Temple Guide

Siruvarpuri (Chinnampedu):





















Main Deity: Balasubramania Swamy

Utsava moorthy : Valli Manalar

Location: Around 37km from Chennai on the Chennai-Kokatta highway.

Legend:

Lava-kucha, twin sons of Rama, while living at Valmiki’s Ashram here, tied the Ashwametha horse sent by Rama. Then Rama himself came fought with Lava-kucha with the knowledge that they where their sons. The name of the place Siruvarpuri came from the phrase ‘Siruvar-Por-Puri’. The other names Siruvarampedu came from ‘Siruvar-Ambu-Edu’ and Chinnampedu came from ‘Chinna-Ambu-Edu’. Siruvapuri is believed to be the Kusalapuri of Ramayana.

The Temple:

The temple has  5 tier Rajagopuram
Arunagirinathar is seen just near the sanctum facing the Lord
Except The presiding deity all the other deities are made out of green granite stones
This temple also has Sri Annamalaiyar (Lord Shiva) and Sri Unnamulai Amman.
The temple also has Valli Manalar Deity which also is very rare.

Unknown Facts:

• An unique feature of this temple is the Maragatha Mayil (Peacock) the carrier of Lord Muruga made of Green stone.

• Mayil vahanam, Suryanar, Vinayagar and Annamalaiar lingam are all made out of green granite stones

• This Temple is famous in that whatever you believe in and visit here continously once a week for 6 weeks will come true.

• Particularly those who are building a house or those who have not been able to find a house are believed to be blessed with a house after visiting this temple.

Kundrathur is about 28kms from chennai located in the middle of pallavaram,poonamalee and porur .


Presiding deity : Kundrathur Murugan along with his consorts valli and devayani.

Legends: Lord halted on the hills of Kundrathur during his journey from Tiruporur to Truttanigai.

History: The temple dates back to the reign of the famous emperor of Chola dynasty- King Kulothunga Chola-II.

About the Temple:
The temple is situated at the top of a small hill and 83 steps leads to the temple, on climbing the steps valansuzhi vinayagar sannidhi stands first and having a dharshan of vinayagar in just a few steps one can enter the murugar shrine.

Unknown Facts:
God Subramaniam can be seen along with only one Goddess at the time. In no position of viewing can both the Goddesses (Valli and Deivanai) be seen together with the Lord.

The lord faces north.

Thiruporur situated 40 Km on the old Mahabalipuram road from Chennai.


Other names : Samarapuri , Yudhapuri , Poriyur.

Presiding deity : Kandaswamy

History : The inscriptions in the shrine of Devayani affirm the fact that the land for the temple was donated by Vikrama Chola (1118 - 1133 AD).

Legends:

Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi were subjected to the curse of Kanva rishi. Lord Shiva came to this place to liberate and relieve them from the effect of the curse.

Lord Vishnu worshiped Shiva as "Vanmeekeswara" on the Pranava Hill. He did this to get rid of the sin of having killed Soorapadman.

In total three battles were waged by Lord muruga in three different place namely Tiruchendur, Tiruparankundram and Thiruporur. Lord Muruga fought with Thaaraga in this place and slayed him. Hence the name Porur. 'Por' in Tamil means war.



About the Temple:

The periyavar

The sanctum sanctorum of the presiding deity faces east. The Murthy in the anthill is covered with Kavacham. This deity is known as. He is garlanded with leaves of the Vilva tree.

The chinnavar

With in the sanctum sanctorum, there is another smaller deity with consorts, known as 'chinnavar,' who alone is worshipped with abisheka, aradhana.

Pushkarini :

Vallayaar Odai or Shanmuga Theertham

Pranavamiratnam

Vellayutha pushkarni

Sthala Vruksham: Vanni.



UnKnown Facts:


*Vallayaar Odai or Shanmuga Theertham was formed When Lord Muruga's spear pierced the earth, water came gushing out.

*Sri Chidambara Swamigal has established two chakras in the temple. The first one, known as the Srichakra, is installed on the left side of the presiding deity. The second chakra is known as Theertha-chakra and is installed in the sanctum sanctorum.

* The Presiding deity is said to Swayambhu Murti.

*Abisheka is not performed on 'periyavar'.
*Sri Chidambara Sivagnana Swamigal an ardent worshipper of "Madurai Meenakshi Amman" had a vision of the Goddess bidding him to build a temple for Lord Muruga at Thirupporur. Swamigal went to Thiruporur and searched for an idol of Muruga, but his efforts were in vain. Later on when an old man pointed his finger in one particular spot, Swamigal was overwhelmed to see an idol of Lord Muruga. He started building the temple for the seventh time, since the first six constructions got dilapidated when he was hunting for an idol.

Location:

Distance from Kanyakumari: 13 km

Distance from Tirunelveli: 70 km

Distance from Madurai: 240 Km

Distance from Nagarcoil: 7 km

Place: Susindram

District: Kanyakumari

Presiding Deity: Sthanumalayan

Special feature: All three Murthis in one form

Gopuram : 7 Tiers

sthala vriksha: Kondrai  It is approximately 2,500 years old

Pushkarani: Prapancha Thirtham

Beauty of the temple: Hanuman statue

The presiding deity Sthanumalayan combines the three Murthys viz. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Legends:

Sage Athiri and his wife Anusuya were leading a holy life in Susindram performing penance. During his absence, the three Murthys Brahmma, Vishnu and Shiva visited Anusuya asking for food. When Anusuya began feeding them that they could not accept her hospitality as she was wearing clothes. Anusuya prayed to her husband and spilled on them the water with which her husband’s feet were washed and the Gods became children. She breast fed them, put them in a cradle and made them sleep. The consorts of the Murthys, Saraswathi, Mahalakshmi and Parvathi came in search of their husbands and begged Anusuya to return them in their true forms. Anusuya obliged. The temple was built in memory of this incident installing the three Murthys in one form.

