Sunday, May 20, 2012

Thiruvadanai Temple

The massive stone pillared corridor around the sanctum
Legend: Vaaruni is the son of Varuna the God of rain.  One day he stayed in the Ashram of Sage Durvasa who was in deep meditation.  Vaaruni’s friends playing in the ashram  disturbed his penance.  The angry sage cursed Vaaruni  to become a strange creature with the head of a goat and body of an elephant. In Tamil the name will be Aadu (goat) and Aanai (elephant), hence the name of the place Thiru Aadu Aanai – Thiruvadanai.  Vaaruni realized his folly.  Sages nearby suggested that he should go to this temple in the Pandya kingdom, pray to Lord Shiva for relief from the curse. Vaaruni followed the advice.  Lord appeared before him and  Vaaruni in his Aadu-Yanai form begged the Lord that his life should be a lesson to those behaving badly towards respectful elders and that this place should be known as Thiruvadanai till the end of Kaliyuga (This is the present age or Yuga we all presently live in ! .
This is one of the 275 revered Thevara Sthalams,located 24 Kms south of Devakottai. This is also one of the Pandi Pathinalu.
The presiding deity here is Lord Siva in known as Aadhi Ratneswarar (Swayambhu Lingam) and his consort is Snehavalli Amman. The temple is estimated to about 1000-2000 yrs old. The temple has amazing number of Bas Reliefs on stone pillars and I could snap up quite a few of these beauties. I am unable to identify most of these sculptures on stone and require help from fellow bloggers.Please help in identification.
Magnificent Rajagopuram (Entrance Tower)
The sparkling,fresh & cool temple pond for a refreshing dip
The magnificent pillar mandapam 
Can you identify this creature ?
Identify this face?
Identify this Hindu God ?
Lion
A deer
Apsara or Gandharva ?
Shiva Lingam
Identify this character ?
A peacock ?
Nice Carvings
Identify this animal ?
Identify this Hindu God?
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38 comments:

  1. R Niranjan DasMay 20, 2012 at 11:22:00 PM PDT

    Beautiful architecture and interesting history.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rahul BhatiaMay 21, 2012 at 12:52:00 AM PDT

    Lovely carvings and a very visual post!

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  3. RajeshMay 21, 2012 at 3:04:00 AM PDT

    Beautiful temple, a architectural marvel.

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  4. WhirlwindMay 21, 2012 at 3:21:00 AM PDT

    Beautiful carvings and loved the mythological tale!

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  5. Sudhir RMay 21, 2012 at 5:19:00 AM PDT

    I loved the first photograph and the write up too

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  6. JanieMay 21, 2012 at 6:26:00 AM PDT

    I can't identify any of the gods, but I'm amazed by the craftmanship in this ancient temple. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 25, 2013 at 7:19:00 AM PST

      country=INDIA
      state =Tamilnadu
      District=Ramanathapuram
      LOCATION=THIRUVADANAI

      Delete
    2. UnknownNovember 25, 2013 at 7:20:00 AM PST

      AADHI Rethneshwaran temple

      Delete
  7. Phivos NicolaidesMay 21, 2012 at 7:07:00 AM PDT

    Stunning pictures as always!!

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  8. ashokMay 21, 2012 at 7:11:00 AM PDT

    thanks for this post...i need to visit this !

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  9. KusumMay 21, 2012 at 8:32:00 AM PDT

    Wow! 1000 years old temple! The carvings are great. I think the third Hindu God is Yama, the god of Death, because he is holding the pasha (loop) but there s no dog accompanying him, it should be there. I could be wrong too! Rest I don't know.

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  10. LindaMay 21, 2012 at 9:57:00 AM PDT

    Informative and amazing post. Love the photos!

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  11. TexWisGirlMay 21, 2012 at 10:02:00 AM PDT

    incredibly ornate artwork, once again.

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  12. DebopamMay 21, 2012 at 10:08:00 AM PDT

    Our temples are gold mines of art, heritage and culture....

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  13. Bob BushellMay 21, 2012 at 11:25:00 AM PDT

    Ornate carvings, thanks for showing us.

