Temple Tours - Kodumudi - Thanthonimalai -Kulithalai-Srirangam

We decided to take a 5 day road trip to Trichy via Karur to see Tevara Sthalams & Divya Desams in that region. Left Coimbatore on Sunday 13 Jan'08 on Cbte - Karur Road, took a deviation at Kangayam and reached our first destination - Kodumudi, a panchayat town in Erode dt. & one of the Tevara Sthalams in Kongunadu. Situated on the banks of the Cauvery river, the temple has three Gopurams - leading to shrines of Maguteswarar or Kodumudi nathar, Vadivudaiamman or Soundaranayaki & Veeranarayana Perumal (as Ananthasayanam). This a trimurthy or mummoorthy koil as there are shrines for Brahma, Vishnu & Siva.
Sambandhar has sung 11 songs,Appar 5 songs and Sundharar 10 songs (Namashivaya Pathigam) on Lord Magudeshwara. Arunagirinathar has sung "Thirupugazl" on Lord Muruga.
Inside the shrine of Maguteswarar as you circumambulate you come across Nartana Ganapathy, idols of 63 nayanmars, Kaveri Kanda Vinayakar, Somaskandar(utsava murthy), Agasteeswarar, Arumugar with Valli & Devayani, Gajalakshmi, Vishnu on sanctum wall, Natarajar & Sivakami with Manikkavasar besides, Tripura -sundari. Natarajar is known as Kunjidapadam as he has both feet on the ground. On the West side you can see idols of Vallabhi Ganesar, Sozhiswarar, Visveswarar, Kasi Viswanathar, Visalakshi, Saraswati & Sapta Matas.
In the Perumal sannithi - the lord is in reclining pose with Adisehans protective hood over his head. In the centre of the sanctum wall you can see Brahma flanked by Naradar & Vasudeva - on the left Garudan & Sridevi - on the right Vibheeshanan, Anjaneya, Sudarsana Chakram & Bhoomadevi. Right in the front is the Utsavar Moorthy. As you circumambulate the sanctum you find idols of Tirumangai Azhwar, Garudar, Thondaradipodi Azhwar, Venkatachalapathi, Tirumazhishai Azhwar, Nagas, Kulasekhara Azhwar, Poygai Azhwar, Tirupaan Azhwar, Peyazhwar, Nammazhwar, Udayavar, Paramapadanathar.
Other sanctums outside include Brahma (open air sanctum) located under the Vanni Tree (Sthala Vriksham), Anjaneya, Thayar Thirumangai Nachiyar (adjacent to Perumal) & Saneeswarar. The Vanni tree is reported to be more than 3000 yrs old.
Legend :
Agastiyar is said to have worshipped here - it is believed that the waters of his kamandalam flowed from here as the Kaveri river to alleviate the misery of the farmers downstream.
A well known divine story of the temple starts with the combat between Aadiseshan and Vaayu . This war pulverises the holy Meru (Divine hill) into five pieces which ultimately changes into five Swayambulinga Sivasthalas. 5 gems are said to have gotten scattered from the head of Adisesha. A red stone landed at Tiruvannamalai, an emerald at Eengoimalai, a blue diamond at Potikai, a manikkam at Vaatpoki and a diamond here.
Thanthonrimlai :
From Kodumudi we reached Karur had breakfast at Ananda Bhavan(neat & clean place,nice vegetarian items) & proceeded to Thanthonimalai located 3 km from Karur. We visited the Kalyana Venkatarama Perumal temple . The idol of the Lord is situated on a raised portion of a hillock. Lord Srinivasa is the presiding deity and the Thayars are Sri Devi and Bhoomi Devi. Thaanthonri Malai was known as 'Dakshina Tirupati' in the past. The speciality of the temple is that the lord is found in the standing posture. Built 300 years ago, the temple was carved out of a cave by the lord himself - hence also known as Swayamvyakta Venkatavaradha Swamy.There is no separate sanctum for Thayar.
In an adjacent room to the left of the sanctum are installed idols of nine Azhwars, Udayavar, Desikar, & Manavala Mamunivar. Outside the sanctum to the immediate right are shrines for Garudar, Venugopal & Anjaneyar.
Kulithalai :
Kulithalai municipality is situated in between Karur and Trichi.The distance from Kulithalai to Karur in 40km and to Trichi in 35km. The Kulithalai Kadambaneswar temple, a tevara sthalam, is located here .We reached around 1.00 pm & fortunately the temple was open & the noon Pooja was just about to start. Moolavar is Kadambavaneswarar & Ambal is Balakujambal. Sthala Vriksham on the Southern side is Kadambam tree. Theertham is Cauvery. Praises sung by Appar & Ayyadikal Kadavarkon. Saptakanyakas were relieved of their Brahmahatti Doshams here.

