Visiting South Indian Temples and Places of Interest
Our trip routes
Fly to Madurai and drive to Rameswaram stay there for the night. Drive back to Madurai and stay in Madurai. Drive to Kumbakonam and Flyback from Tiruchirappalli to Bengaluru.
October 15, 2019
We had a very nice breakfast at Poppy's. It really was a great breakfast with idly, dosa, poori, kichadi, etc. The breakfast even provided omelet and typical western breakfast items like bread, butter, jam, fresh fruits, and porridge. The coffee was strong and excellent.
Our plan consisted of visiting three of the famous temples in this region, two of which were greatly revered by Sri Vaishnavas and the third revered by Shaivites. The Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple and the Jambukeshwara temple are close by in the Srirangam Island. The map is from Bing Maps.
After breakfast we left at 9:14 a.m. to worship at Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple. This was our primary event for the day. We carried umbrellas as rains did not seem to stop. We had rains most of the days, today included.
Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple
Our destination was Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple at Sri Rangam.
The temple is situated on an island created by the two rivers, Kolladam and Cauvery. We visited the temple to have a darshan of God. It looks like they do not let foreigners enter the Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbha Griha), even if they are appropriately dressed. Michiko stayed near the entrance of the Sanctum Sanctorum with Shyam while I entered the sanctum sanctorum with Rama. It was a rushed visit, and the crowd was huge. I am unable to recall images or impressions. There was a huge crowd from the North behind and ahead of us. We were literally pushed from behind to move forward like in many famous temples in India.
It is regrettable that I could not take my wife inside the inner viewing area although she is as much a Hindu as I am. Does a woman from a foreign country married to a practicing Hindu, be termed a foreigner, even though she is a non-practicing Buddhist, and be married to the person for 50 or more years?
Why? Buddha is even considered one of the Dashavatarams (ten incarnations or avatars of Vishnu) of our supreme God. I believe, temple folks need some re-education.
Our guide wanted us to see the gopurams (the tiered towers on the gateways), seven of them from an elevated platform. It was really raining very hard and to climb the slippery steps to go up to the platform took quite an effort. The rain was battering, and the umbrellas were of no use. However, the view from the top was worth it. It is regrettable that I could not capture the glorious view from the vantage point.
This Hindu temple is of special significance for the Sri Vaishnava sect of Hinduism besides being a UNESCO World Heritage site. Like many Hindu temples, this is a functioning, living temple with daily services and events throughout the year. The most famous event is the 21-day festival in the winter with more than a million devotees. This temple is dedicated to Vishnu (he is known in the West as 'the preserver'). In here, he is known as Sri Ranganatha Swamy, the supreme God Vishnu. This temple and the deity have been glorified by the Alvars (most distinguished of the saints) in what is known as Divya Prabhanda (நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம்,), a collection of 4000 poems, a composition that dates to the 9th to 10th centuries. The composition glorifies the many forms of Vishnu. It is chanted daily in this temple in Srirangam.
As was the fate of most temples in India, this temple was also rampaged and looted by the Delhi Sultanate under Mallikafur (the Moghuls, Malik Kafur, ملک کافور - Wikipedia). It is said he was a eunuch of Hindu descent converted to Islam. After the 14th century invasion by the Muslims, the temple was rebuilt in the 14th century which grew to the present form with added features in the 16th and 17the centuries. It is interesting to note, that the Madurai Sultanate ruled for six decades and the Vijayanagar empire ousted the Muslims in 1378. This was followed by another 200 years after which it again came under Muslims from Arcot (presently a small town between Bengaluru and Chennai near Vellore) and later by the British who brought Christianity.
Srirangam became the playground of Muslims and Christians who vied with each other to propagate their religion. It is the strength of Hinduism and the large adherents that enabled Hinduism to survive the powerful onslaught by Christians and Muslims. Recently, both in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Christianity and Islam are becoming increasingly noticeable due to conversions which both religions are good at.
Here are some details lifted out of Wikipedia,
"The temple occupies an area of 155 acres (63 ha) with 81 shrines, 21 towers, 39 pavilions, and many water tanks integrated into the complex making it the world's largest functioning Hindu temple."
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangam
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5894/ --important site for first time visitors to get a better understanding of Indian temples in general and this temple in particular.
We left Sri Rangam at 13:30. We had lunch at Sangeetha’s restaurant where we could get vegetarian food without the addition of garlic. Rama made it a point to stock up the spice powder to go with the rice. We returned to the hotel for rest.
Visiting the Appakkudathan Temple
At 4:00 PM, We left the hotel to visit one of the Divya Deshams (most sacred temple locations for the Sri Vaishnava sect) some 30 Km from the hotel. It was somewhat getting dark when we reached the temple precincts. There were a large number of monkeys waiting for the devotees to return from the temple at which time they would expect bananas and coconuts from the devotees.
