Tirumangalakudi

Kaveri was in full flow. No land ceiling act. Many karyasthars and kanakkupillais to run agriculture. Even when land ceiling ws introduced, one can always register land in the name of karyasthar. So, lots of money and nothing worthwhile to do. Thanjavur jilla mirasdars needed entertainment. It was available for asking. And how! Tirumangalakudi was one of the centres of entertainment. It was packed with women of music and dance. And entertainment. Mirasdars headed for it in droves. And lost their land and money. All that is history. Read T Janakiraman stories on this phenomenon. Now, Tirumangalakudi is a sleepy village on the northern bank of Kaveri, about 10km east of Kumbakonam,  on the way to Suryanar Kovil and so basks in the reflected glory. 

By itself, it has a hoary past and glorious temple. Prana Varadeswarar (now corrupted to Prananatheswarar) and Mangala Nayaki are the presiding deities. Pancha Mangala kshetram - Mangala Vimanam, Mangala Vinayakar, Mangala Ambikai and Mangala Tirtham. It is 38th on the North of Kaveri temples, sung by Sambandar (link to padhigam) & Appar (Padhigam). Appar mentions sthalapuranam of the temple in the padigam - that Vishnu, Kali, Brahma, Agasthya worshipped here. 

A tax collector built the temple out of taxt money (a la Bhadrachalam Ramadas). King ordered him dead.  Tax collecto's wife prayed to Mangala Nayaki who brought him alive.  

Temple is under the management of Tiruvavaduthurai adheenam. The adheenam whiwas a seat of Tamil scholarship and music. Read U Ve Swaminatha Iyer to know more.

Pl contact Jagadisa Sivacharyar 94440 36383. 0435 247 0480. Temple is open from 630 - 1230 and 4pm - 830.

Photos

Tirumayilai

After long time, we went to Tirumayilai aka Mylapore. Kapaleeswarar proclaims "Mayilayae Kayilai'. Ardent devotees of Kapali & Karpakam affirm this. This 24th in Tondai Nadu.

Poompavai

Sivanesar was a merchant in Mylapore. He  wanted to marry off her daughter Poompavai to Sambandar. Before this wish could be fulfilled, Poompavai died of snakebite. Sivanesar kept her bones in a pot and was waiting for Sambandar. Sambandar, after visiting Tiruvottriyur came to Mayilai. Sivanesar narrated the story to Sambandar and brought the pot of bones. Sambandar sang the 'Mattitta..' padigam. Poombavai emerged alive from the bones. Sambandar then explained that he could not marry her as Sivanesar's daughter was dead and the new Poompavai is Siva's daughter. Poompavai festival is celebrated on the 8th day of Panguni Peruvizha (the Brahmotsavam). 

In the padigam, Sambandar  mentions many festivals that happen at Tirumayilai and asks Poompavai how she could die without seeing them. The festivals he mentions are: Purattasi Pooratadi, Aippasi Onam, Karthikai Deepam, Margazhi Tiruvadirai, Thai Poosam, Masi Magam (bathing in sea), Panguni Uthiram, Chitirai Ashtami, Vaikasi Ponnoonjal (Swing festival), Pavitrosavam (Aani, Aadi, Aavani). That is, a festival on Pounrnami of every month. This is a moving, emotion filled padigam. 

Vayilar Nayanar

Mayilai is also the place of Vayilar Nayanar who worshipped Siva in the temple of his heart (Manakkovil), lit the lamp of knowledge (Gnana vilakku), bathed him in water of bliss (Inba neer), fed him love (anbu unavu) and thus performed Gnana Poojai. Pl do see his shrine in the southern side.

Oodhuvar

If you go to Mayilai, one experience you cannot miss is listening to the Oodhuvar singing Thevaram.  Beautiful voice, moving lines, clear pronounciation, simple tunes. Amazing!  He sang Nattai, Saveri, Kedara Gowlai, Yadukula Kambodhi, etc. His Navagraha Padigam was so moving that you cannot but shed tears. Please sit in front of him and close your eyes. He will bring Kapali in your manakkovil. I realised the meaning of the padigam as I was listening to him - En Ulame Pugundhadhadhanal - Avai nalla nalla  Adiyar Avarkku Migave  - meaning, Siva enters your heart with matted locks, Gangai and Chandran and the Navagrahas can only be benefactors.

Nayanmar Festivals

Mayilai observes the festivals of all Nayanmars on the respective dates. Not many temples do this.

Tiruvisanallur

My uncle told me this story: He tuned in to Vijayawada AIR a few years back. A Tani Avartanam was going on.  Mridangam was outstanding with rich chapus and gumkis. This was followed by ghatam which rained sollus. Then, kanjira took over with amazing variations in the bass. Back to mridangam... This happened for a few rounds. He was amazed at the tonal quality and technical virtuosity. Started guessing who this fatastic team was. Could it be Palghat Mani, Palani Subbudu, Alangudi Ramachandran...The programme got over. 'That was Vikatam programme byThiruvisanallur Ramaswamy Sastrigal', said the announcer in Telugu. It took sometine for my uncle to recover from the shock.

