Nagarcoil Nagaraja Temple

Nagarcoil Nagaraja Temple , Nagercoil Tamilnadu

History and Legends

The legend goes that one day when a girl was cutting grass, blood began to ooze from the bunch of grass she was cutting. Scared with fear,the girl fled from the place and informed her villagers of the happening. The assembled villagers found the Nagaraja idol at the spot and the place was cleared and preserved for the purpose of worship by building a hut around the idol. Hearing of this miracle people from other places started visiting the temple and offering poojas.The name of the place (town) as Nagercoil came from this.

It is also believed that the king of Kerala, Marthanda Varma who was suffering from skin problems came here and worshipped Lord Nagaraja and his disease was cured. It is also believed that it was King marthandavarma who built the temple here. 

Main and Sub deities 

The Presiding deity is Nagaraja and it has five heads. A male snake Darnendran and female snake named Padmavathi are the Dwarapalaka deities (securities) in this temple. The deity of Lords Ananthakrishna and Kasi Viswanatha shrines are to the right of the Nagaraja shrine. The temple also has a shrine for Mother Durga 

known as Theertha Durga. 

Salient Features 

This is the only big temple built exclusively for Nagaraja worship in Tamil Nadu.

To facilitate the living of Dwarapalakas Darnendran and Padmavathi , the sanctum sanctorum has a thatched roof. Every year during the Aadi month (July - August ) the thatched roof is renewed. 

People perform Milk Abhishekam to the Nagaraja on Aayilya day to get rid of their Naga Doshas . The Milk Abishekam takes place at 10.00 AM everyday.

Paal Payasam –Milk porridge is offered as nivedhyam.

The sanctum sanctorum has its surface in wet sand as it was a field earlier. This wet sand is offered as Prasad. The sand is black during the Dakshinayana Punya Kala (the southward journey period of Sun - the months July to December/February ) and white during the Utharayana Punyakala ( the northward journey period of Sun - the months February to December-/January).

Aavani Puja is held in the month of Aavani (August-September - first month in the malayalam calender) . The month of Aavani falls during the monsoon months when the movements of snakes is more. It is to avoid any hardship or accidents, farmers took up this Naga worship during the month of Aavani and comforted their fury with Milk abishekam. It also happens that Sunday is a suitable day for Rahu-serpent planet worship. 

Pujas are performed in the temple according Kerala tradition.

The last puja of the day, Arthajama puja is dedicated to Lord Ananthakrishna.

The Kodimaram (flag post ) is for Lord Ananthakrishna only. The tortoise is chosen for the place of Garuda in the flagpost to avoid an unfriendly atmosphere as Garuda and snakes are natural enemies.

The “Thai Brahmmotsavam” is also dedicated to Lord Ananthakrishna with a car festival on Thai Poosam day. Aarattu and Krishna Jayanthi too are celebrated for Lord Ananthakrishna.

People facing adverse aspects of Rahu or Rahu-Kethu planets worship Theertha Durga during the Rahukalam time on Tuesdays (between 3.00 PM. and 4.30 PM.). 

How to get there

The temple is located in heart of town Nagercoil, and is around 4 KMs from nearest railway station Nagercoil . There are frequent public transportations available to reach Nagaraja temple from other places.The nearest airport is at Thiruvanathapuram. 

Adress:

Nagaraja temple Nagercoil-629001

kanyakumari district

ph:04652-232420

GURUVAYUR TEMPLE KERALA

Guruvayur Sreekrisna Temple, Guruvayur-Thrissur-kerala

History and Legends

The idol at Guruvayur temple is believed to have been made by god Vishnu himself and it later reached Brahma. King Manu and his wife, Satarupa received this deity from him and was advised to start worshipping it. Later it reached Kasyapa and during the course of time it reached Vasudeva and then Lord Krishna. 

As a deluge closed in on Dwaraka, and Krishna gave his disciple Uddhava this deity and instructed him to entrust Brihaspati (the master of the demi-gods) with the task of taking the deity to a suitable location. Brihaspati went around the world in search of an ideal place with his disciple Vayu. On course of thier search they met Parasurama who led Brihaspati and Vayu to a lush green spot with a beautiful lotus lake called Rudratheertham where Lord Shiva was doing his penance .The legend of this lake Rudratheertham is that Prachetas (the ten sons of King Prajinabarhis and his Queen Suvarna) came to this place to do a penance to Lord Vishnu to get a son who become "the king of all kings" . Knowing this Lord Shiva emerged from the lake and revealed to them the "Rudragitam" - a chant in praise of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu appeared before them pleased by their penance by chanting "Rudragitam" after their rigorous tapasya for 10,000 years and granted them the boon . Because of the boon they got Dakshinaprajapati as their son .The lake derives its name Rudratheertham since both Rudra ( Lord Shiva ) and Prachetas observed their penance here.