Moolavar is a swayambu lingam with a square avudayar. Behind the lingam you can see sculptures of Saptakanyakas. The deity is North facing which is unique (normally facing East).

Koshtams : East side koshtam - 6 faced Brahma & Sandikeswarar. South koshtam is Dakshinamurthy.West koshtam is Annamalayar or Lingodbhavar.

As you circumambulate the prakaram - you can see in the North side,two vigrahams of Natarajar - one without Muyalagan.On the East you see Saneeswarar & Navagrahas. On the South - Jeshtadiri, Nalwars & 63'ars.Vinayakar is on the South West corner & on the West Shanmughar with Valli,Devayani & Somaskandar, Gajalakshmi.
Mookombu is located about 20 kms (towards Trichy) from Kulithalai.It is a lovely picnic spot with a lot of water. The Kollidam (or Coleroon as it was known during British times) river divides from River Cauvery here. There is a big dam (Upper Anicut) here. You can walk on top of the dam and take a look at the fast flowing water.

Srirangam :

After Kulitalai we headed for Trichy & we went straight for thali lunch at Vasantha Bhavan near bus stand. Neither the ambience nor the food was of desired standard. Try & avoid this place next time you are in Trichy. After that we headed towards Srirangam crossed the bridge across the Cauvery & arrived at the island called Srirangam in Chozha Nadu. We arrived at the Sri Veera Raghava Ramanuja Kutam run by the Tridanti Jeer right next to the Raja Gopuram & checked in. Nice two bedded room with tiled flooring & attached bath. The tariff Rs.350/- day inclusive of B.Fast, Lunch & Dinner - not a bad bargain at all. Sri Rangam is an Island city of around 600 acres lying between Rivers Kaveri and Kollidam. The Raja Gopuram is a tall impressive brightly painted gopuram which is considered the tallest in Asia. It is easily & distinctly visible from a far distance as it towers majestically over all other structures in the vicinity. We went straight away for darshan of the moolavar - Sri Ranganathar reclining on Sesha Naga, who is also known by various other names - Periya Perumal, Nam Peruman, Azhagiya Manavalan. Srirangam is considered the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams. The 11 Azhwars have sung praises of Lord Ranganatha in Srirangam. The temple is spread over an area of 156 acres and has 7 prakarams with 21 gopurams. The temple is also known 'Bhooloka Vaikuntam' or 'Heaven on Earth.'

Srirangam cannot be discussed without mentioning about the great Vaishnavite scholar Ramanujacharya who attained divinity here. His "Swayam Thirumeni" (the symbolic body) is preserved in a shrine by periodical application of saffron & camphor and prayers offerred even today after 8 centuries. There are several legends associated with the temple. For these and other details log on to : Srirangam temple, Temples in tamil nadu, Hotels,Tamil Nadu History ... Also : http://srirangapankajam.com/default.aspx,

There are total of 9 thirthams - the most significant one is Chandra Pushkarni. Sthala Vrikshan is Punnai.

Prasadam : On most days, the devotees are treated to prasadam offerring of Chakra pongal (A sweet made with jaggery, pulses and rice), Puliyodarai and thayir sadam (Rice with yogurt/curd).

It is customary when the temple doors open every morning,for Lord Ranganatha's eyes fall first on an elephant & a cow standing with its rear facing the Lord. This is considered very auspicious.

