Vedanam 2023

In one of our previous posts, we read about Tirukarambanur temple of Maha Vishnu, a Divya Desham where the Trimurthy - Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara are assembled together. Here is a write-up on another Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu where all the three mentioned gods are present. This temple is named Hara Saabha Vimochana temple and it is situated in Thirukandiyur, a village in the outskirts of Thiruvayaru in Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu in the form of Hara Saabha Vimochana Perumal and His consort Maha Lakshmi in the form of Kamalavalli Naachiyar.  We have read about how Lord Shiva incurred the sin of Brahma Hatya when He cut off one of the five heads of Lord Brahma. To a great extent, He got rid of the sin at Tirukarambanur temple by praying to Maha Vishnu. But it is in this temple i.e. Hara Saabha Vimochana temple that Maha Vishnu completely absolved Lord Shiva off the sin. Hence this temple was named so ( Hara meaning Shiva, Saabha meaning sin and Vimochana meani...

In this article, we will read about Mullaivananathar temple, one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams of Lord Shiva. This temple is located in Thirumulaivaasal in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Mullaivananathar, and Devi Parvathi in the form of Ani Konda Kodhai Ammai. The deity is in the form of a 3.5 feet long swayambhu Shiva-lingam.  A king named Killi Valavan was suffering from severe skin disorders and was advised by the wise sages to bathe in a pond situated in some reputed Shiva-sthala. In search of such a pond, the king came across a sea in Thirumulaivaasal and decided to bathe there. There were lot of shrubs in that area which prevented the horse of the king from moving ahead. The king, wanting to make some track for walking, cut some of the shrubs with his sword. During one such cut, his sword returned with blood coated on it. Fearing that he must have killed someone by mistake, the king checked the ground and found that his...

There are five Ranganatha temples, referred to as the Pancharangam or Pancharanga Kshethram where Maha Vishnu is in the form of Lord Ranganatha and is in a reclining posture (Bhujanga shayanam). These temples are: Srirangapatnam temple, referred to as Adi Rangam (the first Rangam), situated on the banks of River Kaveri; Srirangam in Tiruchirapally (Trichy), referred to as Adya Rangam (the last Rangam); Appalarangam, referred to as Koviladi, situated in Tiruppernagar in Tamil Nadu; Parimala Ranganatha Perumal temple, referred to as Mayuram, situated in Indalur, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu and Vatarangam temple situated in Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu In this post, we will read about Appalarangam (Koviladi) which is one of the 108 Divya Desham temples of Maha Vishnu. The temple is situated in Koviladi village near Tiruchirapally (Trichy), Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu in the form of Appala Rangan in Bhujanga Shayanam, joined by Bhooma Devi and Kamalavalli Thayar.  Legend has ...

In this post we will read about Mahendrapalli Tirumeni Azhagar temple. The temple is situated at Mahendrapalli in Mayiladuthirai district of Tamil Nadu besides the banks of the Kaveri river. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Tirumeni Azhagar and His consort is Devi Parvathy in the form of Devi Vadivambigai.  Having viewed the wife of Gautama Rishi with wrongful desires, Indra was cursed by the Rishi that he would have eyes erupting over his whole body. Distraught and disturbed by the curse, Indra roamed many a temple on the earth to get deliverance. Since he is said to have worshipped Lord Shiva at this particular place of the temple, the place came to be called as Mahendrapalli and the temple came to be constructed here.  Usually the term 'Azhagar' (meaning handsome) is used only for Maha Vishnu. In this particular temple, Lord Shiva, the handsome deity is referred to as Azhagar. Lord Brahma Himself, as well as Surya and Chandra are said to have worshipped Lord...

In this post, we will read about one of the 108 Divya Desham temples - Sundararaja Perumal temple, also referred to as Vadivalagiya Nanbi Perumal temple. This temple is located in Tiruchirapally, Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu as Lord Sundararajan and His consort Devi Lakshmi as Devi Sundaravalli. This temple is believed to have been constructed in the late 8th century.  There are various legends associated with the temple.  Once Rishi Sutabha was in deep penance and did not notice Rishi Durvasa waiting for him. This angered the Rishi Durvasa and he cursed Rishi Sutabha to turn into a frog. The later requested him to reverse his curse but Rishi Durvasa informed him that the curse was as per the grand plan of the Universe and that Rishi Sutabha would be granted deliverance by none other than Maha Vishnu. Thus, Rishi Sutabha continued his penance as a frog in a pond named as Mendaka Theertham and finally got liberation when Maha Vishnu granted him His divine visi...

The next temple in the list of the paadal petra sthalam is Tirunellurperumanam temple, most commonly known as Achalapuram Shivalokathyagar temple. This temple is situated at Achalpuram in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva, referred to here as Shivalokathyagar and His consort is Devi Tiruvennetru Umaiammai.  This temple is more of a tribute to the life and salvation of Thirugnana Sambhandar, one of the prime devotees of Lord Shiva among the 63 Nayanmars. It is believed that in this temple, this great devotee attained moksha and merged into Shiva Tattva. Sambhandar's father wanted his son to get married and to settle into a family. While Sambhandar was not at all interested, he surrendered to the will of the Divine to make his father happy. His marriage was first fixed with a girl who died of snake bite. Sambhandar is said to have revived her back to life but then viewed her as a daughter since he had given life to her. His father then fixed his...

In this blog, we will be reading about one such Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu which is said to have been built in the Treta Yuga. Needless to say, this temple is even older than the Srirangam temple and is considered as one of the most pious among the Divya Deshams. One visit to this temple is believed to be equivalent to visiting all the 108 Divya Deshams. The temple we are going to read about is Thiruvellarai temple, also called as Pundarikakshan Perumal temple. It is situated in the village of Thiruvellarai at the outskirts of Tiruchirapally in Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is of course Maha Vishnu in the form of Pundarikakshan and His consort is Devi Shenbagavalli, also called as Devi Pankajavalli.  Owing to the presence of white rocks in this area, this temple is believed to have gained its name Thiruvellarai (Vellarai meaning white rock).  There are many interesting legends associated with this temple. It is said that once the King of Ayodhya Sibi Chakravarthi was fighti...