Vikatam Ramaswamy Sastrigal was given the title 'Kapotam' by Kanchi Acharyal for his imitation of pigeons. Sastrigal conducted aradhanai for Tiruvisanallur Sridhara Ayyaval for many years. Sridhara Ayyaval was a Siva Bhakta, and one of the three gurus of Bhajanai Sampradaya. 

Tiruvisainallur has produced many such philosphers, scholars and musicians. Uyyavanda Deva Nayanar, author of Tiruvundiyar, a Saiva Siddhantha text, was born here. Tiruvisanallur is a padal petra sthalam, being 43rd of 63 Kaveri Vadakarai sthalams.  Sambandar has sung a padigam here.

It is about 10km east of Kumbakonam.  Can be reached in 15-30 min from Kumbakonam. Ganeshkumar Sivacharyar (94447 47142, 0435 2000679) serves the Lord. Timing: 730 - 1230, 0330 - 0800. Sivacharyar lives next to the temple.  

The temple is huge,  managed by Thanjavur Aranmanai Samasthanam. Not very well maintained, short of resources, under renovation. Not too many sevarthis. Therefore, need to adopt new marketing strategies. Charturkala Bhairavar is being marketed. Hope results turn out as good as Tirunageswaram or Alangudi. 

Sad to see a village with a hoary tradition of scholarship and culture deteriorating.

Photos here.

Srisailam

Srirangam is THE temple for Vaishnavas, known as 'Kovil' & No. 1 among Divya Desams. Chidambaram is THE temple for Saivas, known as 'Kovil', No. 1 among Padal Petra Sthalams.

What is Tirupathi for Saivas? In Tirupathi, Lord is atop Tirumalai. Saiva equivalent is Sri Sailam - Sri translates to Tiru and Sailam to Malai. Hence, Venkateswara equivalent is Mallikarjuneswara.

Logistics

From Hyderabad, Srisailam is a 4 hour drive. From Chennai, Kacheguda Express leaves at 5pm from Egmore and reaches Kurnool at 330am. You can take a taxi (3.5 hours) or bus (5.15 hrs). You can  stay at guesthouses. Temple is open 5am to 10pm,  not too much crowded, especially ticketed darisanams. I believe Sundays and Mondays are a bit crowded.

Temple Topography

The temple is slightly different from temple topography in Tamil Nadu. Utsava vigrahas of Mallikarjuna & Bhramaramba face the Moolasthanam, next to Nandi. Nataraja faces East, in front of another Nandi, showing back side to Moolasthanam. Bhramaramba sannidhi is behind Mallikarjunar Sannidhi, facing east. No Chandikeswarar, Dakshinamurthi or Durgai. In Durgai's place is Veerabhadraswamy. Moolasthana Vimanam differs in shape with a Trisoolam at the top.

Suggested Schedule:

Suprabhatam (only 10 tickets)/ Maha Mangala Harathi (only 50 tickets): Early Morning

Shikaram, Phaladhara - Panchadhara, Sakshi Ganapathi: Open entire day, can cover all the three in one hour

Akkamahadevi Caves  - 1030 - 1530

Ticketed Darisanam (if you cannot do Suprabhatam or MMH)

Connect with the Lord

Srisailam is one of the twelve Jyotirlingams. They are believed to have been given to Adi Sankara by Lord Siva Himself. You can touch and feel Sri Mallikarjuna and perform pooja yourself. Once, you do that, you can sort of think that you have established a direct connectivity with Lord Siva.

All the three  - Sambandar, Appar & Sundarar have sung a padigam each. Sambandar & Sundarar did not visit Srisailam, but have sung from Kalahasti. Appar visited Srisailam on the way to Kailasam. Srisailam is called Tiru Paruppadam. The padigams are engaved in marble slabs in the temple near Panchalingams.

Three Marudhurs

Three temples have Maruda maram (Arjuna tree) as Sthala vrikshams: Mallikarjunam (Srisailam) in the north,  Pudarjunam (Tirupudaimarudur, near Tirunelveli) in the south and Madhyarjunam (Tiruvidaimarudur near Kumbakonam) in the middle. The three sthalams must have been known together for a long time as Idai Marudhur is aptly named the middle one 

Krishna

Krishna, known locally as Patala Ganga, flows through Srisailam. You can take the rope car or descent 600 steps to reach it. You can take a holy dip, do boating. The view is breathtaking, reminds one of Madupatti lake in Munnar.

Akkamahadevi Caves

This is a must visit. Akkamahadevi is Kannada Andal, who worshipped Lord Siva. AP Tourism boat takes a single trip a day, starting at 1030 in the morning, you can expect to be back at1530. Pl take adequate water and food. No mobile signals.

Phala dhara - Pancha dhara is the believed to be the place Adi Sankara wrote Sivananda Lahari.

Sikharam is the top most point in Srisailam.

Photos here

Tiruvalangadu

Tiruvalangadu is an amazing place, strongly recommended for all. The village is between Tiruvallur and Arakonam. It was a horrible 15 km, 1 hour ride from Arakonam on what was a cross between an archeological excavation site and stone quarry.