Kerala Tour (cont'd)

From Trivandrum I travelled north by Road on NH47. Crossed Attingal & just before Kollam turned right towards Kundara where I had to meet a business associate. From there straight to Kollam - business priorities prevented me from visiting Kollam beach & the large Ashtamudi lake. Kollam,sometimes referred to as cashew country, is the centre of cashew cultivation.
The Ashtamudi is one of the largest wetland ecosystems in Kerala.It is a palm-shaped extensive water body with eight prominent arms - Ashtamudi.The arms converge into a single outlet at Neendakara near Kollam, to enter the Lakshadweep sea.The major river discharging into the Ashtamudi is the Kallada river, formed by the confluence of three rivers, viz., the Kulathupuzha, the Chendurni and the Kalthuruthy.The Kallada river originates from the western ghats. It traverses through virgin forests and finally falls into the Ashtamudi wetland, after travelling a distance of about 120 km.
From Kollam I continued Northwards along the coastline, crossed the Neendakara past Chavara, Karunagapalli, Kayamkulam before turning into Mavellikara to meet another business associate. Kayamkulam Lake, spread over an area of 60 sq km, is one of the most scenic backwaters in Kerala. It is a shallow lake which merges into the sea at Kayamkulam barrage. With a length of 30 km, it is a favorite destination for nature lovers. Kayamkulam Lake connects Ashtamudi lake by the Chavara - Panmana canal.
From Mavelikkara we returned via Oachira back to the NH47 at Haripad proceeded to Mannarsala.
Mannarsala Nagaraja Temple is one of the most important centre of snake worship in Kerala- about 35 Km before Alappuzha. Mannarsala Ayilyam is the famous Festival of this Temple. It is believed that by 'Uruhi Kamizhthal', which is placing a bell shaped vessel upside down as an offering to the deity,childless couples are blessed with children. The sacred turmeric paste of the temple is believed to cure leprosy. The eldest Female member of the Mannarsala Family Known as 'Amma' is performing Pujas in the temple ( Did not visit the temple though - will do so at a later date).
Next we reached Ambalapuzha.The Ambalappuzha temple (click on this for history & legends associated with the temple) is one of the three important Sri Krishna temples in the state of Kerala. As I entered through a tall archway my eyes fall on the magnificent circular temple tank with abundant crystal clear water & convenient bathing ghat - clear invitation to have a refreshing dip. As I went around there was the temple elephant lying on its side & being given a nice scrub & hose bath by its mahout. I could get a nice long peaceful darshan of the deity. The inner sanctum walls are filled with paintings of Lord Krishna as a child & one of Anantha Padbanabhaswamy in reclining pose. The temple is famous for its payasam ( rice & milk kheer) and I was lucky to get a glass of pal payasam. Karumadi is a town near Ambalapuzha - when we make pal payasam at home & it turns out very tasty - we say "Karumadi Etthi" since no payasam can be equated to divine payasam of Ambalapuzha.
During the attack of Guruvayoor by Tipu Sultan, the idol of Guruvayoorappan was brought to Ambalapuzha Temple for protection.

