நெமிலி புன்னாகேஸ்வரர் திருக்கோவில்

Kumbabishegam for this temple takes place today(09.12.2013), after a long gap of more than 50 years.  The Thiruppani Committee needs to be congratulated for their excellent work of roping in almost everybody in the village of Nemili and its surroundings and got them involved in the process of this long pending renovation work.

We had taken up the work of white-washing the compound walls and we did the first coat of  white-washing on 21.july 2013.  This is covered in our blog post of 22.08.2013 which can be seen here  @ புன்னாகேஸ்வரர் திருக்கோவில் , நெமிலி

 

To give a second coat and finishing touch to the compound walls, we were again at the place on 01.12.2013. Those of us who had reached on the previous day were accomodataed at Thirumati Dhanabakiyam Venu Thirumana Maaligai at Nemili.

Shri Karthikeyan of Nemili conducts free tuitions to school children from 4th std to 12th std along with Yoga. Dedicated teachers assist him in this endeavour for the past 4 years. Their students top in school exams. Some of these students joined us in our Uzhavaarapani.

Like the previous occasion, this time too, the rain god was in our favour.  Though the sky was overcast with dark clouds, there was no disruption in our work, while the entire city of Chennai and its suburbs were lashed by the cyclonic storm and gusty winds.

This toddler won the heart of everybody, by actively serving us during our lunch

Our friends who had been to Thiruvannamali for the Mahadeepam festival (Refer our previous post).  distributed to  all the participants அண்ணாமலையார் விபூதி பிரசாதம் & ருத்ராக்ஷம் .

Our team gave the finishing touch and packed up by 05.00pm with a great sense of satisfaction.

Click Here  to view additional pictures of Nemili Uzhavarappani

புன்னாகேஸ்வரர் திருக்கோவில் , நெமிலி

அருள்மிகு விசாலாக்ஷி அம்மன் சமேத அருள்மிகு புன்னாகேஸ்வரர் திருக்கோவில்  அரக்கோணத்திற்கு அருகே 12 கி.மி தொலைவில் நெமிலி கிராமத்தில் அமைந்துள்ளது.  தேவேந்திரனும்,  நாகேஸ்வரனும் வழிபட்ட தலம்.  சுமார் 4.5 ஏக்கர் பரப்பளவில் அமைந்துள்ள இத்திருக்கோவிலின் கும்பாபிஷேகத் திருவிழா 09.12.2013 அன்று நடைபெற உள்ளது.

As a part of our contribution to the on-going renovation work, we had decided to take up the white washing of the compound walls of this temple.  The temple being situated in a very vast area of land with  equally big compound walls, which were ten feet high, it was a challenging task to be completed in a single day.  Since Balalayam has been done in connection with the renovation, the sanctum itself had remained closed and there were no visiting devotees.

We had scheduled 21 July to do this white washing.  Many of our volunteers, had already reached the place on the night of 20.07.2013 itself and were put up in a local Kalyana Mandapam for their overnight stay.  Others reached on the morning of 21.07.2013.  This time our strength was a little short of fifty,  as many of our regulars did not turn up expecting heavy rains that were lashing the area for about a week.

Over a period of the last one year,   our volunteers have acquired a little  expertise and speed in white washing and painting.  At Nemili, the area to be covered was atleast twice that of Manavur temple and the number of volunteers was just half  the size that we had at Manavur.  Still our guys worked  till 05.30pm and completed the job.  For us it was one more day of our life spent in the service of God. 

Before we left the temple, the  sanctum was opened for our benefit.  As balalayam has been done and no poojas were going on inside the temple, the Gurukkal permitted us to enter the sanctum and showed us the  imprint of a five headed serpent on the back of the big Shivalingham. We are  all indeed  blessed and still carrying some poorva janma punyam to have a darshan  this awesome sight of the  serpent covering the main deity from behind.  

Apart from this  indication that the God was worshiped  here by Nageswaran, it is said that Devendra also worshiped here.  A carved panel on the stone ceiling in the temple, depicts Devendra on his Airavatham.  This temple should have also served as a parihara sthalam as indicated by the carvings of lizard, snake, rahu/kethu etc in the ceiling.  But unfortunately, no other details or  record of the past history of the temple are available.  

The Team -- before leaving Nemili 

In the morning, many of our volunteers visited the abode of  Nemili Bala -- The Child Goddess Bala Thripurasundhari and had a darshan.  The authorities of Nemili Bala Peetam informed us that the image of the Goddess here, which is just about the size of a little finger, is the smallest one to be worshipped anywhere in the world.  More details about Nemili Bala Peetam are available here.

