Vallimalai Vijayam

When Lord Subramanya stayed at Skandhagiri after conquering Soorapadma and his army, Devendra prayed the Lord to marry his daughter,Gajavalli, who performed penace to join Sri Subramanya.Sri Shanmukha married her at Thirupparankunram near Madurai. As the Sage Naradha informed Him to bless Sundaravalli who was also conducting "Tapas" at Valli Malai near Vellore to marry the Victorious Lord, He went to Vallimalai and stood in front of Sundaravalli who was born there and brought up by the King of Hunters. Whenever the King appeared there,the Lord stood as "Vengai" tree and once he vanished,He took the form of a young Hunter as if He was mad after Valli. Without realising the fact that the Lord Himself has appeared in front of her,she hesitated the very presence of the young "Hunter" and the Lord finally took the form of an old man and expressed His willingness to marry Her. When Valli turned down the request, the Lord thought of His big brother,Ganapathi. The Elephant God appeared as an Elephant to frighten Valli. On seeing the elephant she asked the old man to chase away the elephant and obliged to marry him. Sri Subramanya appeared in front of her and the marriage took place in the presence of her family members.

Vallimalai can be accessed from Katpadi, the nearest Railway Junction on Chennai-Jolarpet route. Buses are available from Vellore,Thiruthani and Thiruvalam. Those who want to reach the place by road have to take Bangalore High way. After crossing the outskirts of Kanchipuram, a Vaishnavite temple called Thirupputkuzhi can be reached. Mahavishnu in sitting form facing East, gives dharshan at the sanctum. Sri VijayaRaghava Perumal had performed rites to Jatayu of Ramayana period and the tank in front of the temple is called Jatayu Theertham. Thirumangai Alvar has sung pasurams in praise of the Lord.

A 15 minutes drive from Thirupputkuzhi takes us to Thiruppaarkadal ,near Kaverippaakkam where we find two old temples ,the first one dedicated to Srinivasa perumal ,standing on an "aavudayaar" and the other one also a Vishnu shrine, wherein the Lord is seen in the form of Ranganatha,a huge deity.

If we drive further for another 40 minutes,we can reach a historic Shiva temple at Thiruvalam on the banks of Neevaa nadhi. Both the Swayambhu Linga murthi (Vilvavaneswarar)and Nandhi in front of Him face east. The Nandhi near the flag post is huge in size .The Lord has been sung by Thirugnanasambandar in Thevaram Hymns.The Goddess in this temple is known as Dhanurmadhyaambikai.

While proceeding towards Vallimalai,we come across a wonderful Chola Temple,maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The main deities are known as Somanadheshwarar and Thapas kruthaambikai.This place is known as Melpadi,referred in Kanda Puranam. Arinjaya Chola's Pallippadai (Samadhi koil) is said to be close to the site. Those visiting Vallimalai should make it a point to visit this temple.

As soon as we reach Vallimalai, we come across a majestic entrance to the Subramanya temple at the foot of the Hill. Then comes the Temple Tank on the way to the Hills.We have to take nearly 500 steps to reach the top where we find a Subramanya temple,carved inside a rock.A small shrine for Valli carved out of the rock is seen at the entrance. Small ponds of water are also seen at this height!! This deity was sung by Saint Arunagirinathar in his Thiruppugazh. A special mention has to be made for Sri Vallimalai Swamigal, who stayed here in a cave and propagated Thiruppugazh to his disciples. His ashram can be reached on the other side of the hill.There are no proper steps to reach this place.However one can reach there within 30 mins. without difficulty. Swamigal's samadhi is seen near the ashram. the rock nearby looks like a huge elephant- that reminds us Ganapathi who came to scare Valli at the behest of Subramanya.

Another spot called Ponnai is a must for devotees as there is a rare Ganapathi (Swarna Ganapathi) temple in which there are atleast 108 idols of Ganesa are seen. Navagrahaas are seen behind the sannadhi with respective trees&vahanas. People call it as Navagraha Kottai.
Thus our Vallimalai Vijayam covers temples of Ganapathi, Shiva,Vishnu, Subramanya and Navagraha on the same day.

A Celestial Wedding

Thirumazhapadi is a small village situated on the banks of the river Coleroon,a branch of Cauvery. This river is flowing northwards in front of the temple.It is auspicious to have dip in the river that runs towards North("Uththara Vaahini"). This place is connected by road on the ThiruMaanur- Tiruchirappalli route via Pullambadi and Lalgudi..The bus stops right in front of the temple. It is a very big shrine,built and renovated by the Chola Emperors. Sambandar,Appar and Sundarar have sung Thevaram Hymns in praise of the deity, Vaidhyanatha,also known as Vajrasthamba Natha. The Goddess is named as Sundarambikai.Lakshmi Theertham is a small Tank facing Her shrine.