Kerala Tour

I was in Kerala for 4 days from 8-11 Jan'08 and my first stop was Trivandrum. Revisited Padbanabhaswamy & Attukal Bhagavathy temples. Regarding Padbanabhaswamy temple please refer to my blog written in Feb'07 (go to archives) for detailed information.I am now furnishing additional information. As you go around the inner sanctum you can see shrines for Narasimha on the South and Vyasar & Aswatthama towards the North West. Inside the sanctum sanctorum you have two shrines - one for Viswakhsenar(North) & another for Rama,Lakshmana & Sita (East). On either side of the Utsava Moorthy of the Lord besides Bhuma Devi & Sree Devi there are two sages seated in obeisance to the Lord - one of the sages is Koundinya Muni & the the other is Agatsyar. The Lords right hand drops down & one finger is touching the Siva Lingam.
In the outer most prakaram as you walk the splendidly corridorred seeveli pura - you reach the Sastha temple on the South. After offerring prayers to Ayyapa you continue clockwise & towards the North West corner you reach the Thiruvambadi Temple - Ambadi is the abode of Krishna. This has a large Mandapam with exquisitely carved wooden structures. A group of women were singing bhajans in praise of Lord Krishna. You go inside the sanctum and pray to the Lord. Around the sanctum you can see brightly coloured paintings depicting the life & times of Krishna.
On the Western side in the open sandy space between the corridor & Temple walls you can see two very tall multi tiered brass tortoise lamps (ama vilakku). The Temples walls carry myriad lamps on all sides These lamps are fitted with small zero watt bulbs & electrically illuminated at night. Unless you look very closely you will mistake these for oil wick lamps. However inside the sanctum only oil lamps are used. There were large contingents of Ayyapans ( devotees of Lord Ayyapa) that evening to offer prayers to Padbanabhaswamy before proceeding to Sabarimala for the forthcoming Makara Vilakku.
Next I visited Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, one of the most ancient temples of Kerala - located at Attukal, 2 km away from the city. 'Pongala' is the favorite offering to Attukal Bhagavathy. This temple is considered as the Sabarimala for Women. Women form the major portion of the devotees here. The Goddess is worshipped here as the Supreme Mother. The pilgrims who visit the Sri Padmanabha Swami Temple also visit Attukal amma without which their pilgrimage is not considered complete.
According to the legends, the Attukal Bhagavathy is the divinised form of Kannaki, the heroine of the famous Tamil work Silappathikaram. Kannaki is considered as an incarnation of Goddess Parvathi, the consort of Lord Shiva.The temple structure is a blend of Kerala and Tamil styles of architecture.
The Attukal Pongala festival is celebrated once a year during the months of February and March. It is a festival of ten days with the Pongala offerring on the ninth day & is a festival exclusively for women. During this festival, the Temple becomes very colorful and lakhs of women throng to the city and enjoy the festive mood. In 2007, the Pongala was held on 3rd March and it has been reported that about 2.5 million women participated.
I also visited Rajamony Mama & Rajam mami at Revathy, Thycaud & had breakfast of idiappam & coffee. I took snaps of Anna & Manni from their well preserved portraits hanging in the drawing room. Mama gave me the shocking news that the out house in Lakshmi Niwas ( where we had lived during late fortie & early fifties) has been pulled down to make way for a new structure. The main house is also expected to be demolished shortly.
As I prepared to leave mami handed over a packet of delicious home made Chakka Varatti to carry to Coimbatore !

