Temple Visits of Parantharami Mani

     Thirukachi Nambi Varadaraja Perumal Temple,  Poonamalle.       This temple is situated at Poonamalle 23 kms away from  Madras and is more than a 1000 year old temple and believed to have been built during the period of  Paranthaka Chola in 10th century.  Thirukachi Nambi was a great Acharya of Vaishnavite tradition  and was the  Guru of Ramanuja. He was born  in 1009 AD at Poonamalle  to Viraraghava  and Kamalamba in an orthodox  Vaishya family. He was named  Gajendra  Dasar and from  his  childhood  he was an ardent  devotee of Varadaraja  Perumal at Kanchipuram. He used to daily do Pushpa Kaikariyam to  Perumal  from his Nandavanam  and also did  Thiru Alavatta Kaikariyam (Circular fan with peacock feathers  )  He was privileged to talk to  Perumal  during such Kaikariyams.  It is believed that   Lord R...

     Had the opportunity to visit  Thirumogur Kalamegha Perumal  Temple  46th of the  108 Divya desam of Vaishnavites. This  more than 1000 year old temple is 12km from Madurai It has a beautiful  5 tier  Rajagopuram  and as per the  Temple  legends is referred in Akananuru and Silapathikaram. The  main  deity Kalamegha Perumal  is in standing  posture  and thayar is called Mogavalli. The  speciality of the  temple is Chakrathazwar with 16 hands having  16 different  weapons. Lord Narasimha  on the other  side with  Shanku and Chakra satisfies the  devotees  requests. Nammazwar and Thirumangai  Alwar have  sung about the deity  here. The  statues of Marudu brothers  stands here facing the main sannadhi. There are separate shrines for Andal,  Anjaneyar and Navaneetha krishnan. A temple with rich legend and religiosity...

          Adhikesava Perumal Temple Bashyakarar  Koil.      This  temple is situated in  Acharappan Street, Peddanaickenpet ,George  Town, Madras. Going by the architecture of the Temple it can be deduced that it should be around  300 years old  East India  Company  Era temple. The  presiding deity of the temple is Adhikesava  Perumal  facing East  in standing  posture with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi and having Sanku and Chakra in hand. The  deity is made of Athi maram.  The  shrine of Udaiyavar  Ramunujar is just outside the main deity's shrine in maha mandapam.  Thayar here is called Yathiraja  Nathavalli Thayar housed in a separate  shrine.  There are also  separate  shrines  for Rama,  Srinivasa Perumal. Alavandar,  Hayagreevar and  Anjaneyar trampling demon.  The  main Rajagopura...

     Thiruvaliswarar  Temple,  Koovathur.      Koovathur  8 kms from  Kalpakkam is known for its ancient Siva Temple of  Thiruvaliswarar. The temple situated beside the  scenic East Coast Road has Valiswarar as the  presiding  deity in Linga form facing  East.  The  special feature of this Lingam is that it has sixteen faces on it ( Pattai Lingam). The  goddess here is called  Thirupurusundari Lord of the three worlds  facing  south. The  temple  though ancient has no inscriptions to  ascertain it. The temple was extensively  renovated recently and conducted it's Teppam festival after  a long time. There are separate shrines for  Vinayagar,  Subramanyar,  Bairavar , Chandikeswarar and Durgai. A beautiful tank abets the Temple with water. The temple follows the saivite agamas for its various rituals. It is also kept  very neat and c...

       Ahobila Mutt Lakshmi Narasimha  Swamy,  Triplicane.   The Mutt situated  in Theradi  Street , Triplicane is one of the  important mutt  for  Vadagalai Vaishnavite  Brahmins and is better known in the  area. The  place where the mutt is situated was given  by the  British government  as a grant in the  year 1888  when  the  36th head of the  mutt Srivan Satakopa Sri Srinivasa Yathindra  Mahadesikan was at the  helm of affairs. The  idols of  Lakshmi  Narasimha,  Sri Desikan  and Srimad Adivan Satakopa  Swamy were installed and worshipped. The  mutt was developed during the period of  40th,  43rd and 44th peetathibathis. During the stewardship of the  45th head  Srivan Satakopa  Narayana  Yathindra  Mahadesikan  the  land adjacent to the mutt were purchased and the  shrin...

      Anjaneyar Temple, East  Tank Square Street, Triplicane.   This  nearly 300 year old temple is attached  to  Parthasarathy  Temple. The Lord Anjaneyar is facing  West towards the sanctum of Venkatakrishnan   ( Parthasarathy swamy).  According to the book on the  History of Triplicane  the place  was originally  used as a Siva Temple which subsequently became Hanumar  Temple. During the Brahmotsavam of  Parthasarathy  Temple  the Hanumantha Vahanam is alighted in front of this temple for Mantakapadi which is done  by  goldsmith community.  The walls of the  mandapam in front of the Anjaneyar shrine are adorned with  exquisitely drawn pictures of the various episodes of  Ramayana which is a pleasure to see. Vishnu Sahasranama  parayanam is done daily by group of devotees here. The  Lord here is supposed to be very powerful and fulfi...

     Visited the 1000 year old Sankaranarayana  Swamy temple  at Sankaran  Kovil around  50km from  Tirunelveli today. This is a temple  dedicated to  Lord Siva and was built  around  1076 AD by Pandian  King Ukkirapandian. A statue of the king is there as you  enter the  temple on the  left side of  Rajagopuram. The  presiding  deity  is Sankaralinga swamy in a small Linga vadivam on a line direct from the main gopuram. It is believed that he revealed himself  from a  Snake Putru and is also called Vanmeega Nathar. Goddess here is called Gomathiyambikai having a separate sanctum on the north side.  The statue of the goddess is exquisitely beautiful. In between  there is a separate sanctum for Sankaranarayana  Swamy where  Sankaran  and Narayanan  are together in one form called  Sankaranarayana Swamy which god revealed hims...