The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
“The best laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry” wrote Robert Burns.
Nothing
can describe
our Tirunelveli Temple Run better than these words, written over two centuries
ago!
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| Entrance to the Nanguneri Temple |
When we
planned our
Tirunelveli trip, I had made elaborate plans, trying to find the timings of
every temple we were visiting, and trying to ensure that we had ample time to
cover all we had in mind. Then, at Tirunelveli, the driver we hired had his own
suggestions. The final itinerary was a combined effort – my mother-in-law’s
extensive knowledge of temples, my research and his local expertise. After all
that discussion, we hit a roadblock at the very first temple on our list – at
Nanguneri! My research told me that the temple only opened at 8 AM. The driver
insisted that all temples opened at sunrise, and I gave in. We reached there at
sunrise, only to learn that the priest would arrive only after 8:30! The driver
was a quieter man, as we headed to our next stop – Valliyur.
Valliyur
Murugan Temple
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| Our first sight of the Valliyoor Temple |
Valliyur is home to a rock cut cave temple,
dedicated to Lord Muruga, or Karthikeya. The village gets its name from His
consort, Valli, whom he brought here after they married. The temple is simple,
but beautiful as well as serene. The first thing you see when you approach is
the gopuram, rising over the rocks, and it is indeed an arresting sight.
Inside, the temple is surprisingly huge, having been expanded by the Pandya
Kings, from the simple rock cut cave, which is the main shrine.
 |
| Lord Muruga as he is seen in the sanctum, on the gopuram |
The
weather was perfect when we arrived at Valliyur – the summer skies darkened with clouds,
adding a touch of drama, the intermittent showers keeping us cool. This wasn’t
how we had imagined our summer trip to turn out! Breakfast at the Om Saraswati
Bhawan Tiffin House at Valliyur only helped brighten our day, and off we went,
continuing our temple run!
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| Such beautiful views, and the weather, made our trip a truly enjoyable one! |
Valliyur Murugan Temple
- Location: Valliyur is about 40 Km from both, Tirunelveli, as well as Kanyakumari. The nearest town is Nanguneri.
- How to Reach: Buses are available from Tirunelveli.
- Temple Timings: 5:30 to 11:30 AM, 5:30 to 8:30 PM
- For More information: http://murugan.org/temples/valliyur.htm
Thirukkurungudi
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| A beautiful Krishna at the entrance to the Tirukkurungudi Temple |
Our
next stop was Thirukkurungudi, home to not just one, but 5 temples, all dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The
main temple itself has the Lord seen in three postures – sitting, standing and
sleeping. Besides, there are the other temples, smaller, but equally
interesting. One among these is located atop the hillock, near a spring, and is
said to be extremely beautiful, as well as peaceful. We, however, only visited
the main temple. The temple was under renovation, so much of it was covered.
There was no one around, not even the priest, as the temple had just been
opened. The watchman at the entrance waved us in, assuring us that the sanctum
was open! We wandered in, marveling at the beauty of this temple, and by the
time we walked out, we realized that this temple, and the 4 others nearby deserved
a day to themselves. Another trip was indicated, and as I left, I prayed to the
Lord to call me one more time!
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| A mandapam outside the Thirukkurungudi Temple. Look closer and you will see beautiful carvings on the pillars. |
There
is so much to write about Thirukkurungudi, but I will instead direct you to two articles
which truly do justice to this remarkable temple….
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| Another beautiful Krishna |
Thirukkurungudi Temples
- Location: Thirukkurungudi is located about 43 Km from Tirunelveli and 15 Km from Nanguneri. All the 5 temples, which are considered Divyadesams are located within a short distance from the main temple.
- Temples:
- Thirukkurungudi
- Thirupparkadal Nambi Temple
- Malaimel Nambi Temple – Jeep is required to visit this temple atop the hill.