Bangalore - Coimbatore

By the time we finished worshipping at Melkote it was 7.30 pm and we drove off towards Bangalore – it took us about an hour to reach Mandya on the National Highway & then at sped away via Chennapatna – Ramnagaram – Bidadi and finally reached Bangalore @ 10.30 pm and checked in at Woodlands. The drive on the multilane NH was excellent – we could drive at speeds of 100-110 kmph & average 80 kmph plus.
Next day I had some official business to attend at Bangalore – we took time off to visit Gopu – Pushpas & also the Rosarios. Shonali (who had come home for Christmas) & Kavitha with cute bonny baby Kavya were present when we visited. I could snap up some adorable pictures of Kavya !
Our original plan was to depart the same day after noon – but it had become late and we deferred the departure to next morning. We left @ 6.00 am & reached Dharmapuri around 9.30 am just in time for a wholesome breakfast at the newly opened Adhiyamaan Palace Hotel. The hotel provides good rooms at reasonable rates & is a convenient place for a night halt – thundering Hogenekal falls is hardly 40 Kms from this town. The road upto Hosur was bad due to heavy construction activity of new flyovers. After we entered the Toll Rd we had a smooth drive for about 50 Kms before the road degenerated upto Dharmapuri. The condition of the road continued to be miserable so we took a diversion before the Thoppur Ghat ( 40 Km before Salem) & travelled via Mettur & Bhavani and bypassed Salem completely. The view of the Stanley reservoir was breathtaking. From there we went downhill towards Mettur town – had a gorgeous view of Mettur Dam & the the river Cauvery in full flow downstream – an awe inspiring sight. Besides providing precious water for irrigation,the Dam is also a source of Hydel Power. Built in 1934 it is one of the oldest dams in the country and also a premier tourist attraction in this region. Upstream from the Dam is the famous Hogenekal falls.
We continued on our journey towards Bhavani – travelling alongside the Cauvery and witnessed fertile land with rich cultivations of bananas, paddy, sugar cane & coconut palms. It was indeed a rare, rich & refreshing rural experience which we city dwellers seldom get to see. As we crossed village after village we witnessed many rural temples with local gods (Ayyanar or Karuppurayan), erected & worshipped to provide protection to the farmers. I stopped by to take a snap of one such temple.
We finally reached Bhavani and went directly to the celebrated Sangameswaran Temple. This Thevara Sthalam in Kongu Naadu ( praises sung by Tiru Gnanasambandhar), is a shrine at the confluence of Bhavani, Kaveri & Amrutavahini (Mukkoodal). Other Sanskrit names associated with this shrine are Dakshinaprayag, Dakshinabadri, Triveni Sangamam. The temple campus is large & sprawling (four acres) and has sanctums for Sangamesawarn, Ambal Vedanayagi, Subramaniar in the center ( Somaskandar) flanked by Sanewarar & Jorahareswarar. When water or milk is poured on the two identical stone statues in front of ‘Ambal Sannathi’ one smiles at you, while the other sheds tears at you. Besides the navagrahas is the sanctum of Kalabhairavar. The temple also has shrines for Soundaravalli Thayar, Lakshmi Narasimhar, Adikesavaperumal & Venugopal. Outside the sanctum of Perumal are stone images of Krishna, Ramanujar, Anjaneyar. Outside the Venugopal sannithi is a stone image of Krishna flanked by Rukmini & Satyabhama. We saw and photographed the Temple elephant Vedanayaki aged 31 years who was tethered in her shed. We exited the temple through the Swarga Vashal (considered auspicious) which was open because of Vaikunta Ekadesi.
This temple is surrounded by the 5 hill shrines located at Sankagiri, Tiruchengode, Padmagiri, Mangalagiri and Vedagiri.
There are bathing ghats at the confluence point, located adjacent to the Sangameswarar Sannithi, and the water here is nice, cool, refreshing & invigorating.
Legend:
Kubera, Rama, Arjuna, Viswamitrar and Parasarar are said to have worshipped here. The remnants of the celestial nectar, drawn from the milky ocean and buried here by Parasarar,turned into the Shivalingam.
True Incident :
During British Rule, Coimbatore Collector W.Garrow visited Bhavani on official work & was resting at night in the Inspection Bungalow. It rained heavily that night with heavy thunder & flashes of lightning.In the middle of the night a young girl child came in, took him by his hand & pulled him outside the IB. The next moment the roof of the IB collapsed. The collector looked back & saw the girl hurrying away. He followed her but she entered the temple premises & disappeared. He realised it must have been the Goddess Bhavani, in the form of the little girl, who had rescued him. Since he was not a Hindu he could not enter the temple. So he had two viewing ports created on the temple wall facing the Ambal Sannithi to enable him to see her divinity . The Collector also gifted an Ivory palanquin to the Temple.

Mysore & Bangalore (contd)

