My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Thiruppudaimarudhur Narumbunathar Temple
Driving
through the fields, we followed the road to what appeared to be a huge wall looming in the
distance. My attention, however, was captured by a board. My Tamil is not too
good, and the only word that I recognized was ‘paravai’ – bird. I perked
up at once, though I knew well I had no time to go looking for birds. “I am not
here for birdwatching, but to visit temples”, I reminded myself. The road led
to a series of stone gates, their arches having long fallen. The temple spire
visible between them was a beautiful sight.
As we
alighted from the car, someone hurried up. “The temple is about to close. Go in soon!” he
said, and my mother and mother-in-law began running towards the doors. I was
just about to join them when a cry distracted me, and I looked up to see this….
A
painted stork!
I
just stood there,
stupefied, till my mom called out to me, to hurry, and I turned back after just
one quick click. The temple itself was huge, and wherever I turned, I could see
beautiful sculptures. A lifelike statue of a patron (probably one of the Pandya
kings) stood in the first courtyard, and I wished I had brought my camera
inside. Further in, the main sanctum housed the lingam. The lord here is called
Narumbunathar, and his consort is Gomathi Amman. Both are interesting, for,
while the Lord, in his Lingam form, leans slightly to the side, Gomathi Amman
is said to be made of Rudraksha beads!
As
with all temples,
the stories associated with this one are many, and interesting. The oldest
legends relate to the Gods, when Indra prayed for salvation here, under an
Arjuna tree, and was blessed by Lord Shiva. One story talks of a king who, on a
hunt, arrived here, chasing a deer. He managed to hit the deer, but the animal
disappeared into one of the Arjuna trees. Hitting the tree with an axe, the
king was surprised to see blood. Eventually, they found the ancient lingam
here, which was then housed in a temple. Another story talks of the Karuvoor
Siddhar, who wanted to visit the temple. The river was in spate, so he prayed
to the Lord to help him cross. The Lord leaned to hear him better, and the
lingam forever leaned to one side! The sage of course, crossed the river easily
with the Lord’s name on his lips! There is yet another story of Brahma’s son,
Manu, arriving here to pray to the Lord, and the Lord appearing from the Arjuna
tree to bless him.
The
one constant in
all these stories is the Arjuna tree, called Marutha Maram in Tamil. The town
takes its name from the tree, and was first called Maruthur. What remains of
the original tree is still preserved in a shrine on the riverbank, behind the
temple.
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| The old tree, preserved in a shrine on the riverbank, behind the temple. |
Continuing with the association with Arjuna
trees, there are three important temples associated with the same tree – at
Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Thiruvidaimarudhur near Thanjavur in Tamilnadu,
and this one. The Lord at Srisailam is Mallikarjuna, and the temple itself is
called Mallikarjunam, for the Lord is said to represent the top of the Arjuna
tree, its head, so to speak, with the flowers. At Thiruvidaimarudhur, He is the
trunk, and here, at Thiruppudaimarudhur, he is the base. Together, they
represent the Arjuna tree in its entirety.
The
temple is huge,
and there is much to see. However, most interesting are the murals in the
tower. Sadly, we arrived at the temple as it was closing for the morning, and I
was unable to see them. If you plan to visit, keep plenty of time for this,
since it’s worth it. Meanwhile, go through this link, and see the paintings, which will surely
encourage you to visit soon!
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| The bank entrance of the temple. See how fortified the temple looks, with its multiple walls? |
Meanwhile, as the priests began to shut the
temple, I hurried outside to see if the birds were still there. They were, and
I spent the rest of our time there clicking them! One of the attendants, seeing
my interest, explained that the birds arrived every year, just in time to nest,
laid their eggs, raised their young ones, and left, only to return the next
year! They only used the trees around the temple to nest (not surprising,
considering that the temple stands on the riverbank, amidst a grove of trees),
and the villagers considered them divine. The grove around the forest has
recently been demarcated as a sanctuary, and this was the board I had seen as
we approached the temple.
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| A flock of painted storks, adults and juveniles |
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| Juvenile painted storks, on a nest |
We lingered a little here, since
it was almost noon, and the temples would close. But soon, it was time to move
on, so we could have lunch, and then relax a bit, before starting out on the
second half of our Temple Run for the day! As I got back into the car, I was
happy, for I had never imagined that my Temple Run would also include some
Birdwatching!
Thiruppudaimarudhur Narumbunathar Temple:
- Location: Thiruppudaimarudhur is about 8 Km from Veeravanallur, near Ambasamudram, in Tirunelveli District.
- Timings: 5 to 11AM, 4 to 8 PM.
- Further Reading and Links:
This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.
Related Posts:
- Our Tirunelveli Temple Run
I have gone through the virtual link. It is a must visit place. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAs you have written the paintings are awesome
Thank you Ranjana.. and you are welcome. glad you liked it. Hope you go to the temple someday soon!
DeleteBinge reading your posts on temples in Tirunelveli. Very informative. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDelete