Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with
The morning had disappeared while we had rushed through temples. The evening had yet to arrive, but
we knew it would disappear just as soon. The afternoon, meanwhile, had to be
whiled away. What could we do, once lunch was taken care of? Head to the hills,
of course!
Tirunelveli, nestled in the Western Ghats, is
the land of the sage Agasthya. He came here to maintain the balance of earth
while the world headed to Kailas to witness the divine marriage of Shiva and
Parvati. To recompense the sage for missing the event, he was given a divine vision
of the marriage right here, in the mountains. There are many sites associated
with the sage in this region, and we spent our afternoon at one of them –
Agasthiar Falls. These perennial waterfalls are a big draw in these mountains,
and you can count on seeing a crowd there at any time of the day, throughout
the year. In spite of the crowds, the lure of the waterfall was too great to
resist, and we spent quite some time, cooling off. Climbing up higher, we
arrived at another shrine near a spring - the Kalyana Teertham, one supposed to depict the exact site where the sage
had his divine vision. The temple, however, was closed, since the priest was
off for lunch. We, therefore contented ourselves with the view.
Agasthyar and Lopamudra..at the Kalyana Teertham |
Driving
further along,
in the mountains, we arrived at the Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple.
Sorimuthu
Ayyanar Temple
Entrance to the Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple |
Ayyanars are local guardian deities, and
this one is among the more popular ones. Believed to be a form of Ayyapan, or
Dharma Sastha, this is said to be the place he first came to, as a young man,
to learn martial arts. The temple is relatively simple, but built on the rocks
on the riverbank, the view is superb!
View from the Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple |
Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple
- Location: The temple is located amidst the hills, at Karayar, about 10 Km from Papanasam temple.
- Timings: The temple is open from 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM.
By
now it was almost 4 PM, and we rushed down the mountain, to Papanasam. The Lord made us wait a
little bit more, and you too will have to wait a little longer to read about
this temple, since this is also part of the circuit of 9 temples known as the
Nava Kailasam which I will be writing about later.
Mannarkoil
Rajagopalaswamy Temple
The gopuram of the Mannarkoil temple, showing the Lord in standing posture with his consorts, and Kulashekara Alwar on the side. |
Our
next halt was at the Rajagopalaswamy Temple at Mannarkoil. A narrow road, passing between
ancient, decrepit houses led to the temple, and there was hardly anyone around.
The main sanctum depicted the Lord standing, with Bhudevi and Sridevi. Then,
the priest directed us to a flight of steps on one side of the sanctum, and we
climbed up the Ashtanga Vimana to the first floor, where in a small shrine, the
Lord can be seen in a sitting posture. The priest now directed us to yet
another, and narrower flight of steps, to the shrine right at the top, where
the Lord was seen, in his sleeping posture.
View from the top of the Ashtanga Vimana of the Mannarkovil Temple |
These
two floors once
were covered with ancient paintings, but during the renovation, most of them
seem to have been lost, for bright new paintings now adorn these walls. If I
was disappointed with the paintings, I was fascinated by the view from the top,
as well as a wooden panel on the ceiling, depicting the signs of the zodiac.
Once
we clambered
down the precarious steps, we did the pradakshina, marveling at the
intricate beauty of the temple. There are many sculptures here, each one more
beautiful and interesting than the other. There are a set of miniature carvings
depicting the Ramayana, for instance, but my attention was captured by a
beautiful set of stone sculptures of the Dashavatar – the ten incarnations of
Lord Vishnu. Firstly, it is rare to see Dashavatars in sculpture form in
temples. They are usually carved on pillars, or in stucco on the spire.
Besides, the depiction here was extremely interesting – the first two avatars,
Matsya and Kurma, usually depicted in anthropomorphic form, were here depicted
just as animals – a fish and a tortoise respectively. Further, the 10th
avatar – Kalki, was shown in Yoga mudra! I was about to click a photograph,
when the priest intervened and stopped me. However, you can see photos of the
Dashavatar here and here.
While
most temples
have stories associated with the gods, the most interesting one here relates to
a king who became a saint. Kulashekara Alwar was once a king, somewhere in
present day Kerala. Later in his life, he was blessed by Lord Vishnu, and he
renounced his kingship to sing hymns in praise of the Lord. His travels across
the region, visiting various temples, eventually brought him to Mannarkoil, and
he stayed back, offering his prayers, as well as his service to Lord
Rajagopalaswamy. It was here that he finally merged with the Lord. The temple
has a separate shrine for the saint, and unlike most other such shrines, it has
its own flag post and Bali Peetham, which are usually only meant for deities.
Besides, in commemoration of the saint and his greatness, the temple is named
Rajagopalaswamy Kulashekara Perumal Temple.
Mannarkoil Rajagopalaswamy Temple
- Location: The temple is located at Mannarkoil, about 5 Km from Ambasamudram, on the Ambasamudram-Tenkasi Highway, and about 1 Km from the Brahmadesam Kailasanathar Temple.
- Timings: 7 AM to 12 Noon, 5 to 7 PM.
- Links:
- http://know-your-heritage.blogspot.in/2015/04/tirunelveli-region-travelogue-pandyan_25.html This is the most detailed post I could find about the temple.
- http://know-your-heritage.blogspot.in/2015/04/tirunelveli-region-travelogue-pandyan_25.html This post was really helpful when I planned my trip. Raju’s blog is my go-to site when I plan a temple trip to the south! Also check out his photo album on Flickr.
