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Schoolchildren to see ancient temples through artistic lens

Tiruchi, India: Schoolchildren in Tiruchi may have visited the temples here to experience the religious fervour and take in the architectural splendour. But this weekend, students will get a chance to look in Srirangam and Thiruvanaikovil temples through an artistic lens.

An initiative by the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation along with two organisations dedicated to art — Kalanjiyam Art Gallery, Thilllai Nagar, and Ainthinai, Tirunelveli, plans to motivate children to preserve ancient heritage structures by cultivating an appreciation for art and architecture.

Children would be taken around to observe sculptures and carvings in both temples to help them see them through an artistic perspective.

They would be trained to sketch on the spot under the guidance of Chennai-based artist Chanthuru.

Thennan Meimman from Thanjavur will enlighten students on various facets of temple architecture and Tiruchi-based photographer Thamizh Kuricil will demonstrate how to photograph temples.

The initiative will guide students in exploring the historical, cultural, and literary influences seen in the temple and learn the relevance of various art symbols, said Suresh, proprietor, Kalanjiyam. The best sketches will be displayed at an exhibition in the city.

Students will be trained by experts on July 27 at the Srirangam Divisional Office between  9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Children in corporation schools will be participating in the training. Other students and schools who wish to participate can register with Kalanjiyam at +91 431-4001790.There is no fees for participation and all sketching material will be provided by the organisers.  
The Hindu

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TTD’s mass temple festival from Aug. 21

TTD’s mass temple festival from Aug. 21: The mass temple festival concept, ‘Managudi’ conceived by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will be observed across 20,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh, India from August 21.

Addressing the third phase of review meeting of “Managudi” at Sri Venkateswara Employees Training Academy (SVETA) here on Tuesday, TTD Trust Board Chairman K Bapiraju said that the fete was being organised with the aim of promoting and propagating the values upheld by the ‘Hindu Sanatana Dharma’ for the future generations. He also said that over two crore kankanams (holy threads) will be distributed to the public on this occasion. The programme is conducted jointly by the TTD and the Endowments Department.

Executive Officer M.G. Gopal directed the Dharma Prachara Mandali members to identify and enlist the settlements without temples in Harijan, Girijan and Fishermen colonies. “We have to encourage them to take part in this mass temple festival with vigour,” he added.

Earlier, TTD Joint EO P Venkatrami Reddy enlisted the schedule of activities in connection with the fete. Before Managudi festival, programmes like Alaya Shobha (August 8), Dharmic discourses (August 11), Kumkuma Puja (August 12), Gopuja (August 14), Mass Varalakshmi Vratam (August 16) and Satyanarayana Vratam (August 17) will be conducted.

Principal Secretary (Endowments) Vinod K Agrawal, Chief Vigilance and Security Officer GVG Ashok Kumar, HDPP Special Officer B Raghunath and heads of other departments took part.

‘Managudi’ will be observed across 20,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh. The Hindu

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DK and Udupi temples steal the limelight

DK and Udupi temples, Karnataka, India steal the limelight:

Generally Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts are referred to as districts of temples. But the statistics available on the website of Muzrai Department listing recognised temples show that the two do not figure in the top 10 districts. However, the fact remains that temples in the two districts are better known than those in other districts.

Temples such as Kukke Subrahmanya Temple, Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple and Kateel Shri Durgaparameshwari Kshetra are very well known both within and without the district. The popularity of Mookambika Temple in Kollur, Udupi district, and the Udupi Krishna Math Temple transcends the State’s borders.

Chandrashekar Damle, a former Professor of Sociology at Nehru Memorial College, Sullia, said that temples in the district have been projected well and hence they take the limelight compared with those in other districts.

Mr. Damle said that many astrologers in Kannada television channels, which telecast religious programmes every morning, suggest devotees to visit either Kukke Subrahmanya and/or Dharmasthala Manjunatha temples to get rid of divine wrath. There is a queue of people who wish to perform “sarpa samskara” and “ashlesha bali” in Subrahmanya Temple. The Dharmasthala deity Lord Manjunatheswara is considered the God of Truth. In addition, Dharmasthala temple offers an out-of-the-court justice settlement system. The visit of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and many film stars to Kukke Subrahmanya and the media coverage on it has prompted many to throng to the temple. Some of those who come to these temples also go to other nearby temples like Kateel, Udupi Krisha Math and Kollur Mookambika Temple. The temple at Kollur also attracts large number of pilgrims, especially from Kerala. Carnatic vocalist K.J. Yesudas visits the temple regularly each year.