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  14. AnonymousMay 21, 2012 at 12:13:00 PM PDT

    Love that peacock carving. So artistic!

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  15. Sobha ShyamMay 21, 2012 at 1:18:00 PM PDT

    great architecture and nice carvings..its so hard to believe that these temples were made thousands of years ago when there weren't any machinery to help out :)

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  16. CarverMay 21, 2012 at 1:18:00 PM PDT

    Very beautiful temple. I love the tiles on the ceiling in the first shot where the archways are. All wonderful shots but that was my favorite.

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  17. CameraCruiseMay 21, 2012 at 1:28:00 PM PDT

    Great and interesting post.
    Beautiful temple and the carvings are beautiful.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Mette

    ReplyDelete
  18. Rhapsody PhoenixMay 21, 2012 at 2:56:00 PM PDT

    Namaste....
    thanks for the lessons and the photos of the temple.

    stay blessed
    rhapsody
    http://www.facebook.com/RhapsodyPhoenix
    https://plus.google.com/101099217204323189067
    http://www.shelfari.com/rhapsodyphoenix
    http://twitter.com/rhapsodyphoenix

    ReplyDelete
  19. magiceyeMay 21, 2012 at 6:13:00 PM PDT

    wonderful captures and thanks for sharing the fascinating legend!

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  20. The PoetMay 21, 2012 at 6:20:00 PM PDT

    My friend Ram,
    What amazing photos!!! Wow, I am blown away with admiration. Thank you for this history and incredible posting my friend. As always, very well done!

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  21. AnimeshMay 22, 2012 at 12:00:00 AM PDT

    All the things you have done here are too marvelous.

    ReplyDelete
  22. IndraniMay 22, 2012 at 2:19:00 AM PDT

    So many pics!
    I too never get tired of clicking.

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  23. sonia a. mascaroMay 22, 2012 at 9:48:00 AM PDT

    Just awesome post! Great pictures as always. Thanks for sharing this amazing reportage.

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  24. ArunMay 22, 2012 at 8:32:00 PM PDT

    Informative.. Thanks for sharing..

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  25. anilkurup59May 22, 2012 at 10:14:00 PM PDT

    I do not know how I missed this post.

    What makes me wonder and stay in awe is the effort and meticulous detail that go with all these magnificent constructions of yore. What is a WTC or a Petrona Tower compared to the grandeur and aesthetics these magnificent ancient structures has?
    And they have stood the ravages too.

    Are you on a traveling phase in your life?

    What is also majestic is the corridors that all these south Indian temples have.

    ReplyDelete
  26. RamakrishnanMay 22, 2012 at 11:38:00 PM PDT

    @anilkurup: Thanks for your appreciation. Yes I have retired after 40 years service and I am on a traveling binge these days.

    ReplyDelete
  27. P.N. SubramanianMay 29, 2012 at 9:18:00 AM PDT

    The architecture has been presented in a beautiful manner. Congrats for the superb photography.

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  28. AnonymousApril 3, 2013 at 12:32:00 PM PDT

    Very beautiful temple

    ReplyDelete
  29. KOctober 26, 2013 at 10:34:00 PM PDT

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  30. KOctober 26, 2013 at 10:36:00 PM PDT

    i'm very proud to i have a native in thiruvadanai.

    ReplyDelete
  31. UnknownNovember 25, 2013 at 7:15:00 AM PST

    i am proud of thiruvadanai

    ReplyDelete
  32. UnknownNovember 25, 2013 at 7:21:00 AM PST

    i am proud of thiruvadanai

    ReplyDelete
  33. UnknownOctober 13, 2015 at 7:50:00 AM PDT

    I feel very much that I have not visited such a beautiful temple.
    I never knew that Thiruvadanai is blessed by the Lord Adhi Rathneswarar.and the temple has thousands of acres of land.

    ReplyDelete
  34. SwathiJune 27, 2017 at 3:02:00 AM PDT

    It was very wonderful to know about the Tiruvadanai temple and the images of the temple are really awesome.If you want to travel then book tickets in Greenline Travels and enjoy your trip.

    ReplyDelete

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