Sri Kalyana Pasupatheeswarar Temple Karur

Reputation:

Of the seven Shiva Shrines of the Kongu region, Karur Pasupatheeswarar is considered first and foremost. Emperor Musukunda, belonging to the Skanda Mahapurana period is believed to have undertaken renovation of the temple. According to the history of the place, Emperor Musukunda was extended an invitation to attend the wedding of Lord Muruga that took place in Tiruparankundram near Madurai.

Karur has the reputation that Siddha Karuvurar lived here. He has praised the Lord in his Thiruvisaippa hymns. As Karuvurar dissolved himself with the Lord, the Linga is found in a slanting position. Saint Thirugnanasambandar had also praised the Lord in his Thevaram. So Arunagiriyar His favourite deity Muruga in the temple.Karur also was the place of residence of Eripathanayanar, Pugazh Chola Nayanar . On 14, 15 and 16th of Panguni Tamil month (March-April) Sun rays fall on the shrine.

History:

Lord Brahmma became very proud as He is the creator of the world. With a view to teach him a lesson, Lord Shiva brought the divine cow Kamadenu. The divine cow also came to earth and performed penance here which was then a forest of Vanji trees. Kamadenu heard a sound from the sky directing it to worship an Adhi Linga hidden in an ant hill (puttru). The cow followed the order meticulously by pouring the milk on the ant hill but one day its feet touched the Lord. The cow apologized to the Lord for its careless behaviour causing bleeding on the Shivalinga. The Lord appeared before the cow and said that he would be worshipped as Pasupatheeaswara and the Kamadenu would be in charge of creation of the world. Kamadenu undertook the assignment and performed the job with all humily. At a later stage, Lord Pasupatheeswara restored the job to Brahmma himself and took Kamadenu to his Abode.

Speciality:

The Shivalinga – Anilayappar – is a swayambu that exists of its own. Lord Brahmma worshipped Anilayappar as one in the Ant hill (Puttru in Tamil). Kamadenu (divine cow) worshippped the Lord here. During the worship, the feet of Kamadenu touched the Lord’s head, the symbol of which is still on the Linga.

Prayer:
The devotee surrendering at the feet of Lord Anilayappar is blessed with a complete peace of mind. Those awaiting a marriage and longing for a progeny, in need of employment opportunity, development in business, promotion in job visit the temple and worship Anilayappar. It is the staunch belief of the devotees that the Lord would never fail his Bhaktas.

Prayer commitments:

Abishek is offered in oil, milk, curd tender coconut to the Lord and the Goddess. People also offer Mangalsutra and jewels to the Goddess. Dhoti and Sari are offered. Feeding the visitors ( Annadhanam) is also followed by the rich.

General Information:

Karur is 100 kms far from Salem, 76 from Trichy, 113 from Coimbatore and 144 from Madurai. The temple administration authorities can be contacted on phone No. 04324 – 262010.