Mr. Damle said that temples had “rajashraya” during rulers. A Kannada book titled “Dakshina Kannada Jilleya Ithihasa Mattu Puratatava” published by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Mysore in 2007, quotes writer Keladi Venkatesh Jois in an article on Keladi rulers, who says that a Keladi dynasty ruler Venkatappa Nayaka “…extended Kollur Mookambika temple…” The same ruler built Jangama Maths in places like Karkala, Moodbidri, Gurupura, Bantwal, and Shankaranarayana. The Hindu

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Pilgrims throng temples for Nalambala Darsanam

Pilgrims throng temples for Nalambala Darsanam

Kerala, India: Despite intermittent rain, large crowds were seen on Sunday at the four temples involved in Nalambala Darsanam, an annual pilgrimage in the Malayalam month of Karkkidakam.

The pilgrimage involves offering prayers at the Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple, Moozhikkulam Lakshmana Temple, Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikya Temple and Payammal Shathrughna temple on a single day.

The temples are dedicated to Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shathrughna.

 Spiritual quest:A long line of devotees at the Koodalmanikya Temple in Irinjalakuda on Sunday. The Hindu 

During the season, tens of thousands of pilgrims from different parts of Kerala and neighbouring States visit the temples.

The Thriprayar shrine depicts Lord Rama as protector of the universe. The main offerings there include ‘Avil Naivedyam’. Thriprayar Thevar is the presiding deity of the Arattupuzha Pooram, an important festival of central Kerala.

The Irinjalakuda temple depicts Lord Bharata offering prayers to Lord Rama. Ceremonies such as ‘Usha Puja’ and ‘Pantheeradi Puja’ are not performed there.

The Moozhikkulam temple, one of the few shrines in the State dedicated to Lord Lakshmana, is located on the banks of the Chalakudy river. The main offerings there include ‘Pushpanjali’, ‘Ottayappam and ‘Kadumpayasam’. The Payammal temple, 6 km from Vellangallur along the Irinjalakuda-Kodungallur route, is one of the few shrines in the State dedicated to Shathrughna.

According to legend, fishermen gifted idols of the valiant heroes of the Ramayana to Vakkayil Kaimal, a minister with the Ayirur Kovilakam. The figurines were later installed at Thriprayar, Moozhikkulam, Irinjalakuda and Payammal. The Hindu

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Pancha Bootha Sthalas

Om NaMaSiVaYa

Na = Earth 
Ma = Water 
Si = Fire 
Va = Air 
Ya = Space

Thiru Kalahasthi (Air)

This is an important temple dedicated to Lord Siva. This temple has one of the elemental lingas, the vayu (air) linga. There is a lamp inside the inner sanctum that is constantly flickering despite the lack of air inside. The Vayu-linga can be observed to move even when the doors to the main sanctum are closes and which does not have any windows. One can see the flames on several ghee lamps flicker as if blown by moving air. The linga is white and is considered Swayambhu, or self-manifested. To the east of the temple, lies the Kannappan hills and to the west flows the river Swarnamugi. Saints of yore have proclaimed that merely one visit to this temple is adequate for an aspiring devotee to attain salvation and free himself from the cycles of births and deaths. Offering prayers at this temple will enable one to overcome all malefic effects of the two serpentine planets Rahu and Kethu.

Here, Lord Shiva embodies in himself all the 8 planets except Saturn. That is why there is no separate sanctum sanctum for the eight planets. There is only one solitary altar for planet Saturn.

Legend has it that a spider, a snake and an elephant vied with one another in a very destructive way to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. The lord acknowledged the sedulous devotion of all the three creatures and called himself Sri (spider), Kala (snake), Hasthi (elephant).

This temple draws millions of pilgrims during the Tamil month of Masi (Feb 15th to March 15th) when special prayers are offered to Lord Shiva on all the 30 days.