A five story RajaGopuram is at the entrance followed by another Gopuram at the second entrance. An enclosure for Nandi can be seen in between these Gopurams.

People offer poojas to Nandi on auspicious days.The outer prakara has majestically carved Veerabhadra,and Somaskanda(in a single stone),sixty three Nayanmars and shrines for Kaathyaayani devi,Balambikai,GajaSamhara murthi,Durga and Ardha Naareeswara.A palm tree and a dais having four richly carved nandis are also seen in the prakara.

Deva koshtas include Ganapathi,Dhakshinamurthi,Lingothbhava,Brahma & Durga.Two Dwarapalakaas stand at the entrance of the Sanctum.Lord Vaidyanatha in the form of Shiva Linga faces East. Ambal shrine is on His left with separate prakaram.

This village witnesses a great event every year in the Tamil month of Panguni(March/April) coincided by the star Punarvasu. The legend says that Adhikara Nandikeswara is born to a sage called Silatha Rishi at Thiruvaiyaaru which is 5 km east of Thirumazhapadi.The Lord Himself comes forward to conduct the wedding of Adhikaranandikeswara at Thirumazhapadi,where the bride was born.Usthava idols of Lord Panchanatheeswara and Dharmasamvardhani are decorated and taken to Thirumazhapadi in a palanquin fitted with glass pieces.People who carry the palanquin on the shoulders cross the river by foot as the level of water at this part of the year is too low. Lord Vaidyanatha and Goddess Sundarambika are also taken in a palanquin to receive Panchanadheeswara on the sands of the river along with Adhikara Nandhikeswara.The whole village takes a festive look.Plantain trees are tied at the entrance of many houses to greet the newly wedded couple and the Divine couple.

The marriage starts in the evening in a dais situated near the Rajagopuram. The Divine couples in palanquins are brought near the dais to witness the marriage.Adhikaranandhikeswara and the bride(Suyasambika) are beutifully decorated and the marriage is conducted. Then the deities are taken in a procession and brought towards the sands of the river.Crackers are burst to give a nice send off to the newly wedded couple. Finally the palanquin of Panchanadheeswara departs for Thiruvaiyaaru along with Adhikaranandikeswara and Suyasambika. Lord Vaidyanatha's palanquin returns to Thirumazhapadi temple to mark the end of the event.

People throng to see the wedding in large numbers from surrounding villages and the administration arranges special buses for the event from Ariyalur,Thanjavur,Trichy and Thirumanur.There is a saying in Tamil,"Nandi Kalyanam kandaal Pindhi kalyanam Illai", which means that if a person witnesses Nandikeswara's wedding(at Thirumazhapadi) will not have Married life in his next birth.In other words there is no rebirth for those who witnesses the marriage of Adhikara Nandhikeswara.

Siva Sankara(charya) Vijayam

The title of this month's blog may raise eyebrows of many readers.No better title could be selected when the recent trip to Kanchi covered temples often visited by the Sage of Kanchi,Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, the place where he stayed for a long time and the place where the huge "MahaPeriyavah Mani Mantapam" is being built on the banks of the river Palaar.

The trip started well by visiting Sri Varadaraja Swami Temple. I was accompanied by Mr Mani, my close friend for over three decades.According to him, the temple was not so crowded on that day as it used to receive more buses from nearby states. Yet it took nearly an hour for us to have dharshan of Sri Varadaraja and Sri Perundevi Thaayar. Arrangements were on for the float festival to be conducted that evening.

Then we proceeded to Sri Punyakoteeswarar temple(mentioned in Kanchi Puranam)and saw a board inside the temple saying that the Paramacharya had told that the visit to Sri Varadaraja Temple would be fulfilled only when this Shiva temple was visited.

Later in the evening we visited shrines of Ashtabujam, Thoopul Vedantha desikan, Narasimha Muktheeswara, Yathodkari,
Vazhakkarutheeswara and Nagareeswara at Little Kanchipuram.

When we got up on the next day we heard cracker noise followed by Nadaswaram music outside the house.It was a pleasant surprise to see the procession of Sri Yadhodkari Perumal with the elders reciting Samaveda.

