Tirukadayur Amrithakadeswarar

The town is about 22 kms from Mayavaram or Mayiladathurai.

The Siva Lingam is called Amrithakadeswarar in this temple and the Utsavar is called Kaala Samhara Murthi. Goddess Parvathi appears as Abirami here. Pillayar is called Kalla Pillayar. There is also a small Sannidhi for Muneeswaran at the entrance of the temple.

Sthala Puranam

At the time of churning the ocean to get nectar, the Devas and Asuras did not offer prayers to Pillayar who is the remover of obstacles. So Pillayar stole the Amrita Kalasam and hid it away earning the name Kalla Pillayar (Kallan means thief in Tamil). Realizing the mistake, appropriate prayers were offered to Pillayar and Shivan in the form of Amrithakadeswarar received the Amrita Kalasam from Pillayar in this Sthalam.

Mriganda Maharishi and his wife Maruthavathi Devi were a childless couple. Mriganda Maharishi performed penance to Lord Shiva who gave him the option of having either a brilliant and devout son who would live only for 16 years or  a foolish son who would live for 100 years. Mriganda Maharishi opted for the former and Markandeyan was born to them.

Lord Yama came to take the life of Markandeyar when the boy turned 16. The boy prayed to Lord Shiva who rescued Markandeyar and made him an ever-16 Chiranjeevi. It is in this Kshetra that Lord Shiva killed Lord Yama and earned the name "Kaala Samhara Murthi". At the same time, Bhooma Devi began to suffer due to the continuing births and increasing population. In the absence of Yama,  the there were no deaths, so the weight that Bhooma Devi had to shoulder became oppressive. She Prayed to Kaala Samhaara Murthi for help and He in turn blessed Yama with life and rescued Bhooma Devi.

There is also a tale for the Ambal - Abirami in this Sthalam. Abhirama Bhattar was an ardent devotee of Abhirami. When Abhirama Bhattar was immersed in thoughts of the Goddess, the ruling king asked Bhattar for the Tithi (day in the lunar calendar). Bhattar replied that it was Pournami (full moon) instead of Ammavaasai (new moon). Enraged, the king asked Bhattar to show the full moon or face death. Goddess Abirami intervened and threw her ear-ring which became the full moon. Thus she rescued her devotee. It is at this place that Abhirama Bhattar composed Abhirami Andhadhi in praise of the Goddess.

 

Special Features

As is evident from the Sthala Puranam, the deities in this Sthalam have rescued their devotees from death and blessed them with long life instead. Some devotees celebrate important milestones in life like Sashtiapthapoorthi(60th birthday), Bheema Ratha Shanthi(70th birthday) Sadabhishekam (80th birthday) etc. in this Sthalam.

Tirukadayur Temple Entrance

Vaitheeswarankoil

This town is 3 kms from the town of Sirkazhi and is about 245 kms from Chennai.

The Shiva Linga in the Vaitheeswarankoil temple is called Vaidyanatha Swamy and the Ambal - Thaiyalnayaki. Within the Sannidhi of Vaidyanatha Swamy, one can find Muthukumaraswamy, Dakshinamurthi, Navagrihas in a straight line, Durgai, Sattanathaswamy, Jatayu Kundam, Valanchuzhi Pillayar and Utsava Murthi of Angaragan. In the outer Praharam, one can find a separate Sannidhi for Angaragan or Sevvai and Pazhani Andavar.

This temple is considered to be Sevvai Sthalam and for devotees to pray for good health. As evident from the name of the Moolavar Himself, Vaidyanatha Swamy is like a Divine Doctor blessing devotees with good health. Muthukumaraswamy prepares the medicines for Vaidyanatha Swamy. One can get Saandhurundai (small balls of Vibhuthi) from the Swamy Sannidhi and this prasadam is taken like a medicine by devotees.

In this temple, devotees also offer salt and pepper to the Lord asking for good health. They also dissolve small bits of jaggery in the temple kulam so that their diseases also are washed away.

The temple is considered to be kula deivam by many families who trace their ancestry to Thanjavur-Mayavaram area. This town is also famous for "Nadi Josiam". In Nadi Josiam, a person's thumb print is used to identify "Ola Chuvadi" (scripts on parchments) which give details of a person's lineage, previous birth details etc.

Tiruporur Kandaswamy

Tiruporur is a town on Old Mahabalipuram Road about 40 kms from Chennai city and is famous for its Murugar temple.

The main deity of the temple is Kandaswamy and is Swayambhu. The other deities include Durgai, Deivayaanai, Valli and Pillayar. In this temple one can see the Sevvai Chakram. This temple serves as a Sevvai Parihara Sthalam like Vallakottai Murugar temple also. The Sthala Vriksham is Vannimaram.

Mammiyur Mahadevan

Mammiyur is within a mile from Guruvayoor temple and generally, a trip to Guruvayoor is considered incomplete without a visit to the Mahadevan temple in Mammiyur. 

In the Mammiyur Mahadevan temple, one can see the Sannidhis of Mahadevan (or Shiva) and Vishnu adjacent to each other. Poojas for both the deities are performed in this temple with equal fervour. Other deities in this temple include Subramanya, Ganesha, Ayyappa and Parvathi Devi. More details can be accessed from the temple’s website: http://www.mammiyurdevaswom.com/

Manavaalanallur Kozhanjiappar

Manavaalanallur is a couple of kilometers from the town of Vridhachalam. This village is famous for its Murugar temple.