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Pancha Bootha Sthalas

Om NaMaSiVaYa

Na = Earth 
Ma = Water 
Si = Fire 
Va = Air 
Ya = Space

THIRUVANNAMALAI (Fire)

Annamalai achieves its importance as a venerated and holy place as it is mentioned in Hindu mythology and legends and also by its association with saints, sages and religious men and women who have sung the praises of the deity in their devotional outpourings. The temple also has an important place as a repository of historical chronicles with its large amount of inscriptions on its walls and pillars.

Once there was a dispute between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as to who was superior. This created untold suffering among all living things as their respective duties of creation and protection were being left unattended. Lord Shiva in order to put an end to this dispute appeared before them as fire in the shape of a glowing mountain. The two who were quarrelling did not realize who or what this 'mountain of fire' was. So they decided to search for the 'Aathi' (beginning) and the 'Antham' (end) of this 'Jothi' and whoever succeeded first would be declared the superior god. Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upwards in search of the beginning and Lord Vishnu took the form of a 'Varaha' (wild boar) and went burrowing in the earth in order to find the end. Each after flying high and burrowing low failed in their attempt to find the beginning or the end. Brahma did not want to concede defeat. While coming down he saw a petal of 'Thalampoo' floating in the air. He asked the flower to be his witness that he had seen the beginning of this jothi. The flower agreed to his request. They arrived together and found Lord Vishnu and told Him that Brahma had seen the top and this flower 'Thalampoo' was the witness. At this juncture the 'Jothi' transformed itself as Lord Shiva and admonished Brahma for telling lies and the 'Thalampoo' for bearing false witness. He also decreed that no temple would be dedicated for Lord Brahma and that 'Thalampoo' should never be offered in worship. Brahma and Vishnu realizing their mistake prayed to Lord Shiva to remain there as a 'Jothi lingam'.

There is also another legend that says that Goddess Parvathy once playfully closed the eyes of Lord Shiva. This caused the entire universe to become dark and all activities to cease. This made Lord Shiva angry and in order to chastise Parvathy, she was banished to the earth. She came upon this earth and arrived at Kancheepuram. Here she fashioned a Sivalingam in sand and prayed to Lord Shiva to forgive her and take her back. Lord Shiva was pleased with her devotion and prayer and asked her to go to Thiruvannamalai and pray to Arunachaleswarar. Goddess Parvathy arrived at Thiruvannamalai and was finally united with the Lord who took half her body on his left. This transformation of half Parvathy and half Shiva is called 'Arthanareeswarar'.

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Pancha Bootha Sthalas

Om NaMaSiVaYa

Na = Earth 
Ma = Water 
Si = Fire 
Va = Air 
Ya = Space

THIRUANAIKKAVAL (Water)

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is surrounded by a beautiful grove. The Lingam is installed under a 'Jambu' tree and the tree is said to be many hundreds of years old. Thus the deity is also called Jambunathar, Jambukeswarar or Jambulingam. The consort is called Akilandeswary or Akilandanayaki. This is one of the five 'Panchabootha sthala' representing one of the five elements - water.

The legend connected with the 'viboothi' wall is this. During the construction of the temple by a king a mysterious voice told him not to build the wall surrounding the fourth enclosure. After a few days an ascetic arrived on the scene and started constructing the fourth wall. At the end of the day this ascetic gave his labourers a pinch of holy ash (viboothi) as their wage. When the workers arrived at their dwellings the 'viboothi' would turn into gold. Thus the wall came to be known as 'viboothi wall' and the enclosure as 'viboothi praharam'.