Surutapalli Temple

About Suratapalli Temple

ABOUT 56 KM from Chennai, on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border, is a small village called Surutapalli, which houses the only "Sayana Sivan" (sleeping Siva) called Pallikondeswarar. The temple has an interesting Sthala Puranam. Sage Valmiki prayed to Lord Rama and the Lord gave him darshan. After defeating Ravana, and before reaching Ayodhya, Rama stayed at this place. So the two together prayed to Lord Siva. The Lingam, which Valmiki prayed to, is called Valmikeshwarar and the one Rama prayed to is Ramalingeshwarar. At present these two Lingams face each other. Harihara Bhugga, a king of the Vijayanagar dynasty, built this temple. There are 276 Saiva Sthalams, which have received the Thirumurais of Appar, Sundarar, Manikkavachagar and Thirugnanasambhandar. Their time was before the 10th century. Since this temple was built much later, it did not receive the Thirumurai.
Once Indra lost his kingdom and found that only if he consumed the Divine Nectar he could rule. So there was a tug of war between the devas and asuras to obtain this nectar. As they were churning the ocean, before the nectar came the poison. So there was complete pandemonium. Lord Siva then swallowed the poison and came to be called Nilakandan. A stunned Parvathi quickly stopped the poison at the throat. Siva then became drowsy and selected Surutapalli, where he is seen sleeping on the lap of Parvathi.
Narada, meanwhile, passed on the message and down came the Devas, Brahma, Vishnu and the Saptarishis, to have darshan. They were promptly stopped by Nandi who asked them all to come after some time, as Shiva was resting. All of them waited. Siva, when he woke up, was filled with extreme happiness and danced ("Ananda Thandavam"). This day, when the Devas, Brahma, Vishnu, Narada and Saptarishis had Siva darshan was a Krishnapaksha Trayodasi (Stiravaram, Saturday). This is the Mahapradosham day. Pradhosham, generally, is a significant occasion observed with great piety at all Siva temples. This temple was one of the favourites of the Paramacharya, who stayed here for 10 days, and in whose memory a Dhyana Manadapam is to be constructed. Pallikondeswarar's Sannidhi is seen in Kasi (Hanuman Ghat) and the Sage of Kanchi wished that devotees visiting Kasi would follow Pallikondeswarar to Surutapalli.
Sri Jayendra Saraswati and Vijayendra Saraswati performed the Kumbabhishekam of the temple on June 23, 2002. Along with it started the temple renovation. All the deities here are crowded together at one place. So plans are on to create separate shrines for Ganesha, Muruga, Saptamata, Navagraha, etc., The three-tier Rajagopuram will be made a five-tier one.
Goddess Maragadambikai, with Sanganidhi and Padmanidhi as dwarapalakas, greets one at the entrance. The Ambal shrine is at a slightly more elevated level than the Pallikondeswarar Sannidhi to highlight that it was She who saved the Lord. Denoting prosperity are Kamadhenu and Kalpakavriksha in front of the goddess. Outside are her sons, Saligrama Ganapathi and Subramanya. On the left wall of the Ambal shrine is Raja Rajeswari in a standing posture after destroying Bhandasura. Behind is Mahalakshmi and on the right wall is Saraswathi. There are number of other deities and rishis — all beautiful sculptures.
The Ambal shrine is surrounded by Appar, Sundarar and Sambhandar together, apart from Sage Valmiki, Ekapada Trimurthi (one foot and three forms) of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva with their Divine vehicles, the Swan, Garuda and Nandi, and Purna Pushkala Sametha Sastha. Intricate carving is a highlight of all the deities and mounts.
On the left wall of the Valmikeshwarar shrine is Dakshinamurthy, in a form entirely different from the usual image. Here he is Dampathi (Gowri) Sametha Dakshinamurthy. Incidentally, the Lord is often erroneously referred to as Dampadya Dakshinamurthy. Clearly seen are sages, Patanjali and Vyagrapthar. The Lord, mounted on His bull mount is in a seated posture with one foot on Apasmasura and the other leg folded on a Yoga Pattai and embracing his Consort Gowri on a Rishaba Vahana.
Behind Valmikeshwarar is Lingothbhavar, again an intricately carved. Siva is standing inside a Lingam. Below is Varaha and on the left is the swan indicating Brahma. To the right is Thazhambu. Both depicting the well-known legend. On the wall on the right side is Brahma, away from whom are Sapta Mata (seven mothers) namely, Bhavani, Maageshwari, Koumari, Vaishnavi, Vaarahi, Indrani and Chamundi.
Standing next to them are Visalakshi and Kasi Viswanathar. Beyond is Venugopala, Adigara Nandhi and footprints of Lava-Kusha (Sons of Rama) just outside Ramalingeshwarar.
Inside the sanctum of Ramalingeshwar is Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughna and Anjaneya.
The shrine of Pallikondeswarar is situated on the right. The huge reclining figure of the Lord is awesome.
The Lord is in the Bhoga Sayana on the lap of Sarvamangala with all the Devas, Saptarishis, Brahma, Vishnu and Indra waiting. So he is called Vishapaharanar (one who swallowed poison) or Sarvamangala Sametha Sri Pallikondeswarar.
Contributions for the renovation work of the temple may be made to:
Mr. K. S. Venkararama Raju, Chairman, Trust Board, Sri Pallikondeswara Swamy Devasthanam, Surutapalli, Dasukuppam Post, Nagalapuram M.D., Chittoor District Pin-517 588 (A.P.)
Darshan Time:
Morning : 6.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Evening : 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Pradosham days morning 6.00 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Sani Pradosham is especially important when about 15,000 devotees throng this temple. On the occasion of Maha Sivaratri well over 30,000 devotees wait for the darshan of Pallikondeswarar.

MAHABALIPURAM TEMPLE

Mahabalipuram is located close to Chennai of Tamil Nadu on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, along the eastern coast of South India. The shore temples at Mahabalipuram are called as seven pagodas, among which six are submerged in the sea and only one has survived from the ravages of nature.

