Tamil Nadu, India – Page 3 – A B B Y N S T A . C O M

Subramanya Swami Temple, Thiruthani

April 7, 2018 2 Comments

There are 6 special temples in Tamil Nadu, dedicated to the god Murugan, mostly referred as the Tamil God and as the god of the mountains/hills. These 6 temples are known as Arupadai Veedu (The Six Warhouses -The Six Abodes of Murugan), very important in the hindu sect Kaumaram (the sect that worship lord Murugan only). Lord Murugan is usually referred as the son of lord Shiva. The six places are important places, and takes part in the Skanda Purana (and other tamil litteratures), that describes the story of Murugan, and how he fought against the demon, Surapadman and other important incidences.

The places/temples are listed by sequences in the story, Skanda Purana:

Thiruparankunram
Thiruchendur
Pazhani
Swamimalai
Thiruthani
Pazhamudhircholai

Thiruthani, known as Thiruthanigai in earlier times, is located 87 km from Chennai, on the hill Thanigai. Thiruthani is actually the 5th of Arupadai Veedu of the lord Murugan, but was the first Arupadai Veedu, that we visited. It is also the first tempe we went to outside Chennai (except Mahabalipuram, which is more a tourist place now than an actual temple). From here, we went to Srikalahasthi.

Thiruthani is known as the place, where Murugan married Valli, and he eventually met her in a place nearby. This was also the place, where he took rest and gained inner peace after defeated the demon, Surapadman. This hill/temple has 365 steps, referring to the 365 days of a year. Thiruthani is mentioned in one of the earliest tamil sangam literature, Thirumurugaatrupadai, written by Nakkeerar.

Tamil Nadu, India

Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu

April 7, 2018 3 Comments

When the Pallava Dynasty took Kanchipuram to be their capital, after fighting the Cholas, Mamallapuram (or Mahabalipuram) became their major seaport. Here, in Mamallapuram, during the 7th and 8th century CE, the Pallavas built a group of religious monuments, that’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mamallapuram is actually named after the Pallava king Narasimhan I, that was known as Mamallan (The Great Wrestler) who ruled South India during 630-668 AD, and completed the work his father. Mahendravarman I, began in Mamallapuram. Mahendravarman I was the pioneer of rock-cut architecture, and also his son, Mamallan, shared the same passion and love for such art. Though, Mahendravarman I was born Jain, he converted to Saivism by the influence of the Saiva Saint Appar Swamigal, who too lived in this period, like Sambanthar and Thiruthondar. As an expression of his belief in Saivism, it is said that he therefore started the work of rock-carvings and temples at Mamallapuram. As his son, Mamallan completed the father’s work, the place was then named after him.

Tamil Nadu, India

Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai

April 6, 2018 No Comments

When I was younger, I went to extra classes in my spare time to study Tamil language. Both my parents teached me to read and write Tamil, and later I began to the classes to get more knowleadge about the Tamil history and litterature. During these classes I came across a chapter about the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai and its great architecture, which was so interesting to me, that I was very eager to visit the temple, when we went to India in 2010. The temple is actually much bigger than I expected, and I loved being around the space. What a beautiful temple it is! 😉

Tamil Nadu, India

Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Thiruvalluvar Statue, Kanyakumari

April 6, 2018 1 Comment

During our stay in Tamil Nadu, we went to a plenty of great cities. We took a few days-trip around Tamil Nadu, with another family from Denmark, by van, and went to several towns, including Trichy, Madurai, Kanyakumari, followed by Rameshwaram.

Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, and is the meeting point of 3 oceans; the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Back in time Kanyakumari was referred as the Alexandria of East, known for great culture, art, civilization and pilgrimage, and was famous for both trade and commerce. It is belived that Christianity entered the town through St. Thomas in year 52 AD, and later Islam entered in the 8th century AD. Also Jainism made its way to the town. Kanyakumari has been ruled by all 3 tamil dynasties, the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas.

Today Kanyakumari is known as the place of sunrises, and for the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the Thiruvalluvar Statue. We went to the shore early morning, to experience the sunrise, but unfortunately it was too cloudy at that moment..

Panchabhootha Sthalas, Tamil Nadu, India

Thiru Ekambaranaathar Temple, Kanchipuram

April 6, 2018 No Comments

Thiru Ekambaranaathar Temple was the last Panchabootha Sthala to visit. It is located in the town of Kanchipuram, that is north of Thiruvannamalai, and east of Vellore, which was the town we visited after Thiruvannamalai – and before Kanchipuram – which I’ll be posting about later 😉

Kanchipuram is another very old town, and was the early capital of the Chola Dynasty. It later became the capital of the Pallava Dynasty, and the Cholas shifted to Tanjore. It has a rich history, going back to more than a millenium, and has been an important city for not only Hinduism, but also Jainism and Buddhism. The world-known Bodhidharma was in fact a Pallava Prince from this town. Kanchipuram is today known for its beautiful silk sarees (and of course this temple). After visiting the temple, we went to a smaller company that produces and sell handloom pure silk sarees. It was quite interesting to see them working. My mum bought some sarees too.

Panchabhootha Sthalas, Tamil Nadu, India

Arunachaleshwarar Temple – Thiruvannamalai

April 5, 2018 No Comments

Talking about the Panchabootha Stalas, Thiruvannamalai is the place of the most important legend in Saivism. We were lucky to visit the temple at daytime, and had a lot of time to worship and do archanai, and to look around the temple. It is indeed one of the most beautiful temples I’ve visited so far. It’s known for its massive gopurams (temple towers), with a history going back to the 11th century, while the main temple is believed to be much older – more than 2000 years old, with mentions in Thevaaram and Thiruvasagam songs. Unfortunately, there’s not been done anything to protect the temple so far, but there is an appeal going on to UNESCO to make the temple a world heritage monument.

The town of Thiruvannamalai is located near the mountain with the same name, and with the temple at the mountain. This mountain plays a very important role in Saivism. It is also one of the 275 places that has been praised in Thevaaram and Thiruvasagam songs.