Gauging the predicament of Brihaspati and Vaayu, Shiva informed them about the significance of this place and instructed them to fix the idol on the banks of the lake and he himself conducted the Pooja.The place where the idol of Lord Vishnu got fixed came to be known as Guruvayoor since the installation was done by Guru ("master") Brihaspati and Vayu. Siva with Parvati then left to the opposite bank to Mammiyoor.

It is in memory of this incident that a pilgrimage to Guruvayur is said to be complete only with a worship of Lord Shiva at Mammiyoor Temple also. But, as many devotees cannot go to Mammiyoor, they worship facing the north-west direction, where Mammiyoor temple is located or pray to Edatharikathu Kavu Bhagavathy in the Guruvayur temple complex. Visvakarma, the divine architect was entrusted by Brihaspati and Vayu to build the temple. He made it in such a way that on the day of Vishu (summer equinox) ,the first rays of the sun falls straight on to Vishnu's feet. The deity was installed in the solar month of Kumbha in the Malayalam Calender (February - March) and the ceremony was begun on the seventh asterism of Puyam and completed on the day of Anizham

Main and Sub deities 

The presiding deity of the Temple is Lord Vishnu, worshipped in the form of Lord Krishna, his avatar. The sub deities of the temple are Lord Ganapathy in the south-western corner, Lord Sastha (Ayyappa) in the southern side of the temple, outside the Nalambalam and Edatharikathu Kavu Bhagavathy at the North-Eastern corner of the temple

Salient Features 

The deity of the Guruvayur Temple is unique, since it is carved out of a stone called "Patalanjana Stone", and is considered extremely sacred by the Hindus. 

The presiding deity is worshipped according to the pooja routines laid down by Adi Sankaracharya and later written in to the Tantrasamuchaya by Chennas Narayanan Namboodiri

The temple is open at 3 AM and closes after the day's poojas and rituals around 10 PM. Everyday there are five pooja’s and three Sreeveli’s (circumambulatory processions ) propitiating the deities and by taking the Lord's Thidambu on elephant's back. 

During the days of Udayasthamana Pooja there will be a total of twenty one Poojas. 

Krishnanattam is another Pooja offered by the devotees at the temple .There will be only one performance on a day with no performances on Tuesdays and during off season (between June and September).

Malar (puffed rice), Neipayasam, Plaintain, Sugar, Butter, Kalabham , Abhisheka Oil, Palpayasam, Appam, Ada, Avil etc are offered as Prasadam to the Devotees.

Guruvayur Ekadasi is celebrated on Vrishchika Ekadasi day(Sukla paksha) .The ritual is observed during the Malayalam month of Vrischikam (mid-November to mid-December). A month prior to this festival, a ritual called Ekadasi Vilakku is also organised.

Guruvayur Utsavam is celebrated during the Malayalam month of Kumbha (February to March) .The first day of the festivities is marked by an elephant race called Anayottam. Many music and dance performances such as Chakkyar Koothu and Krishnanattom are organised in the Temple premises. The 10th day is another 

special occasion called Guruvayur Arattu.

Dos and Don’ts

Only Hindus are allowed to enter the temple.

Do not enter the temple wearing shirt, banyan, pyjama, lungi, chequered clothes, footwear etc. 

Do not take video camera, mobile phone, radio, tape recorder etc. inside the temple.

Do not spit in the temple premises.

Do not retain babies and children for a long time within the Nalambalam.

Udayasthamana Pooja, Chuttuvilakku, Bhagavathy Chuttuvilakku, Namaskaram, Krishnanattam and offerings of the like, have to be booked in advance.