 Suchindrum is the place where king of heavens Devraj Indra attained ‘Suchi’ i.e., purification. According to Sthalapurana  Indra taken over by the beauty of Ahalya had cast amorous glances towards her. Ahalya was the wife of sage Gowthama . A fierce Gowthama then cursed Indra. Humiliated Indra sought immediate redemption to the curse. He came to ‘Gnana Aranya’ (as the place was called then) and started worshipping Lord Shiva.  Mahadev pleased with Indra’s devotion relieved him of his curse and granted his wish that this place would henceforth be called as Suchindrum.

It is also said that lord Shiva proceeded from this place to Kanyakumari for marrying Parashakti appearing in the form of a Kumari before the clever Narada foiled their marriage plans.

About the Temple:

The temple complex :


*Kontai Adi Temple

*Nandeeswar

*Chitra sabai

*Vasantha Mandapam

*Kailasanathar Temple

*Pancha Pandavar temple

*Subramania Swamy temple

*Alankara Mandapam (with musical pillars)

*Sthanumalaya Swami Sanctum Sanctorum

*Chenbagaraman Mandapam

*Anjaneya Swamy Statue


The construction of this temple began in the fifth century by the Pandya Maharaja - maran Chadayan. there after the Chola Rajas, Vijayanagar chieftians, Nayaks of Madurai and continued to the present set up by the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithirathirunal in the 20th century, as it is seen today. the gopura 134 feet high, the main entrance door of 24 feet high of granite, Mandapa with granite pillars of 18 feet height, granite idol of Nandi having 13 ft height.

Sri Sthanumalaya, the Trinity of God (Siva, Vishnu and Brahma) is the presiding deity at Suchindrum. The Lingam here is in three parts. The top represents "Sthanu" lord Siva, the middle "Mal" is the name for Vishnu, and lastly the base "Ayan" signifies Brahma. It is perhaps the only temple of its kind in whole world.


Alankara Mandapam -musical pillars

Alankara Mandapam on the northern side of the corridor there are four large pillars that are formed by a group of cylinders carved out of stone. Two of these pillars are made of 33 cylinders and the other two are made of 25 cylinders. These are the famous 'musical pillars', real marvels of the art and technical superiority of the workmen of those days. These stone pillars produce perfect musical notes when tapped on them.

Anjaneya statue:
The Anjaneya statue stands at 22 feet .It is of great historical interest that this statue was buried in the temple, fearing an attack by Tippu Sultan and was, subsequently, forgotten.The statue was re-installed in all it glory when Sri M.K. Neelakanta Iyer, the then Secretary of the Devaswom Board,an extremely pious and honourable aristocrat under the Maharaja of Travancore tripped and fell while circumambulating the temple. The Namboothiris were summoned and after a detailed study of Prasnam, it was found that the Hanuman statue was buried there.

Parihara stalam

pratana stalam for marriage, children, longevity and prosperity needs.
Worship of Lord Anjaneya of this temple for physical and mental health.

Festivals:


*Markazhi (December/January)
*Chiththirai (April/May)
During the Markazhi festival, on the 9th day the deities are taken out in procession around the streets on three festival cars.

Uncover Unknown Facts

*There rare female form of Vinayaka  here is known as Vigneshwari, or Vallabha Ganeshaani.
*Enormous 22 foot tall figure of Hanuman, which is carved from a single block of granite.
*The upper portion of the Lingam in the sanctum sanctorum represents Shiva, the middle portion Vishnu and the lower portion Brahma.

The presiding deity: Lord Madhusudhana , along with with Goddesses Lakshmidevi and Bhoomadevi

Location : Parakkai, about five km from Nagercoil.

Other Names: Pakshirajapuram , Kezharmangalam , Paravaikasur

About the Deity:
The presiding  Lord Madhusudhana, Lord Vishnu appears in the form of Madhusudhana with four hands. While, two hands hold the disc and conch, the other right hand is held aloft in abaya hastha position and the left rests on the left thigh. He is seen with Goddesses Lakshmidevi and Bhoomadevi.

Important feature to be noted is that  the stone image of Garuda facing the deity.

Significance of the Name: It is also said Lord Vishnu came to be known as Madhusudhana after he slew the demons Madhu and Kaidapan.

According to the Legends:
A sculptor who was an ardent devotee of the Lord etched an image of Garuda in wood while in Kanchipuram and  the bird came to life and flew Southwards. After arriving at the Parakkai village, Garuda, it is said, had a dip in the tank in front of the temple ,hovered around the deity  making a pradakshana and began to fly away. An artisan, who was renovating a pillar at the temple, saw the bird and hurled a chisel at it. The bird fell down crying `Madhusudhana', much to the shock and disbelief of the man. As a result its right wing suffered a wound. A stone image was later carved at the spot where he fell.

Uncovering  unknown  Facts:
* The sun rays falling directly on this Perumal's feet on the 10th day of the month of Chitirai ,henceSun pooja is performed then.
*Important feature to be noted is that the stone image of Garuda facing the deity.
*The prasadam  here for the Moolavar is kozhakattai (Amrithakalsam.) in the shape of a big coconut.
*Visiting the shrine after going to the Sri Sthanumalayan temple at Suchindram, (located on the way to Kanyakumari ), is considered very auspicious.