The sanctum sanctorum is at a slightly elevated position. You need to climb a couple of steps to enter the inner precinct. It is a relatively small temple but the idol of Sri Ranganatha Swamy in the sleeping position is huge and it is a pleasure to look at. You need to go up a few steps to enter the temple. The inside carvings are not that extensive.
Main deities in this temple
The main deity (moolavar) in the sanctum sanctorum is God Ranganatha, in a reclining pose (bhujanga shayanam) and considered to be older than the Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple at Srirangam. This temple is second only in importance, the first being the Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangapattinam’s Ranganatha Swamy, known as Adi Ranga, situated in Karnataka not too far from the fabled city, Mysuru.
Sage Markendeya's idol can be found near the main deity. The God whose idol is carried around the outer prakarams (corridors that encircle the inner temple) during festivities known as Utsavar. In this temple the Utsavar is known variously as, Azhagiya Manavalan, Namperumal and Appala Rangan. Utsavar is flanked either side by his consorts, Sri Devi and Bhudevi. Here is a video of Utsavar taken around the corridors of a temple: https://youtu.be/rPRVqNz7OfA. Also, there is an idol of Santhana Gopala who will bless to bless childless couples to have children. Women offer prayers here to get blessings and relieve them of their barrenness.
According to the legend of the place, King Upamanyu and Parasara Rishi saw the God Ranganatha here, and King Upamanyu is stated to have presented appam (pancake) as a food offering to the god, and hence the God here got his name as Appakkudathan (giver of the appam). Other incidents that took place here alludes to Indra's pride being destroyed by this God and the removal of fear of death from the mind of Markandeya Rishi and the removal of curse and blessing of king Upari Siravasu.
Sage Periyalvar sang the Mangalashasanam in front of the idol, a hymn in praise of God before he attained moksha or salvation.
Temple Location:
Koviladi is located on the Thiruvaiyar Kallanai Road. It is about 9 Kms from Thirukattupalli, 7.5 km from Grand Anicut or Kallanai, about 24 Kms from Srirangam, and about 35 km from Tanjore.
Grand Anicut environs is very scenic. Grand Anicut is one of the engineering marvels and is probably one of the oldest dams in the world built by Karikala Cholan around the 1st Century AD. This whole stretch between Kallanai and Thiruvaiyar is beautiful and driving to this anicut is most enjoyable. The lush green fields on either side of the road are very scenic. This stretch is endowed with very fertile land as it lies between the two rivers Cauvery and Kolladam. No wonder this region of Tamil Nadu is called the ‘rice bowl’ of India as rice is extensively cultivated.
If you have time plan to spend some time near this scenic spot on the way to this temple
Visiting the Jambukeshwara Temple
On the way back to our hotel we visited the famous Jambukeshwara temple, a Shaivite temple, located in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli (It is more popularly called Trichy) district in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the five Shiva temples each representing an element. The Jambukeshwara temple represents the water element. It is a huge temple of Shiva with a footprint exceeding that of the Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple.
This famous Shiva temple was built some 800 years ago by Pandian King Maaravarman Sundharapandi I. The square Sanctum Sanctorum is inside 5 outer enclosures. The outermost enclosure wall is 25 feet high, over a mile long with a wall thickness of 2 feet. The temple has a holy tree that bears the Jambu (Jambu or Nerale Hannu) fruit.
Akildandeshwari [http://thiruvanaikavaltemple.tnhrce.in/], an incarnation of Parvati (spouse of God Shiva) performed penance in the jambu forest to a Lingham made from water and hence Shiva in this temple is associated with the (element) water. During the penance, Shiva appeared and gave the upadesha (sacred teaching) of Shiva Gnana. This temple is also known for being one of the 276 special locations (Paadal petra sthalams, பாடல் பெட்ரா தலம்). Legends refer to Shiva giving moksha (an end to the cycle of life and death in Hinduism, a Hindu strives for in this world) to a spider and an elephant (you can see the sculpture in the Karthigai Gopuram) by removing the curse. There are several ancient inscriptions that provide historical background through various periods.
It has a resident elephant (and a special black cow) that participates in the temple activities. This temple has very fine carvings on either side of the many corridors and on the pillars of the many mantaps (resting place for pilgrims).
This temple is also famous among Sri Vidya people as the abode of Akilandeshwari, a manifestation of Shakti.
More images here:
Jambukeshwara temple pictures
One of the corridors inside the temple. Here is an example of how the temples looked without the gaudy paints that one may see in many temples in recent times.
After this visit we drove back to the hotel. On the way, we had dinner again at a different branch of Sangeetha.
Later Shyam and I had drinks at the hotel bar. Tomorrow we will be visiting another famous temple in Kumbakonam.
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