How to get there

Located at about 29 km from Thrissur in Kerala ,the nearest railway station is at Guruvayur. The nearest major railway station with better connectivity is at Thrissur. The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, at Nedumbassery near Kochi around 75 kms away. Guruvayur is well connected from all major towns of Kerala and Tamil Nadu thru various private and state bus companies operating regular services. 

official web : http://www.guruvayurdevaswom.org/

office adress:

Guruvayur Devaswom

Guruvayur, PIN 680 101, 

Thrissur, Kerala, India

Phone:0487-255 6335/255 6347/255 6365

Suchindram Temple-Kanyakumari district-Tamilnadu

Sthanumalayan Temple, Suchindram-Kanyakumari district-Tamilnadu

History and Legends

There are many legends associated with this temple. The place was then known as Jnanaranya where Atri maharshi used to live with his wife Anasuya . Anasuya, was known for her chastity and her devotion to her husband. It so happened that it stopped raining at Jnanaranya. Atri Maharshi started a penance to know the reason for it and even the Trimurthis ( Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma) couldn't give the reason for it. Then Atri Maharshi decided to start a penance for Lord Indra to get the answer. He was hesitant to go to the himalays for the penance because Anusuya would be alone in his absence. Anusuya insisted and the reluctant Atri Maharshi then left for the penance. Anasuya had kept 'paatha theertham' (water with which she washed her husband's feet) which she believed will guide her and make her mentally strong in Atri Maharshi’s absence .
The three Goddesses - Lakshmi, Saraswathy and Parvathy heard about this through Sage Narada,and they wanted to test her chastity. They took help from their husbands Lords Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva to test Anasuya's devotion to her husband. Lords Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva transformed themselves to mendicants and went to the hermitage where Anasuya was living and sought alms from her and informed her that they had taken a vow that they could accept alms only from a person who is not wearing any clothes . As it was a sin to refuse alms to mendicants she prayed to her Lord looking into the 'paatha theertham'. As she prayed all the three mendicants were transformed into babies . Anasuya then fed the babies after removing her clothes.
The Goddesses learning what had happened apologised to Anasuya and pleaded with her to to give them back their husbands. Anasuya forgave them and responded by restoring their husbands back to their original form and gave them back to the goddesses . The Gods and the Goddesses accepted that Anasuya's fame as the chastest woman on earth was justified. Thus the Thrimurthy came to be represented at Suchindram by the Lord Shiva on top thru Lingam, the bottom by Lord Brahma and the middle by Lord Vishnu .
The other legend associated with this temple is that once Indra was infatuated with Ahalya, the wife of Rishi Gautama. One night Lord Indra changed his form into a Cock and crowed at night indicating the approach of dawn. Rishi Gautama woke from his sleep and went to the river for his ablutions prior to commencing his prayers at dawn. Realising that it was not dawn and too early for morning to break he returned to his hut. Lord Indra meanwhile had again changed form to the appearance of Rishi Gautama, approached Ahalya and was satisfying his desire. Rishi Gautama saw his wife with this another man and cursed this wife Ahalya to become a statue of stone and Lord Indra to become “Sahasramukha ”. Lord Indra to get rid of this curse went to Jnanaranya and prayed to the Thrimurthis to rid him of this curse. Once Lord Indra got rid of his curse he built a temple and installed the Lingam to represent the Thrimurthis - Thanu ( Representing Lord Shiva - Sthanu ),- Maal ( Representing Lord Vishnu )and Ayan ( Representing Lord Brahma), giving the temple its name and the name of the place came to be known as Suchi-Indran (the place where Indran was purified).

Main and Sub deities 

The main sanctum sanctorum has the large Lingam . The temple has various other deities like Lord Vishnu in the adjacent shrine , a large idol of Hanuman at the Eastern end , Kalabhairava ,Sakshibharaivi etc in the thirty shrines inside the temple complex.

Salient Features 

The temple is visible from a long distance away as the entrance tower is of 134 feet height with its face covered with sculptures and statues from mythology.
The entrance itself is about 24 feet high with a beautifully carved door.
The Hanuman statue in the temple is of 22 feet and is carved of a single stone making it one of the tallest statues in India.
The temple is famous for its 'Alankara mandapam' and its musical pillars. Situated adjacent to the Northern corridor, it is formed by four large pillars where each large pillar is formed by a group of smaller pillars ,all carved from a single stone. Two of these large pillars are formed by thirty three smaller pillars each. The the other two large pillars are formed by twenty five small pillars each. Each of these smaller pillars produce a different musical note when tapped.
The temple is believed to be thousands of years old and one of the oldest in Tamil Nadu and has withstood the test of time and various attacks from the Dutch, Tippu Sultan etc.
The nine day Margazhi festival is celebrated in this temple between December and January in which three Cars are taken out in procession around the town on the last day. The Chithira festival is celebrated during between April and May every year.

Dos and Don’ts

“ Vadamala ” for Lord Hanuman is considered to be a very sacred offering here at Suchindram.