Once two Devas quarrelled among them as to who was more devoted to Lord Shiva. During one of these quarrels they cursed each other and one became an elephant and the other a spider. Realizing their predicament they prayed to Lord Shiva to redeem them from their curses. Lord Shiva instructed them both to go to this jungle full of 'Jambu' trees and worship the 'Lingam' that had appeared there under a 'Jambu' tree. Thus both the elephant and the spider were born in this jungle of jambu trees. The elephant brought water from the pond nearby in its trunk and washed the 'Lingam' and kept the place tidy. The spider, however, wove a web over the 'Lingam' as a canopy to prevent dry leaves and rubbish falling on the 'Lingam'. One day the elephant while tidying up the area saw the spider's web over the 'Lingam' and pulled it down. The spider was outraged at this and crawled into the trunk of the elephant and bit it. The elephant unable to stand the pain dashed its trunk against the trees and died. The spider too was killed. Lord Shiva took pity on these two creatures and gave salvation to both of them. The elephant by its ardent devotion to Lord Shiva gave this place the name Thiru+Anai+Kaa (Holy+elephant+jungle) which later became Thiruanaikkaval or Thiruvanaikkovil as it is known now.

The Lingam in this temple is said to be an 'Appu Lingam' (Water Lingam) and when the river Kaveri or Coleroon is in spate water can be seen oozing from the Lingam. The shrine of Goddess Parvathy is facing east while Lord Shiva is facing west as if facing each other. This is to depict that Goddess Parvathy herself once worshipped Lord Shiva here and received answers to her doubts about creation. Thus this temple is also called an 'Upathesa sthala'. The priest of the Amman temple, when he performs the worship to Lord Shiva dressed as a woman, enacts this theme every noon.

There are many shrines in this complex dedicated to various deities. One such is the shrine for Raja Rajeswarar. The Lingam installed in this shrine has five faces and is known as 'Panchamukha Lingam'.

'Ko-pooja' (cow worship) and 'Annabhishekam' (heaping of cooked rice on the deity) are a daily ritual in this temple.

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Pancha Bootha Sthalas

Om NaMaSiVaYa

Na  = Earth 
Ma = Water 
Si   = Fire 
Va  = Air 
Ya  = Space

Kanchipuram: (Na=Earth)

The most famous Siva temple at Kanchipuram is the Ekambareswara temple where he is worshipped in the form of Earth Linga and its 11 storey structure temple tower which is adorned with beautiful sculptures is one of the tallest temple tower in South India.

As per mythology, when Lord Siva was deeply immersed in the task of creating, protecting and destroying the Universe, Parvati, his consort, in a jocular mood, closed his eyes.This resulted in staying the process of creation and destruction as well as obstruction to the natural law of things. It was a serious matter and Siva became angry and cursed Parvati to go to the Earth and expiate her misdeed. Accordingly Parvati came to the banks of the river Kampa under a single mango tree at Kanchi and made a Shivalinga out of sand and worshipped it.

To test her sincerity Siva placed various obstacles and hindrances in the way of Parvati's penance. But with the help of Vishnu she could tide over all the difficulties. At last Siva hurled a deluge by taking out the Ganges from his matted hair, to wash away the Linga worshipped by Parvati. She clasped it with all veneration to her breasts and this pleased Siva who took her again as his consort. The temple is said to have been built at the spot where the lord forgave her.

Another version of the story is that Siva and Parvati fell out in a game of dice. Siva cursed Gowri (Parvathi) to become ugly. With the help of Vishnu Parvati propitiated Siva by performing penance under a single Mango tree at Kancheepurarn on the banks of the Kampa River, and regained her beauty with dazzling eyes, from which the name of Kamakshi has been derived for the tutelary goddess of the temple. As Parvati rejoined with Lord Siva under the mango tree the name of Ekamranatha (Ekaone, amra - mango, and natha-Lord) was given to Lord Siva. It later became Ekambareswara. Another legend connected with the marriage celebration is that connected with Agastya being vouchsafed its darsan when he had come South from Kailas.

The ancient mango tree in the courtyard is worshipped by all even today with great veneration. It has got four branches representing the four Vedas. Each branch bears fruit with a different taste and the leaves are also different in appearance. It is a popular belief that if a childless woman takes the fruit of the tree she is blessed with children. In the prakaram round the mango tree is a lingam which is a composite of 108 small lingams and another one of 1008 small lingams. There are idols of the 63 Nayanmars also. There are two tanks in the temple, Kampa Nadi and Sivaganga. There is a Vishnu shrine in the Siva temple and the name of the Vishnu is Nilatingal Tundattan. Here, Lord Siva is worshipped as Earth or Prithivi, which is one of the five elements.