- Thiruvattaparai Temple
- Thirumangai Alwar Tiruvarasu
- Timings: 8AM to 12 Noon, 5 to 9 PM
Kalakkad
Sathyavageeswarar Temple
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| Entrance to the Kalakkad Sathyavageeswarar Temple |
Our
next halt was the Sathyavageeswarar Temple at Kalakkad. I was fascinated by the temple
from my very first sight of the gopuram. The huge tower is covered with stucco
figures showing various forms of the Gods. More interesting are the paintings
which adorn the inner walls of the gopuram. I had read about them, but sadly, we
couldn’t find anyone who could help us in our quest to see them! The priest
simply told us that they were out of bounds. However, there is much to see in
the temple itself. Like almost all other big temples in this region, this one
too has huge halls, with musical pillars, as well as elaborately decorated
ones, besides a few murals, sadly in not too good a condition, which make you
want to just stop and stare. That, unfortunately, we had no time for, as we had
to rush to the next temple on our (long) list!
 |
| Shiva and Parvati on Rishaba Vahanam on the gopuram |
Meanwhile, before I move on, the temple has
an interesting story… one associating it with the Ramayana. According to the
temple version, the Kalakkad forest was where Sita was abducted from, and this
is where Rama and Lakshmana prayed to Shiva, asking him for help in getting
Sita back. Shiva appeared, and promised them that he would be by their side.
Later, after defeating Ravana, they came back to pay their obeisance to the
Lord, and called him ‘Satyavageeswarar’ – the one who speaks the truth!
 |
| A section of the gopuram showing so many different figures, and stories! |
Kalakkad Sathyavageeswarar Temple
- Location: Kalakkad is about 45 Km from Tirunelveli and 11 Km from Nanguneri.
- Timings: 8:30-11:00AM, 4-8 PM
Our
drive now took us to Cheranmahadevi, where temples are scattered amidst the fields.
 |
| A temple spire rises among the fields at Cheranmahadevi |
Cheranmahadevi
The
temple to
Bhaktavatsala Perumal here is the biggest one, and also the most intricate and
beautiful. You can see a number of photos as well as a detailed description of
this temple at http://indiancolumbus.blogspot.com/2014/07/cheranmadevi-bhaktavatsala.html. I have also read of the Ramaswamy
temple, which is in a bad shape… http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/article2369180.ece. However, the temple we wanted to
visit was dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is counted among the nine temples
together called ‘Nava Kailasam’. It would be more appropriate to talk of these
temples together, so I will go on to the next one….
Athalanallur
Gajendravaradar Temple
The
Athalanallur Gajendravaradar Perumal temple is one of those where the story is far more
interesting than the temple itself. This temple is, as the name of the Lord
suggests, associated with the story of Gajendra Moksham – of Gajendra, the
elephant king, who, caught by a crocodile, prays to the Lord, who arrives on
Garuda, and chops off the head of the crocodile. The story is one I have heard
from childhood, and outside the main shrine is a stucco image of the scene, as
it has always been depicted… the elephant, its foot in the mouth of the crocodile,
a lotus in its trunk, facing Lord Vishnu, who is on Garuda, his discus ready to
be launched.
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| Gajendra Moksham |
On
the temple spire
is a smaller image, depicting the scene too, but in a simpler way.
In
the sanctum,
the Lord is in standing posture, with four hands, Bhudevi and Sridevi by his
side. Standing on the side, facing the Lord, are the sages Brighu and
Markandeya, whom the Lord blessed here in this form.
Athalanallur Gajendravaradar Temple
- Location: Athalanallur is about 38 Km from Tirunelveli and 8 Km from Papanasam.
- Timings: 6:00 to 11:30 AM, 5 to 8 PM
The
next temple we
arrived at is possibly my favourite one from the entire trip. Why? Wait for my
next post, to find out!
This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.
Related Posts:
- Our Tirunelveli Temple Run
What a whirlwind of temples, and it's not done yet! Fascinating to see them one after the other like this in your posts.
ReplyDeleteThank you Natalie!!! It was truly a whirlwind tour! but very satisfying at the end...
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