How to get there

Suchindram is located between Kanyakumari and Nagarcoil in Tamil Nadu . One can get buses to the temple from Kanyakumari, Nagercoil and Thiruvanathapuram. The nearest railway station is Nagarcoil on the Trivandrum - Kanyakumari sector.The nearest airport is at Thiruvanathapuram.

Contact:

suchindrum

Manager
A/M Thanumalayan thirukoil suchindrum-629704
kanyakumari district
Ph:04652-241421

 — in Suchindram.

Adikeshava Perumal Temple, Thiruvattar

Adikeshava Perumal Temple, Thiruvattar-Kanyakumari District-Tamilnadu

History and Legends

As per the legend , a yajna was being conducted by Lord Brahma. Because an error in the conduct of the yajna,two demons, Kesan and Kesi emanated from the fire and they started causing all sorts of troubles for the Sages and Devas. The devas under the leadership of Lord Indra came to Lord Vishnu (Perumal) for protection. Lord Vishnu protected the sages and devas by killing Kesan. Since Lord Vishnu (Perumal) destroyed demon Kesan, Lord Vishnu came to be known as Kesava Perumal also. Kesi tried his best to escape from the Lord Vishnu (Perumal) using his 12 hands but Lord Vishnu (Perumal) put 12 Rudrakshas in his hand and foiled his escape bid and is believed to have used Kesi as a pillow for his bed.This is represented by the the 12 Shiva temples that came into being around Tiruvattaru. Kesan’s wife, to take revenge of the killing, called Rivers Ganga and Tambiraparani to help her and they came as a flood to wash off Lord Vishnu. At this juncture Mother Earth intervened by raising the ground level where Lord Vishnu (Perumal) was reclining. Thus both rivers Ganga and Tambiraparani had to go around Lord Lord Vishnu (Perumal) and had to flow in the form of a garland. The event has been mentioned in Nammalvar’s Mangalasasanam hymn.

Main and Sub deities 

Lord Adikesava Perumal is the presiding deity and graces in a reclining form. The deity has its head and feet in the South-North directions respectively. Maharshi Hadhaleya is near the head of the Lord. Mother Maragathavalli Nachiar graces with Lord.The procession deity in a standing form graces with Mothers Sridevi and Bhoodevi. Garuda, Sun, deities of the five weapons (Panchayudha), demons Madhu and Kaidaba are in the sanctum sanctorum. 

Salient Features

The Presiding deity of Lord Adikesava Perumal faces the west with his left hand hanging and the right hand assuring the devotee – Abhayahastha which makes it a rare form.

It is believed that the deity Lord Adikesava Perumal is facing west to face Lord Anandapadmanabaswami at the Shri Padmanabhaswami Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

There is no Lotus or Brahmma on the naval of the deity of Lord Adikesava Perumal 

Onam, Aipasi Brahmmotsavam in October-November, Purattasi Saturdays in September-October, Vaikunda Ekadasi in December-January are the festivals celebrated in the temple.

It is believed that the devotee worshiping Lord Adikesava Perumal here would have no further births. 

Setting rays of Sun fall on the deity of Lord Adikesava Perumal in Panguni (March-April) from 3 PM to 9 PM and from 3 PM - 9 PM in the month of Purattasi (September-October).

The idol of Perumal in Bhujangasana is of 22 feet and is made of a mixture of materials called Kadu Sarkarai Yogam with 16,008 Salagrama stones (stones with Narayana forms).

During Shivrathri, devotees run to cover all the 12 Shiva temples and end the prayer with Lord Shiva at the feet of Adikesava Perumal.

Dos and Don’ts

The devotee has to worship Perumal through three entrances. 

Those on a pilgrimage to the 108 Divya Desa’s are advised to worship Lord Adikesava Perumal before proceeding to Thiruvananthapuram to worship Lord Anandapadmnabaswami.

How to get there

Adikeshava Perumal Temple is situated at Thiruvattar, in the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. You can access this temple both by rail and road. The nearest railway station is Kuzhithurai in the Thiruvanathapuram - Kanyakumari sector. 

The temple is located just 6 kms away from Marthandam, a town on the Kanyakumari-Trivandrum National Highway(NH 47).Bus services run by Kerala State Road Transport Development Corporation and Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Development Corporation frequent thru Marthandam. Get down at Marthandam and take the Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Development Corporation that frequents to Thiruvattar. 

The nearest airport is Thiruvanathapuram which is approximately 30 kms from this temple.