Significance of the temple

The Mahabalipuram Temples consist of several temples of enormous size, which were built by cutting huge boulders into exquisite carves and set against the background of unfathomable sky and vast sea. This was a concept of great Pallava Monarch Rajasimha, which was built during the period 830-1100 AD in the Pallava dynasty. Few of the great monuments of world stand here near the seashore. The freestanding monolithic temples are called `Rathas`. The cave temples are lavishly sculptured with the narration of the story of Arjuna obtaining the `Pasupata`. The temples with two towers, familiarly known as shore temples, also enhance the charm of this place.

There are two low hills in Mahabalipuram which are situated about 400 m from the sea which has eleven excavated temples on both sides, known as `Mandapas`. There is another unique type of temple standing nearby, called `Ratha`s , which have been cut out of large rocks. There are a total of five Rathas and three big sculptures of Nandi (ox of Lord Shiva), Lion and an Elephant. On the top of the bigger hill, there is a structural temple and in a little distance `Vijayanagara Gopura` is also situated.

The Five Rathas are very much famous which comprises of the Dharmaraja, the Bhima, the Arjuna, the Draupadi and the Sahadeva. The Rathas are situated about two hundred metre south of the main hill and were been designed out of smaller hill sloping down from the south. The biggest of the Rathas were the Dharmaraja, which was made from the largest part of the rock near the southernmost side. This follows in a descending order of height and to the direction of north the Bhima, the Arjuna and the Draupadi. A little to the west of Draupadi Ratha, Sahadeva Ratha was made out of a comparatively large rock. Immediately infront of the Draupadi, two smaller rocks were sculptured into an elephant and a lion. Behind the Draupadi and the Arjuna, Nandi is being sculptured on a common base.

The shore temple is a feast of vision to the spectators and it is at the very margin of Bay of Bengal in such a way that those tidal waves sweep away its walls. This is the reason why the sculptures of this particular temple have eroded most during the last thirteen century by saline water and high breeze. The shore temple is the most appealing in sense of aesthetic value. With the rising sun spreading its golden rays and white cloud moving across the azure sky, the tower looks most fascinating.

The Shore temple is the most complex group of all the temples having two shrines placed one behind the other, one facing east and the other west and these two shrines are separated by a third shrine. The first two shrines are Saiva and the third is Visnava, with an image of Lord Anantasavi made of live rock. Here Vishnu lies on his serpent couch and known as Stalasayana Perumal. There is an open large court at the western end. There are `Vimanas` over the Saiva shrines but not on the Vaishnava shrine, it seems to have disappeared with time. This is one of the earliest structural temples in Tamil Nadu, built by Narasimha Varman II and Rajasimha.

A little to the south of the sanctam, there is a majestic lion which carries a miniature of `Mahisasurmardini` carved inside a square cavity cut in the neck of the animal. Two attended deities or women are mounted on either side of the animal. A little north to this, a beautiful dear is carved on a platform, whose head is mutilated unfortunately. In between the lion and the dear a dwarf stands, whose legs are the only remnants now. The Shore Temple on the Bay of Bengal was constructed in the 7th century during the rule of King Narsimha-Varman II Rajasimha (c. 690-728).The Shore temple is a temple complex consisting of two Siva temples and a carving of Anantasayana Vishnu. The temple at the east is entered by a small gopura. On plan, it consists of a small sanctum and a front mandapa and is a two-tired vimana. The sanctum is housing a linga. The Somaskanda panel consisting of Siva and Parvati with baby Skanda on the back wall of the sanctum. The dhara linga and Somaskanda panel on the back wall of the sanctum are the features of the Pallava temples only. The temple facing west is also dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is large in plan comprising sanctum, mahamandapa, front mandapa, balipitha and dvajastamba. The temple’s vimana is four tiered with octagonal sikhara. It is important to note that stupas of both these temples are not covered by kalasa (copper finials). The carving on Lord Vishnu on a boulder in Anantasayana form is lying in between these two temples. It belongs to the period of Narasimhavarman I and thus it was earlier than the Siva temples.

KAILASANATHAR TEMPLE

The famous Kailashnath temple is situated at Putleri Street, 1.5 km from Kanchipuram. It is an ancient temple and is a specimen of the Pallava architecture. The Pallava king Rajasimha started the temple in the 7th century AD and was completed by his son Mahendra.

Significance of the temple

It is one of the oldest structure in Kanchipuram and the finest example of Pallava architecture in South India. The foundation of the temple is made of granite while the superstructure is carved out of sandstone. The circumambulatory path around the sanctum is made in such a manner that it requires visitors to climb up and down a flight of seven stairs and to crawl through narrow ways.