But, the temple is huge, beautiful and well maintained. Sung by Sambandar, Appar (1, 2), Sundarar, Karaikal Ammaiyar. one of five sabhais. Known to be abode of Karaikal Ammaiyar, "mother of south indian music". Also, Tiruvalangadu copperplates ...

The temple does not close for an afternoon break. Sabharatna Sivacharyar (99407 36579) (How wonderful the Sivacharyars are named after the Swamy they worship. We had Palugandanadha Sivacharyar at Palugandanathar temple) His son, Karthik Sivacharyar (about 17 years) is fantastic. Just finished his training at Patasalai at Needamangalam.

Photos here

Sholinghur, Tiruvalangadu & Tiruvenpakkam

We visited Sholinghur, Tiruvalangadu and Tiruvenpakkam on 6 Dec 2008.


We started at 6 in the morning, took the Bangalore highway (NH4), had breakfast at Sri Motel (there aren't too many places to eat after this till Sholinghur) , took a right turn at Kaveripakkam (SH128) and reached Sholinghur by 915 (29km from Kaveripakkam) . SH128 wasn't too good for the first few kms and got better as we went along.


Sholinghur is a Divya Desam, sund by Alwars. Narasimhar is atop a 1300 step hill (Periya malai) and Anjaneyar, atop 400 step hill (Chinna Malai). The place is called Thiru Kadigai. There are 4 pasurams. Periya malai is a 45 minute climb and the Chinna malai, 15min. There are dolis available for faint hearted and feeble bodied.

Here is yet another proof for Ramar Sethu. This is not a Ramar Petrol story. Rama, along with vanara sena, was returning to Ayodhi from Lanka. He came to rest at Sholinghur. Vanara Senai got excited, as was their wont, and started jumping from tree to tree, eating fruits, plucking flowers, throwing stones in a general mayhem. It was time to leave. As Rama left, some of the vanaras could not join him as they had gone to the other side of the hill. Descendants of vanara sena still exist in Sholinghur. I think archeologits, looking for proof of Ramar Sethu, are climbing up the wrong tree.


Big business here is 'Stick business'. The hill is full of monkeys, which take away your eatables, snatch your mobile phones etc. Many shops here sell 5feet long sticks to protect you against the simians.


Krishna Bhaktas are establishing Gosalas to protect "descendants of cows grazed by Lord Sri Krishna Himself." So far, noone has taken steps to protect monkeys which are descendants of vanara sena. They snatched our waterbottle!





The world is abound with people with sense of humour. Some of them could also be Nayanmars. When the Lord asked her what was that she wanted, Karaikal Ammayar said she wanted to be a Ghost! She resides these days at Tiruvalangadu. We were curious. More about it later

Tirukalayanallur (Sakkottai)

General Manager (Planning & Development), City Union Bank, Krishnan (Will soon become!) and I started at Tippirajapuram to visit Sakkottai, on 25 October 2008.

Now a days, Sakkottai is famous for Anbu.

Some fifty years, back Sakkottai was known for Rangu Iyengar, a mathematical wizard in Mridangam. He could play fourier series and mock theta functions in Mridangam. Apparently, he was related to Srinivasa Ramanujan. As soon Ramanujan discovered an equation, he would discuss with Rangu Iyengar who would play the equation in Mridangam. If that is done satisfactorily, QED!

1500 years back, Sakkottai was known for this which happened to be our destination. Amirthavalli Sameda Amirtha Kalasanathar reside here. I must have done the Tippi - Kumbakonam road about a thousand times. But this just the second time I am visiting the temple. The first visit must have been about 25 years back with Appa, Auditor and Sri Satyamurthi.

The temple is connected with Sthalapuranam of Kumbakonam and Adi Kumbeswarar and is one of the Sapta Sthanams of Kumbeswarar. The Saptastanams of Kumbeswarar are Kalayanallur, Valanjuzhi, Darasuram, Swamimalai, Kottiayur, Melaikkaveri and Kumbhakonam.

Sundarar (7-8th century CE) has sung a padigam here. There are 25 temples sung by Sundarar alone and this is one of them. He visited this temple after Thirunageswaram and Sivapuram. It is surprising Sambandar did not visit as he has visited Sivapuram and Marudanallur. Sundarar says if you sing the padigam with bhakti, your sins and worries will be washed away.

Temple is small, neatly maintained by Anand Sivacharyar. ( Mobile no: 97882 02923). It is in a much better shape that what I remember from my earlier visit. The temple is open from 1030 - 1130. Anand Sivacharyar is a busy man, bathing and feeding Gods in a number of temples. Pl call him to ensure Amirthakalasanathar can keep his appointment with you.

Padal Petra Sthalangal - 1

Hari, Seetha and Sriraman have an ambition to visit 274 ( + 2 newly discovered) Padal Petral Sthalams, sung by Sambandar (Tiru Kadai Kappu), Appar (Thevaram) and Sundarar (Tirupattu).

The 276 are distributed like this We have been visiting temples in Chola Nadu (Kaveri Vadakarai) and (Kaveri Then Karai) and Thondai Nadu.

This blog will be our travel diary