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/rajushanthi/sets/72157631434178552/with/7942654222/
By
the time we left Mannarkoil, we were in high spirits, excited for the next temple on our list –
Sivasailam. Sadly, it seems the Lord there wasn’t ready to see me yet, for our
driver hopelessly lost his way! Eventually, after much arguing, trials with the
mobile GPS and some help from villagers who took pity on us, we found ourselves
back on the road, heading to Tenkasi instead!
Tenkasi
Tenkasi – the word literally means ‘Kasi of
the South’. This is one of the largest cities in Tirunelveli, and the temple of
Shiva as Viswanathar is an impressive one. The legend of the temple goes back
seven centuries, to the time of King Parakrama Pandyan, who wanted to visit
Kasi. The Lord appeared to him in a dream, and asked him to follow the ants and
build a temple to him where the trail ended, instead of spending time making
the long journey to Kasi. The King awoke, and found an ant trail leading to the
river. The trail ended on the riverbank, where the king found a Swayambhu
Linga, and he built the temple to house it.
There
are quite a few interesting facets of the temple. To begin with, as you enter the
temple through the main entrance, you feel a gust of wind, almost pushing you
inside. It is believed that the temple was built this way, with even the wind
wanting you to rush to see the deity! Whether or not that is true, there is no
doubt that while the road outside was clammy and still, the steps near the
temple, and the huge courtyard inside, with well-kept lawns, had a pleasant
breeze blowing. The lawns were filled with people, probably locals, enjoying
the breeze and some valued family time! It was terribly tempting to simply sit
down and relax, but we had lost too much time anyway, so we rushed to the
temple.
Another
interesting thing
about this temple is the placement of the shrines. While the Lord and his
consort are usually seen in adjacent sanctums, here, the sanctum of Muruga or
Karthikeya comes between that of his parents – Lord Shiva as Viswanathar and
Parvati as Ulagamman. This arrangement, usually depicted only in sculptures or
bronzes, is called Somaskanda (Sa-Uma-Skanda, or Shiva, with Uma and Skanda).
Tenkasi
- Location: Tenkasi is about 60 Km from Tirunelveli, and well connected by road.
- Timings: 6 to 11 AM, 4 to 8 PM.
Our
final destination
for the day was the one I had most looked forward to. Unfortunately, our
driver’s unfamiliarity with this area led to more delay, and by the time we
reached Kuttralam, it was dark.
Kuttralam
/ Courtallam
Kuttralam is most well-known for its
waterfalls. However, the temple here, as well as the Chitra Sabhai, the
hall of paintings, are both, just as interesting as beautiful. It is said that
Sage Agasthya came here during his travels in the south, and found a
Vaishnavite shrine here. Denied entry since he was a Shaivite, Agasthya changed
his garments, and appeared as a Vaishnavite. Now welcomed into the shrine, he
prayed to the Lord, who changed his form to a Lingam, shocking everyone but
Agasthya. Since the huge Vishnu idol turned into a smaller Lingam, the Lord is
called ‘Kuttralanathar’ – the one who became short! The temple itself is in the
form of a conch (though this is not really obvious), adding to the belief that
this was once a Vaishnavite shrine.
The
story goes on further, with the Lord, due to his change in height, having a terrible
headache. The sage, it is said, bathed him with 64 herbs and oils from the
mountain, and his headache was cured. To this day, devotees apply oil and bathe
in the waterfalls near the temple, when there is enough water of course. We
visited in May, when the water level was low, though there was a slight flow.
Please excuse the photo quality. It was dark, and I barely managed to click a
few pics.
The
most interesting thing about Kuttralam (or Courtallam as it is sometimes spelled), is the Chitra
Sabhai. This is the dance hall of Nataraja, and is counted among 5 such
special halls, along with Chidambaram, Madurai, Thiruvalangadu and Tirunelveli.
Each of these 5 halls is decorated in a particular way – Thiruvalangadu is the Rathna
Sabhai, the hall of gems, At Chidambaram is the Kanaka Sabhai, the
hall of Gold, at Madurai, the Velli Sabhai, hall of Silver, and at
Tirunelveli, it is the Tamira Sabhai, the hall of copper. All these are
precious metals and gemstones. However, the one here, at Kuttralam, is the Chitra
Sabhai – the hall of paintings, which is considered just as precious!
Unfortunately, due to our delayed arrival, this had closed. The Lord, it
appears, wants me to visit again, at leisure!
Kuttralam
- Location: Kuttralam is about 5 Km from Tenkasi. Apart from the temple, there are plenty of waterfalls to see, so keep lots of time in hand while visiting.
- Timings; 6 AM to 12 Noon, 5 to 9 PM.
And
with that, our
first day’s Temple Run came to an end. We returned to our hotel with mixed
feelings – satisfaction, excitement and happiness over the temples we had seen,
and disappointment towards those we had missed. We had sent our driver off with
a flea in his ear, and called up the agency to send us another one the next
day. As we turned in for the night, we wondered, what Day 2 of our Temple Run
would bring!
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
Beautiful narration. My heart and soul are yearning to go on the same journey. Thanks a million .
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you too get to go on the same journey soon!
DeleteBeautiful post. Would Love to visit these places specially the temples!
ReplyDeleteThese temples are very close to my heart as my parents live in Tenkasi! I shared this post with them too! Very glad to see these wonderful icons being highlighted and brought to the attention of many! One absolutely out of this world, yet little known place in Coutrallam is the Chittirai sabhai. It has floor to ceiling hand-painted exquisite murals depicting Lord Nataraja's story and also various other deities. Absolutely spell-binding. Only hitch - no photography allowed. Hope you can visit this place next time you are in Tenkasi. All the best.
ReplyDeletenice post..
ReplyDelete