shiva in the temple.

According to the legend there was once a forest of jambu trees in the place of modern Tiruvanaikka. Nearby was a tank called Chandratheertha which was filled by water from the river Cauvery. Lord shiva appeared as a Lingam under one of the trees. The lingam came to be called the Jambulingam. Due to a curse, two of the shiva ganas Pushpadanta and Malyava, were born in the forest as a white elephant and as a spider. The elephant worshipped the Lingam with flowers and with water brought in its trunk. The spider too worshipped the Lingam, spinning out a web over the Lingam to prevent leaves of the tree from falling on it. The spider’s web appeared to be unclean for the elephant and it destroyed the web.

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This lead to big clash between the two and ultimately resulted in their death. Lord shiva granted Mokshaa (salvation) to both. The spider was born in a royal Chola family as the great king Ko Chenkannan who built about 70 temples (Maadakovils) including the temple of Jambukeswarar at Tiruvanaika. Because the king remembered about his earlier birth, he built the temples in a such way that no elephant can enter the sanctum sancotrum and come near the Sivalingam.

The temple at Tiruvanaikaval is a big one covering an area of about 18 acres with high walls and gopurams on all the 4 sides. The temple has 5 prakarams. The main sanctum sancotrum (the 5th prakaram) can be reached by entering a series of Gopurams (Towers). The shrine for female deity Akilandeswari is situated in the 4th prakaram.

Theerthams: There are nine Theerthams (Holy Water Points) near this temple.

Sreemath Theertham
Rama Theertham
Chandra Theertham
Agni Theertham
Indira Theertham
Akasthiya Theertham
Jambu Theertham
Surya Theertham
Brahmma Theertham

Kanchipuram Temples ( Tamil Nadu )

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Kanchipuram, one of the holiest cities of India is famous for its acient temples. The grand architecture of these ancient temples clearly indicates towards the south Indian style of temple architecture (Dravidian style). The temples of Kanchipuram were built by different dynasties, each enriching and refining the architecture further. The Pallava kings were great lovers of art, architecture and learning. Therefore, it was their reign, under which the first south Indian ancient stone temples were built at Mahabalipuram. The evolution of the south Indian style is clearly visible in the temples at Mahabalipuram. Later, the Cholas, Chalukyas and Vijaynagar rulers ruled Kanchi. They also built many temples and thus taking forward the building activities started by the Pallava dynasty. The later kings built new temples, and renovated the old ones.

The ancient temples in Kanchipuram belong to the south Indian style of temple architecture. The ancient city of Kanchipuram greets visitors with a cluster of temple shikharas (prominent roofs that surmount the sanctum sanctorum of the temples) and gopurams (tall). There are many elaborately carved temple gateways also, belonging to the typical south Indian style of building temples.

Major Temples of Kanchipuram Considered one of the seven sacred cities of India, Kanchipuram has only 200 temples remaining out of the thousand ancient temples. There are 650 stone inscriptions in Kanchipuram belonging to different dynasties and different periods. The Kanchipuram temples represents the Pallava art, also reflect the creative maturity of Chola, Vijayanagara and Chalukyan kings, who decorated these temples with great dexterity.

Kailashnatha Temple :

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The oldest temple at Kanchipuram is the Kailashnatha temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a perfect example of the early Dravidian style of temple architecture and was built by the Pallava king Rayasimha. It can also be described as descendent of the rock temples at Mahabalipuram, which were also built by the Pallava rulers. This ancient temple was constructed in the late seventh century AD and Rayasimha’s son added the front portion later. There are 8th century remains of murals within the temple, indicating the magnificence of the original temple. There are a number of small shrines within this temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati (Lord Shiva’s consort) and their sons Ganesh and Murugan.

Sri Ekambaranathar Ancient Temple :

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The Sri Ekambaranathar temple is also dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the largest temples in the city of Kanchipuram. It is spread over an area of 12 hectares. This temple stands here right from the time of the Pallavas and the Chola rulers, who extended it later. Krishnadevaraya, the great ruler of the Vijaynagar Empire, built its 59 meter high Gopuram or gateway and massive outer walls in the early 16th century. One of the unique features of this temple is its thousand-pillared mandapam (hall).

Kamakshi Amman Temple :

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There is a ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Parvati in Kanchipuram. The majestic temple is known as the Kamakshi Amman Temple. Goddess Parvati is worshipped here in the form of Kamakshi or the goddess of Love. The sanctum sanctorum of this temple can be reached by passing through a large mandapam (hall) with decorated pillars.

Devarajaswami Temple :

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The mighty Devarajaswami temple was built by the rulers of the Vijaynagar kingdom. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one of the principle Hindu Gods. The temple has an intricately sculpted pillared hall. It also has a similar marriage hall, marking the celestial wedding of Lord Vishnu with Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. A huge chain carved out from a single piece of stone is the highlight of the temple. There is also a submerged statue of Lord Vishnu in a large tank of water within the temple premises. The water of this tank is drained out every 40 years, so that the statue may be viewed.

Vaikuntha Perumal Temple :

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The Vaikuntha Perumal temple at Kanchoipuram is also an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was built shortly after the construction of the Kailashnatha temple. There are covered passages inside the outer walls of this temple, which are supported by lion pillars. Representing the first phase, of the architectural evolution the grand thousand pillared mandaps were built within numerous south Indian temples. There are many sculptures carved out of stones within the temple premises telling us about the rich culture and heritage of the city.

Chidambaram – Ambalavaanar Temple ( Tamil Nadu)

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Chidambaram is one of the foremost Saivite shrines;  the very name Kovil refers to Chidambaram, where Natarajar is enshrined in the ChitSabha or the Hall of Consciousness, in the Ananda Tandavam (Dance of Bliss) pose.

Chidambaram is always referred to as the first of the Tevara Paadal Petra Stalangal and is also regarded as the first of the Tevara Stalangal located on the Northern banks of the river Kaveri in the Chola region of Tamilnadu. Chidambaram is one of the 5 dance Halls of Shiva (Kanakasabhai). The five dance halls are Chidambaram, Madurai, Tiruvalankadu, Tirunelveli and Kutralam.

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This temple is home to Chidambara Rahasyam, concept of nothingness (aroopam). Shiva is said to have revealed a vision of his cosmic dance to Patanjali, Vyagrapadar  and to all Devas here.  In terms of its antiquity, richness in terms of worship & festival traditions, in architectural & sculptural splendour, in its association with music & dance, Chidambaram is a center second to none in truly representing the rich Indian cultural heritage.

History: The Tevaram hymns were rediscovered here after a long hiatus, under the initiative of the monarch Raja Raja Cholan.  The Chidambaram temple predates the Tevaram hymns. The Imperial Cholas considered Nataraja to be their tutelary deitiy and heaped patronage on this temple, and their tradition was continued by the Pandyas and the Vijayanagar Kings.

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The Temple: Towering gopurams with thousands of figurines, mandapams with sculptured pillars, lend special interest to this vast temple complex. Govindaraja Perumal Temple is a Vaishnava Divya Desam within this complex There are several other features of interest in Chidambaram. Please follow this link  for a special Templenet feature  (from 1998) on Chidambaram..

Festivals: A whole range of worship services are offered to Natarajar and to Tirumoolattaanar here on a daily basis. Margazhi Tiruvadirai and Ani Tirumanjanam provide a climactic finish to the 2 annual festivals celebrated with great pomp here.