How to Reach:  Take a suburban train from Chennai Central to Arakkonam.  From Arakkonam, buses plying through Nemili are available.  The distance is only about 12 km.  One can also take a share auto from Arakkonam.  

Click here to view additional photos of Nemili Uzhavarappani.

காசி விஸ்வநாதர் கோவில் , நசரத்பேட்டை

Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Nazarethpet, Poonamalle

Kasi Visalakshi Samedha Kasi Viswanathar temple at Nazarethpet is said to be more than 1000 years old.  The temple was earlier  managed by a family of  Beri Chetty, a trader community of the Arya Vysya Clan,   who had created a  number of endowments for the temple.  Now  the HR &CE board has taken control and have initiated steps for renovating this temple.  Balayalam has already been done and the renovation work has commenced at  snail's pace.

The specialty of this temple is that on the 5th , 6th & 7th of the Tamil month Panguni every  year, the rays of the sun fall on the main deity in the morning hours between 6 am and 7 am. It is considered that Surya Bhagvan is worshiping the presiding deity Lord Kashi Viswanathar on those days.

The Nandhi Bhagavan of this temple delights the devotees with his smiling face.  With his head inclined slightly to the right and a serpent tucked under his frontal left foot he sits majestically facing  the Presiding Deity, in the outer praharam.  On enquiry, we were told that the serpent here represents Karkotaka Mahirishi who got his mukthi here.  It is possible that there may be some connection of Karkotaka Mahirishi to this temple, since, the jeevasamadhi of the Maharishi is located at the  nearby Vaidhyanatha Swamy temple at Poonamalle.  If any  reader of this blog is aware of the history and background of this temple, we request that the same may please be passed on to us.

There is a separate shrine for Lord Ayyappa near the northern boundary of the temple.  This construction, we were informed, had come up within the last 12 years and it appears to be  a better-maintained one.

When we reached there on the morning of 21.04.2013, there was not a single soul anywhere nearby.  Only the priest's helper was waiting for our arrival. In view of the commencement of renovation, the main temple itself remained locked down.  Hence there was not much of a work for us inside the temple.

There was a wild growth of weeds and shrubs, especially on the northern side of the temple's outer praharam.  Our volunteers actively involved themselves in clearing the same.  Soon, our newly acquired brush cutter was pressed into service and made the job of cutting the unwanted shrubs easier.  Wild growth was also noticed on top of the gopurams and vimanams.  The same were cleared and weed-killer chemical applied over the remaining portion to prevent further growth.

Before returning, we dug two deep holes and planted coconut saplings after clearing the wild bush in that area

To view additional photos on Nazarethpet Uzhavarappani :  Click Here

How to Reach:  Nazarethpet is two kms away from Poonamalle. From Poonamalle, you can get into any MTC bus proceeding to Sriperumpudur side and get down at the next stopping, which is Nazarethpet.  Take a left turn at the bus stop and a walk for five minutes will lead you to the temple.

Uzhavarappani at Acharapakkam

Uzhavarappani at Acharapakkam Aatcheeswarar Temple was done by us yesterday(08 Apr.2012) as announced in the previous post.  About 25 of our volunteers stayed there  the previous night, thanks to the meticulous arrangements by Shri Parthiban of State Bank of India, a native of that village. Twenty more volunteers joined us the next day.

Upon entering the temple, we had a pleasant surprise. The Utsava Idol of Saint Thirunavukarasar (the fore-runner to all the present day Uzhavarappani movements), was at the entrance with uzhavaaram decked in his hand, as if to welcome and bless us on our mission.

After having a darshan of all the Deities, we took upon the task of  removing the over grown bushes and the dried leaves  in the outer praharam.  They were later heaped and a bonfire of it made

The ladies and children accompanying us were busy cleaning the Thiruvachi (the metallic arch which can be seen behind the moolavar) of the deities and various other deepams and lamps used in the daily pooja.  Daughter of our volunteer Govindarajan, an under-10 kid, is seen here busily involved in the cleaning.

These young boys are attending to the job of removing  accumulated grime and dirt in the Navagraha sannadhi.  Their devotion is expressed through their utmost concentration in their task.

Our volunteer Ashok is a scientist and an inventor, but not a professional mountaineer.   He displays exemplary courage and confidence through the Divine Grace of God, as can be seen in the accompanying picture.  Climbing the 100-feet  Rajagopuram through the inside staircase, he comes out in the open to remove the vegetation growing there.  For him there is no acrophobia.  Nor did the blowing winds and scorching sun deterred him from finishing the task.