After a nice Thali lunch at Hotel Siddhartha we left Mysore @ 2.30 pm – our destination Srirangapattana about 13 Kms away on the Bangalore Road. Enroute we crossed the magnificent twin spired St.Philomenas Church rising into the sky like the Twin Towers. We filled up gas enroute and reached Srirangapatna in about 30 minutes.The town takes its name from the celebrated Ranganathaswamy temple which dominates the town, making Srirangapattana one of the most important Vaishnavite centers of pilgrimage in South India. Srirangapatnam is a river Island – the river Cauvery splits into two & rejoins at Ganjam & thus forms an Island.
We first visited the Nimishamba Temple on the banks of the river Cauvery. The main deity is Nimishamba & other two deities are a Siva Lingam & Lakshmi Narayana. In the outer sanctum you can see Suryanarayana, Pillayara, Anjaneya & Navagraha (on the river bank). A king by name Muktaraja belonging to "suryavamsha" had performed his penance here. Muktaraja had got a carved "shrichakra" on a stone and started performing poojas. It has been kept in front of Nimishamba inside the temple, which we can see even today. There is a belief that Parvathi is going to resolve all problems of her devotees within a ‘nimisha’ or ‘one minute’. The Sangam or confluence of rivers is near the temple & it is considered holy to have a dip there.
Next we visited Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple - dedicated to the Hindu God Ranganatha, a manifestation of Vishnu and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams or five Ranganathar temples situated on the banks of the Cauvery. The main deities are Ranganathar, Lakshmi Narasimhar & Mahalakshmi. In the outer sanctum you can worship Garudar & Anjaneya. Here Lord Vishnu is in reclining pose.
Next we proceeded via Pandavpura(5 Kms) towards towards the temple town of Melkote(30 Kms) – it was an off highway road but the road was in good shape & we covered the distance from Pandavapure in 45 minutes. As we approached we could see tha Yoga Narasimhar temple situated majestically on a hill top.Then we entered Melkote which houses an ancient shrine to Vishnu.This shrine is known for its long standing association with the spiritual leader Ramanujacharya. Melkote is also known as Yadavagiri, yatistalam, Vedadri and Narayanadri. The presiding deity here (moolavar) is known by the name Cheluvanarayana or Tiru Narayana, while the Utsavar is known as Selva Pillai or Sampath Kumara. There are shrines to Yadugiri Taayaar and Kalyani Nachiyaar. Within the main sanctum are sanctums for Viswaksenar, Ramanujam. Other sanctums for Anjaneya & Mahalakshmi. Outside the Thayar sannithi is a long corridor with exquisitely sculpted pillars.
A crown set with precious jewels known as Rajamudi was presented to this temple by Raja Wodeyar (1578-1617) of Mysore. Krishna Raja Wodeyar III (1799-1868) also presented a crown set with precious jewels known as Krishna Raja Mudi.The Vajramudi festival is the chief annual festival here.
The Main temple tank is known by the name Kalyani Kulam – a large ancient beautiful pond with steps & well sculptured mandapams all around. There are two other smaller kulams –known as akka & thangai kulams.
Early in twelfth century, the great Vaishnava saint Sri Ramanujacharya took up his residence and lived here for about 14 years (said so). It thus became a prominent centre of the Srivaishnava sect of Brahmins,
Legend has it that during the Muslim raids of South India, the Utsava Murthy was stolen and taken away and that Ramanujacharya restored it from the court of the ruler. It is said that it the Muslim princess had grown fond of image of Selvappillai and that being unable to part with it, she followed the Acharya to Melkote and then merged into the shrine there. In honor of this, there is an image of Bibi Nachiyar here at the feet of the moolavar, Thiru Narayanan.The town appears poor and most people living there seem to be associated with the temple in some form or other for their livelihood. People appeared humble & friendly. There was this guy who convinced us to buy his pulihora - we had pulihora for dinner that night and true to his promise it was really good stuff.
We did not visit the Yoga Narasimha temple as it was quite late and it had become dark. Besides with my sensitive back I did not venture to attempt the steep climb up the hillock