The main deity in the Murugar temple in Manvalanallur is called Kozhanjiappar and the Moolavar is Swayambhu. The Moolavar is called Kozhanzhiappar because the deity’s form was revealed through the hoofs (Kozhumbu) of a cow. There is a Vinayagar Sannidhi beside the Kozhanjiappar Sannidhi.

There is also a Sannidhi for Muneeswaran who is considered to be a Guardian deity insitde the temple to the right of the temple entrance. Opposite the Sannidhi is a tree surrounded by spears with petitions (Praadhu or prayers) submitted by devotees. The belief is that prayers  written as a petition and tied to the tree for a predetermined number of days (30 days, 90 days etc.) after paying the dakshina (dependent on the number of days) are fulfilled by Kozhanjiappar. Devotees whose prayers are fulfilled then perform Archanai for the deity as a token of thanks.

Behind the temple one can feed vegetables/ fruits to deer in an enclosure. Further details can be accessed at http://kolanjiappertemple.com/index-1.html.

Kozhanjiappar Temple Entrance

SriMushnam Bhoovarahaswamy

Sri Mushnam or Thiru Muttam as it was previously known, is about 15 kms from the town of Vridhachachalam. The town is famous for the temple dedicated to the the third avatar  - Varaha vatar of Lord Vishnu.  

The Moolavar is Swamyambu and is named Bhoovarahaswamy. The Moolavar is very small - only about 1.5 feet tall and the face is in the Southern direction with the hands near the waist - hiding the Conch and Chakram.  The reason for the secrecy is to deceive the Asura Hiranyaksha from whom Varaha Swamy rescues Bhoomi (Earth). While the Moolavar is in the form of Varaha (boar), the Utsavar appears in the normal form as Perumal Himself and named Yogavarahaswamy. The Ambal is called Ambujavalli Thayar.

Sthala Puranam

Bhoovarahaswamy Temple Kulam

Hiranyaksha was an ardent devotee of Vishnu who captured Bhoomi Devi and held her captive. Lord Vishnu took the form of Varaha to fight the Asura. If the Asura saw the Conch/ Chakram and recognized that it was Vishnu who had
appeared as Varaha Swamy, the Asura would then fall at the feet of the Lord making it difficult for Him to destroy Hiranyaksha and rescue Bhoomi Devi. After all, the Lord is a Sharanagathavatsala or the protector of those seeking refuge under Him. 

The sweat from the Lord after the fight with the Asura formed the pool at the temple - Nithyapushkarini.  There is also an interesting tree and a Tulasi Madam in this temple. On observing the branches of the tree, one can observe the form of Varaha swamy in the way the branches appear. The mandapam around the tree has Asvatha Narayana, Madwacharya, Garuda and Hanuman Murthis. 

This Sthalam is a Saligrama Sthalam i.e. the Moolavar itself is made out of Saligramam. There are 8 Swayambhu 

Arasu Maram

Saligrama Sthalams in India - 4 in North India (Saligramam, Naimisaranyam, Badrinath and Pushkar) and 4 in South India (Tirupathi, Srirangam, Sri Mushnam and Nanguneri or Vaanamamalai).
These 8 Kshetrams are also called as Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams with each Kshetram representing one syllable of the Ashtakshara Mantra - Om Namo Narayana.

Childless couples seeking children perform pariharam in this Sthalam and are supposed to get good results within 90 days.  The prasadam at this temple is Korai kizhangu (Cyprus Rotandus) Urundai and has many medicinal properties.

Bhoovarahaswamy Temple Entrance

Vridhachalam Vridhagireeswarar

Vridhachalam is 235 kms from Chennai city. Vridhachalam can be easily accessed via TIndivanam-Ulundurpet route. 

Vridhachalam is also known as Thirumudhukundram and is claimed to be one of the places that survived Pralayam. The other places that survived Pralyam are supposed to be Kanchi, Sirkazhi, Tiruneedur and Tirupurampayam. There are some interesting pieces of information that can be gleaned from the temple’s walls. There are few places that ease the path to attaining salvation.

Place or Sthalam	Action to attain Mukthi
Tiruvarur	Birth
Kanchipuram	Living
Tiruvannamalai	Remembering
Thillai	Darshan
ThiruKasi	Death

The main deity of this temple is Vridhagireeswarar and the name of the Ambal is Vridhambikai. The temple has four Gopurams

The Sthala Vriksham is Vanni Maram. According to Sthala Puranam, Ambal Herself places the body of those who passed away in this place on Her lap and wipes the body with her saree while Vridhagireeswarar chants the mantras for comforting the departed soul.

The temple is open from 6 am to 11.30 am and from 3.30 pm to 8.30 pm.

Padavedu Renukambal

Padavedu is about 35 kms from Vellore and the temple can also be accessed through a 7 km road near Sandhaivaasal from Tiruvannamalai. The Lingam in this Sthalam is called Somanathalingam.

Sthala Puranam:

Lord Parasurama (one of the Dasavathars of Vishnu) obeyed His father - Rishi Jamadagni’s command and severed the head of his mother Renuka Devi. In the course of killing His mother, Lord Parasurama happened to sever the head of a washerwoman too.

When granted a boon by Rishi Jamadagni, Lord Parasurama asked for His mother to be returned to life. The Rishi asked Lord Parasurama to join the severed head with the body. However, the head of His mother was joined with the body of the washerwoman and the head of the washerwoman with the body of His mother. The severed head of Renuka Devi with the body of the washerwoman is worshipped in Padavedu as Renukambal. The body of Renuka Devi with the head of the washerwoman is worshipped in Periyapalayam as Periyapalayathamman.