The deity,mounted on Sesha Vahanam was going towards Orikkai, where "Thirumanjanam" would be held in the afternoon on the sands of the river Paalar.We started hurridly to have glimpse of the event at Orikkai. We were told that that the deities are taken to Paalar once in a year and that happened on the day of our visit.

We visited Sri Vedheeswara Temple on the way and reached Sivasthanam,where Kanchi Paramacharya had stayed close to the shrine of Sri Brahmapureeswara in the eighties. A dhyana Mantapam is there which houses the image of the Sage.A veda patasala and a dining hall are also seen inside the campus.

The Mahaperiavah Mani Mandapam which is coming up at Orikkai is a magnificent structure. The sculptors were busy in creating poetry out of stone . A crane was lifting huge granite slabs to the top of the front mantapam. As the work on Rajagopuram and Compound wall is yet to begin,it appears that it may take some years to complete the project. But the organisers are keen to complete it at the earliest. It should n't
be a distant dream as the Acharya's blessings are always there for His devotees.

Kailasanatha at Thiruvalangadu

Some sacred places are equated to Mount Kailash due to various reasons. Shiva Temples at Kalahasthi and Thiruvaiyaru are described as "Dhakshina kailasam". Some places are compared with Kasi(Varanasi) likes those at Vedaranyam,Mayuram,Sri Vanchiyam etc. There are places which are regarded above Kasi , like those at Vridhachalam and Thirup poovanam(Near Madurai). The shrines at Thiruvaiyaru and Thiruvalangadu are hailed as "Kailasam" ,the former gave Kailash Dharshan to Sri Thirunavukkarasar(Appar)and the later to Karaikkaal Ammaiyar (one among the 63 nayanmars).

The sacred tamil Poet Sekkizhar narrates the life and works of Karaikkaal Ammaiyar in his incomparable masterpiece called "Peria Puranam". When Karaikkal Ammai attempted to go and worship Mount Kailash, the Lord asked her to go to Thiruvalangadu to be blessed. Karaikkal ammaiyar went to this place in the form of "Pei"(Desired form of a ghost) and had dharshan of Kailash. Hence she walked upside down ,considering the Holiness of this place.(It is said that Kanchi Paramacharya during His visit to Thiruvalangadu, had His feet covered due to high regard He had with Karaikkaal Ammai.)

This place is called "Vataaranyam " in Sanskrit hence the Lord is known as Vataranyeswara. It is one among the five sacred sabhas of Sri Nataraja,the other four at Chidambaram,Madurai,

Thirunelveli & Kutraalam. Goddess Kali could not dance to match the Urdhuva Thandava of

the Lord. Later,rishis like Munchikesa performed penace to have the Urdhuva thandava dharshan. In order to fulfil the request of the rishis to give thandava dharshan to all devotees who come to this place,Sri Nataraja continues to give dharshan of His matchless Thandava in Rathnasabhai,witnessed by His consort,Sri Sameecheenambika.

Devotees of this place have formed a group in the name of Sekkizhaar and conduct a conference every year inside the temple on 25th and 26th January inside this temple. Thevaram recitation and religious lectures form the agenda of this programme. My close friend, Mr Chandramohan who had gone to Mount Kailash few years back,was invited by this group to deliver a speech on Kailash during the occasion. I joined him and visited the place on 26th Jan and had dharshan at the temple. Mr Chandramohan gave a detailed account of his journey to Mt Kailash and also narrated how his wife was also blessed to visit the place separately.Finally I spoke briefly on Karaikkal Ammaiyar and significance of this place.

வீழிமிழலை வெண்காடு வேங்கூர்

வேதிகுடி விசயமங்கை விசலூர்

ஆழி அகத்தியான்பள்ளி அண்ணா

மலை ஆலங்காடும் அரதைப்பெரும்

பாழி பழனம் பனந்தாள் பாதாளம்

பராய்த்துறை பைஞ்ஞீலி பனங்காட்டூர் தன்

காழி கடல் நாகைக் காரோனத்தும்

கயிலாய நாதனையே காணலாமே.

__ அப்பர் தேவாரம்.

Siva's Gift to Child Prodigy

Those who chant the names of the Lord attain all wishes. Such devotees even get many things they never aspired.When the child prodigy Thirugnanasambandar who became one of the four Acharyas of Saivism went to a place called Thirunelvoil Araththurai(now known as Thiruvattathurai),Lord Shiva blessed him with Palanquin & Umbrella,made of pearl.Sambandar accepted them as God's Grace and started using the same during his pilgrimages.