The temple is adorned with many interesting sculptures of Lord Shiva in 64 poses, which presents a picture of different aspects of mythology. The fresco paintings embellish the inner walls of the shrine. The temple is unique in its architecture and is viewed more as an architectural wonder than as a holy place.

Pujas are offered regularly here to the Lord Shiva-Kailashanatha. The festival of Shivaratri is held here once every year. Of all the temples in India, no other edifice has been so elaborately filled with all the 64 aspects of Lord Shiva. Two circuits, one outer and another around the sanctum adorn this temple. It is not mere walls that fringe the corridor. Small shrine-like cells have been constructed along the entire length of both sides and filled with the various exploits of Lord Shiva, not found anywhere else.

Shiva Lilarnavam, Sambu Nadaname and such other literatures have exquisitely described the dances of Lord Shiva. Come straight to this temple and walk around the corridor. The cells on the periphery are small, while on the inner wall they are big with big images

Lord Shiva's leg outstretched and piercing the high heavens; Gajantaka who attired himself with the torn skin of the elephant Asura, with Uma standing coyly nearby; Bhikasadana who with his comely figure disturbed the hearts of the wives of the sages, and as a charming Mohini lured the sages from their rituals; "Ardanari", a half blended with Uma; Sandya Thandava Shiva who danced at dusk wielding a Trisula (also spelt as Trishula);

Gangadara who stemmed the force of Ganga in his locks; Brahma-Chiracheda murthi who clipped off the fifth head of Brahma by his nail; "Vishapaharana" who arrested the poison Alahala in his throat; Gowriprasada who changed the colour from black to a golden hue; "Chanda Thandavan" with "Rowdram" (anger), "Karunai" (mercy), "Sringar" (amour), "Bayam" (fear), "Nagai" (Smile) and "Veeryam" (Valour) exhibited in his face, Thiripurantakan who without a single weapon destroyed the Asuras (demons) with his mere smile, Kritarjunamurti in the guise of a hunter, Chandesvara Anugraha, LinGodbavar, Bairava, Harihara are some the innumerable forms of Lord Shiva that can be witnessed here.

The Chola King Rajaraja Chola I visited this temple and named this temple as Kachipettu Periya Thirukatrali (Stone Tenple of Kachipettu (ancient name of Kanchipuram).It is believed by many archeologists that this Kailasanathar temple must be the inspiration for Rajaraja Chola I to built the Tanjore Brihadeeswarar temple.

A huge kneeling Nandi stands in the front facing the temple and a look at it clearly indicates it must have been painted in gorgeous colours once. In those days, all the sculptures were painted brightly. Now only traces are seen; and they are not inferior to those of Ajanta.

Though the construction of the Kailasanathar Temple was started by Rajasimha Pallava, it was his son Mahendra Varma Pallava who completed the construction. Local people believed that the temple of Kailasanathar served the purpose of a shelter for the king during the time of the battles. The origin or the legend behind building this temple is lost in the distant past.

A unique example of Dravidian style of architecture this temple is constructed mostly by sandstone. Fragments of 8th century's mural art are still visible reminder of the temple's architecture.The walls and the vimanam of this temple are filled with great art works in form of paintings and sculptures.Perhaps the most beautiful temple in Kanchipuram, this temple is regarded more as an architectural wonder rather than as a holy place. Currently the temple is well maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India

Kanchipuram's Kailasanathar Temple can be described as the successor of the rock temples at Mahabalipuram. The bases of the pillars in Mahabalipuram temples have seated lions while the Kailasanathar temple have confident grimacing lions standing on their hind legs.

It is learnt that the Shiva lingam has the flat stripes inside the temple which is specialty of this lingam. It is 10 feet high and the temple closes by 6 to 6:30 PM daily. There is a story behind this early closure. Temple priests narrate it to the visitors How to Reach the Temple Through Airways -Chennai is the nearest airport to Kanchipuram. One can take flights for most of the important Indian cities and cities abroad from Chennai. Through Railways- the Trains for Kanchipuram are available from Chennai, Chengalpattu, Tirupati, and Bangalore. Through Roadways- Kanchipuram is 75-km away from Chennai and is well connected by a network of roads. There are frequent buses from the city to Chennai, Bangalore and other places. For local transportation, bicycles can be hired from the shops near the bus stand. Cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws are also available on hire to move in and around the city.