Mysore & Bangalore

I had some official business at Bangalore on 26th December, the day after Christmas. I decided to drive down but this time via Styamangalam & Mysore. Accordingly I & Shobha left Cbt on 24th early morning around 5.30 am. It was Tiruvadarai & full moon day. We could spot the early morning moon setting in glorious golden yellow hues. We travelled through Saravanampatti, Annur & Puliampatti before reaching Sathyamangalam. Here we took a 20 Km detour from the Highway & reached Lower Bhavani Dam & reservoir . The land enroute was rich and fertile – verdant with banana, sugar cane, paddy. We drove up to the top of the dam to get a magnificent view of the reservoir & the mountain range in the back drop. We used this as a breakfast halt – and gorged ourselves on yummy cheese sandwiches which melted in our mouths !
Our next destination was the famous town of Bannari – where the legendary Bannari Mariamman temple is located. As the legend goes the idol was discovered by cowherds – one of the cows refused to feed her calf, instead she discharged all her milk on a “puthu” or pit. On digging the villagers found the idol and the goddesses informed them that she had accompanied traders travelling from Mannarkad (in Kerala) providing them divine protection in the forest. She now wished to remain here & wanted the villagers to install her idol and build a temple at the site. The name of the village “Bannari” is derived from “Mannar”-kad. After worshipping there we commenced the steep Dimbam ghat climb – comprising 27 hair pin bends. Ramesh negotiated them with caution but expertly. The scenery at higher altitudes was fascinating & captivating and I could capture some of this on video. This is also the notorious Sathyamanagalam forest range, home & hiding place of Veerappan the once feared forest brigand, kidnapper & ivory smuggler (Veerappan was shot dead by Tamilnadu Police in 2004). We reached Hasanur the border town between Tamilnadu & Karnataka, and continued on our journey till we reached Chamarajanagar town. Enroute there were more banana, sugarcane plantations. Apart from this we saw plenty of papayas,coconut palms, tamarind, banyan & eucalyptus. Some stretches were lined with silver oak trees & honeysuckle bushes. Chamarajanagar is also a district of Karnataka which shares borders with Erode District of Tamil Nadu and Wayanad District of Kerala. The best temple in this area is the Chamrajeswara complex built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. This was built in 1828 in memory of his father - Chamaraja Wodeyar. The sanctum sanctorum has a Shiva Linga which was originally at Sringeri. Transferred to this place it was later named as Chamarajeswara. The goddess is Chamundeswari. The architecture is marvelous & distinct. Special pujas were being offered to the Sahasara Lingam installed there & we received special prasadam of puli hora & sakkara pongal (made from sugar). Shobha also received ‘vettala paku’ from a Kannada family.
The Chamrajnagar to Nanjangud road was battered & full of potholes and the drive was not so comfortable. We finally reached Nanjangud later than scheduled. This town is known for two things – Hallu Podi (tooth powder) & the Nanjundeswara temple. This day happened to be a special occasion for devotees – being a Monday & that too full moon day. There were huge milling crowds & long queues waiting for the lords Darshan. We purchased special Darsan tickets – but notwithstanding this it took us nearly 2 hours to reach the sanctum of Nanjundeswara (or Srikantesawara). Due to heat and lack of ventilation several ladies & children got dehydrated & swooned. Finally we reached the sanctum. We first worshipped Nanjundeswara & then at Ammanavarugudi or Parvatambal Sannithi and then at Natarajar sannithi. The style of architecture was clearly Dravidian. At the Ambal sannithi we saw the jade lingam donated by Tippu Sultan. As per legend Tippu’s elephant had recovered its eye sight after Tippu prayed to the deity hence the jade lingam is also known as ‘Hakim’ Nanjundeswara.
Nanjundeshwara means the God who drank poison. Hindu mythology quotes an interesting legend in which the Gods and demons churned the ocean in search of the nectar of immortality. During this churning abundant quantity of poison was produced. To prevent the poison from spreading across the universe and destroying it, Shiva came to the rescue and drank the poison. Nanjangud is also known as 'Dakshina Kashi' or Varanasi of the South - the Kapila, Koundinya & Suvarnavathy rivers meet here.
Twice a year worshippers gather for the Chariot Festival locally known as the Dodda Jathre and the Chikka Jathre. Idols of Srikanteshwara, Parvathi, Ganapathi, Subramanya and Chandikeshwara are kept in five separate chariots and devotees pull the wooden chariots across the streets of the old town.
As we exited from Ambal sannithi we saw several superb sculptures – Sivam Kalyanam, Dakshinamoorthy, Kalasamharamoorthy, Annapoorni amongst others.
Our final destination and halt for the night was Mysore – at Hotel Ramanasree. We reached around 5.30 pm & checked in to our hotel room . After a quick wash we left almost immediately to Chamundi Hills for a Darsan of Goddess Chamundeswari. Alas as soon as we reached the shrine @ 6.15 pm, the temple doors closed to reopen again only at 7.45 pm. We did not wait & returned to the Hotel. On our drive down we could sight the full moon in all its glory – a truly elevating experience. Next morning we were up at Chamundi hills once again – this time we had Darsan of Chamundeswari. We bought special Rs.100 darsan tickets and we could directly reach the sanctum without having to stand in queue. We also worshipped at the adjacent Mahabaleswara (Siva) temple a small but less celebrated temple. There were no crowds here and we spent a lot of time in meditation & took several photographs of the sculptured pillars, beautifully carved doorways, the Vimanam, the brass dwaja sthambam etc. This place had a special vibration about it,which has to be actually experienced to be believed. We departed after taking snaps of the Demon Mahisasura battling a huge snake ( the towering statue is installed outside in the bazaar area), we motored down hill again, made a small deviation to reach the cave temple & the huge Nandi installed there. From Chamundi hills we got a panoramic birds eye view of Mysore – the Lalit Mahal Palace, the Race Course, The Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the Lake & other landmarks.
Then we returned via Cantonment area - the National Administration Institute, Kanteerava Narasimha Raja Sports Institute, Karanji Lake Nature Park & KARP Mounted Police Hqs. The Lakshmi Vilas Palace was located close to our Hotel – it was earlier known as the Amba Vilas Palace. The Lalita Mahal Palace on the foothills of Chamundi (built by Karishna Raja Wodeyar in 1931) is now owned and managed by ITDC operates as a 5 star hotel. Photographs of these magnificent monuments can be seen in the blog.