This place is one among the "seven thurais"{Aadithurai,Thiruvaalanthurai, Thirumaanthurai, Aaduthurai,Thiruvathittathurai(Thittakkudi),Thiru- varathurai,Thirukkaithurai} on the banks of the river,Niva.All the seven temples are worshipped by Saptharishis.

This is located 3 miles off Pennadam railway station on Villupuram-Tiruchi route.It can also be reached by road from Pennadam on the road leading to Thittacheri.There is a historic temple enroute at Erayur.This was known as Maaranpadi wherein Shiva offered water to Sambandar when the later was thirsty.Renovation work is in progress and it may take several months to complete it.

After crossing Erayur,one has to take a diversion after say 3km on Thittakkudi road and reach Thirunelvoil Arathurai.Although the village is fairly populated, very few people were seen inside the temple.Renovation work has been undertaken in this temple also.This may also take not less than six months for completion.

This temple belongs to Chola period and the outstanding sculptures bear testimony to the great skill possessed by the sculptors.Bhikshadana,Ganapathi, Nataraja,Dhakshinamurthi,GangaVisarjanamoorthi,Ardhanareeswara,Bhairava are the noteworthy sculptures not to be missed. Tharukavana Rishi pathni is also shown along with Bhikshadana in the panel. All these outstanding sculptures are housed in Deva goshtams around the sanctum.Moolavar is called Arathurainathar and the Ambigai is known as Anandhanayaki.The Lord is sung by Sambandar,Appar and Sundarar in their Thevaram Hymns.

Nearest place for stay is Virudhachalam and the Pilgrim's plan should cover places like Pennadam and Thirunelvoil Arathurai which are located nearby.

Siva Logam on Earth

A visit to Mayuram(Mayiladuthurai)and a dip in the Holy Cauvery river during the month of Thulam (Oct-Nov) is said to remove all sins and grant every desire and liberate the souls from rebirth.Cauvery is considered as Holy as Ganges during this month.Gangadevi and Dakshinamurthi idols are well decorated and brought near Cauvery ghat on New Moon day of the month.

There is a saying in this region,"Aayiram aanalum Mayuram aagathu" which is interpreted in many ways.Some people say that it means peacock has no equal among the birds.According to the legend,Parvathi worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of Mayura(Peacock), and she saw the Lord's Gowri Thandava. hence the name,Gowri Mayuram. Since the Puranam of this place says that Mayuram has no parallel even if thousand important Shiva sthalams are compared with it, it appears that the above saying is more apt with this explanation.

The legend further says that all Devas sought pardon at the feet of Shiva after realising the wrong support they extended to Dhaksha.

As the Lord granted all boons and pardoned the Devas,

He is known as "Vallal". He is different from other "Vallals" as He is the one and the only God to ask the devotees"What more you want",hence the name "Vadhaanyeswarar" in Sanskrit.In other words He provokes the devotees to ask for more boons than they wished. Goddess Parvathi is called "Abhayaambikai"as She gives asylum for everybody.

It is highly doubtful whether a month long festival is celebrated in any other place with all important deities taken out every day for the procession.Right from the 1st day of the month Thulam, the deities are taken in a procession upto Cauvery till the 1st day of the month of Vruchikam.

The last 10 days of Thulam month in particular,are famous as the deities are taken out in different "vahanam" twice in a day.The last day is called "Kadaimuham" and a dip in Cauvery on that day is equal to taking bath on all the other days of the month.

The ten day festival begins with "Dwajarohanam"followed by processions in several vahanams such as Vrishabam,Bootham.Kalpaga Vriksham,Chariot etc.

Kalyana Utsavam is conducted on the 7th day evening in a grand manner.Head of Thiruvavaduthurai Mutt who manages the Temple attends this function People assemble in thosands on Kadaimuham day and stand in the river,waiting for the arrival of deities from Mayuranatha Swami Temple,Vadhanyeswara swami Temple,Ayyarappar Temple and Kasi Viswanatha swamy Temple.Once the asthra devar from these Temples are dipped in the river,people take the Holy dip follwed by deeparadhanai to all deities on both sides of the river.
The salient feature of the last day is the simultaneous playing of "Mallari"by several Nadaswaram Vidwans in front of Pancha Murthis at the entrance of the Temple. Music lovers assemble here to listen to the unique music offering to the deities.

Although the monsoon is severe during this month, people do not look at it as a constraint.People assemble at the river unmindful of the rain.One should undergo this fantastic experience.

Yes. It is Shiva Logam on Earth.