A magnified version of Ashok removing the wild growth in the Rajagopuram

In the afternoon session, the inner Sannadhis were cleaned using our high-pressure portable jet pump.  After finishing our lunch, we wound up our work to return home.

More Photos at the following link
Acharapakkam Uzhavarappani

Acharapakkam Aatcheeswarar Temple

திருச்சிற்றம்பலம்

அண்ணாமலையார் அறப்பணிகுழுவின் அடுத்த உழவாரப்பணி விவரம் :

கோயில் : அருள் மிகு பாலசுகாம்பிகை சமேத அருள் மிகு ஆட்சீஸ்வரர் கோயில், அச்சிறுபாக்கம்    தேதி : 08.04.2012 - ஞாயிறு நேரம் : காலை 7 மணி முதல்

திருஞானசம்பந்தர், அருணகிரிநாதர் ஆகியோர் பாடல் பெற்ற ஸ்தலம்.

சென்னை -    திண்டிவனம் தேசிய நெடுஞ்சாலையில், மேல்மருவத்தூருக்குப் பிறகு, 5 வது கி.மீ.ல் உள்ளது. சென்னை கோயம்பேடு பஸ் நிலையத்திலிருந்து சுமார் 100 கி.மீ.

சனிக்கிழமை இரவு தங்குவதற்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. அனைவரும் வருக.  திருச்சிற்றம்பலம்

The importance of Vinayaka worship before commencing any task is emphasised through this holy place. Legend here is that the axle of Shiva’s divine chariot broke here when He proceeded to destroy the three demons Tharahan, Vithmanmali and Kamalakshan at Thripurams since He didn’t meditate upon Lord Ganesha when He set out on His mission. Hence the name of the place is known as Achu Iru Paakkam (also known as Achu Muri Pakkam).   The Achu Muri Vinayagar temple is located just before the main temple.

Quick Facts: 

There are two main shrines in the temple. One with a Square Avudayar and the other one with a circular Avudayar.  There is a Perumal shrine also and Perumal is standing on an Avudayar. Behind the lingam in one of the main shrines, Lord Shiva and Parvathi devi are in human form in Marriage posture as stone sculpture.  The Nandhi before the lingam is in an unusual meditative posture. Sage Thirinendhrathari, who built the temple, is said to be in jeeva samadhi under the Nandhi.

Incidentally, this will be the third visit of our group to this temple for Uzhavarappani in as many years.

Uzhavarappani at Manavur Thirunandeeswarar Kovil

Annamalaiyar Arappani Kuzhu

திருச்சிற்றம்பலம்             தென்னாடுடைய சிவனே போற்றி

Next Uzhavarappani on 26 Feb 2012 (Sunday)                                                      

அருள்மிகு ஆனந்தவல்லி தாயார் சமேத திருநந்தீஸ்வரர் கோவில்

MANAVUR. Manavur Railway station is located on the Chennai-Central Arakonam suburban section between Senjipanambakkam and Thiruvaalangadu

Significance of the Temple

• 1200 years old temple. Nandhi Baghavan and Sage Agasthiar had worshipped here. Inscriptions found in Koovam and Thakkolam temples talk about the glory of this temple.

Worship Benefits

• People who suffer from stomach related ailments, worship Lord Vinayagar residing in the outer sannidhi and get cured of their disease.

• Those who have huge debts, worship goddess Anandavalli for six weeks by lighting a deepam with lemon shell, will get their debts cleared.

• Lord Brihaspathi(Guru) present in the outer sannidhi, when worshipped every Thursday by lighting a ghee deepam, facilitates timely marriage, when there are marriage obstacles.

Present state of the temple

Thirunandeeswarar temple was in a dilapidated state and is currently being renovated. In a measure to restore the original glory and to uphold the falling majesty, the local villagers worked without pay and restored part of this historic temple from falling to pieces. With contribution from local villagers, devotees and philanthropists, the renovation work is in an advanced stage of completion and plans are on to have the Kumbabhishegham by March end.

Nature of Work for us: White-washing the outer walls of the Temple to keep them ready for the Kumbabhishegham.

We need atleast 100 volunteers to complete this task in a single day. Please confirm your participation well in advance to Ramachandran(9884080543) or Ganesan(9444265091) so that necessary arrangements can be made.


More details about the temple can be found at http://thirunandeeswarar.blogspot.in/