Dubai Tour - Part II

On day three the Business session continued at the Grand Hyatt while spouses were taken for shopping. Places visited were the Gold Souk & Carrefour a large supermarket chain. Souk is an Arabic term for market. Lunch was arranged at Al Ibrahimi Palace Restaurant near the New Burjuman Centre,Karama. Food served there was Indian & extremely delicious. The ambience was nice & friendly. It is reported to be owned by a Pathan - the door keeper was a tiny Pathan about 3' tall & he is a unique attraction here. Next part of the tour was a visit to the wild wadi water park. As Shobha & I were not keen on water sports we decided to give it the skip and instead decided to explore old Dubai a bit on our own. (Log on to below website if you want to know more about Wild Wadi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Wadi_Water_Park)
We decided to take a walk down down Al Khaleej St. behind the Hyatt then into Al Khor St. We walk past gold shops of Indian origin like Joy Alukkas, Atlas & Chemmanoor and finally turn left into the Dubai Souks.
Dubai Souks are a striking contrast to the modern shopping malls. Shopping in Dubai is not complete without a browse through Dubai's famous souks. Souks swarm with people busy negotiating with the shopkeepers in traditional style of doing business. Dubai souks are located at Deira near the old docks and sell gold jewellery, traditional spices, perfumes and antiques.
We first walk through the Gold Souk which has a large number of shops exhibiting a dazzling array of gold ornaments - earrings, rings, necklaces, chains, bracelets, bangles and pendants. It is reported that any given time over 25 tons of gold jewellery is on display at the souk. It is an awesome display. We were tempted to buy but strongly resisted.
Next we entered the Spice Souk where fresh Arabic spices are on display - cloves, cardamom, frankincese, cinnamon, incense, dried fruit and nuts imported from all over the Middle East. The spices are sold straight out of large open sacks. We bought Irani dates,saffron,dalchini & frankincese(dhoop). We did some aggressive bargaining and could drive down quoted prices by half !
We exited the souk into Baniyas Road and boarded the Dhow (ancient Arabic Boat) at gold souk station and took a ride to Bur Dubai - it was dusk and light was fading. The fare was Dhm.1 per head and we were across in 5 mts. The boatman Husain was a friendly chap from Bangladesh. He advised us not to visit the old palace and museum as " it is just an old building & there is nothing there". We heeded his advice.
We disembarked at Bur Dubai station where the impressive Bank of Baroda skyscraper greeted us. We walked a bit through Mina Bazaar which displayed textiles & visited some electronic shops to check out I-Pods, Handycams & cordless phones. The weather was nice and a cool breeze was blowing. We had good South Indian coffee at Saravana Bhavan & then took another dhow back. By now it was dark and Bur Dubai looked enchanting & attractive in the night lights. We got off again at gold souk station took the pedestrian underpass under Baniyas Rd. and crossed into Old Baladiya St. adjacent to the gold souk.
We then went to Al Soor St where the Perfumes Souk is located - these shops sell only perfumes . You can find scores of shops selling a variety of perfumes with a thousand aromas ranging from traditional Arabic Ittars which are strong & spicy to the latest designer brands with light floral aromas. We did end up buying some perfumes and got some good bargains.
We finally call it a day and trek back to the Hotel.
Back to the room for hot bath and change of clothing we report to the ballroom at the lobby for dinner. It appeared that the groups that went on the Wild Wadi trip had had an exciting experience too and were animatedly sharing the details.