Sri Ranganathan Temple - Sri Rangapatna

SriRangapatna - AMBLEE Resort

Lord Shiva - The Lord of the Five Elements

Lord Shiva is considered as the lord of the five elements:
For each element there are temples in Tamilnadu.
I have visited all these temples in my life
They are
1.Ekambaranathar Temple at Kancheepuram - Element of Earth
2.Jambukeeshwar Temple at Thiruvanaikaval - Water Element
3.Lord Natrajar at Chidambaram - Space element
4.Lord Annamalaiyar /Arunachaleeshwar at Thiruvanamalai - Fire Element
5.Lord Kalaththinadar at Kalahasthi - Element of Air

Thiruporur - Kandaswamy Temple

I visited the Thiruporur Temple in OMR road today.
It is 40 Kms away from Chennai.
I went along with my Dad , Hubby , and my two sons  -  Mehul and Nirek


Details about  Thiruporur Temple :
The presiding deity is Lord Kandaswamy with his consorts. He is a Swayambu Murthi.
The image was discovered by Swamy Chidambaram Swamigal.
Later the temple was governed by his descendants and reached its present glory.


There are many mythological stories associated with the Temple:
1. Legend has it that Lord Muruga fought with Thaaraga in this place and slayed him. Hence the name Porur. 'Por' in Tamil means war.

2. According to the Sthalapurana, Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Devayanai granted protection to devas and explained the meaning of Pranava to Agastya Muni at this place. 

3. Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi were subjected to the curse of Kanva rishi. Lord Shiva came to this place to liberate and relieve them from the effect of the curse. 
Therefore at Tirupporur temple both Lord Shiva and his son Muruga are worshiped. 
This shrine is indeed very special for Lord Shiva as He lives along with His family in this shrine. 
Lord Shiva is called as Vanmeega Nathar and the Goddess is Punniyakaarani. 


The Vanni Maram or the Holy Tree of the Temple:
The holy tree of this place is the Vanni tree. Pictures depicting the life of Chidambaram Swamigal can be seen in the temple.
When Lord Muruga's spear pierced the earth, water came gushing out and that is the 'Vallaiyaar odai', the holy tank. "


Information Zone :
The temple looked vast with a  tall Gopuram. There was a large pond before the temple. 
I bought a Archanai set for Rs. 30 and a Sampankee Garland for Rs.70 .
The Archanai ticket was Rs.5  
There was Special entrance ticket of Rs.10. 
There is a separate place for head tonsures.
My two sons had a head tonsure this morning in the temple.
For tonsuring  I paid Rs.100 as service charge to the barber.
The tonsuring charges are not quoted.
You can pay the barber how much ever you wish. 
Remember to carry a mug along with you. 
You will be needing it while taking bath in the temple pond after the hair shave.
The steps to the pond is very slippery . 
There was a warning board near it in Tamil. (see the picture below)


NOTE : And one main thing to add , since it was a Sunday , the Archanai was done only for the Urchavar diety.The Archanai will not be done to the Moolavar on Sundays and Tuesdays , or on the tamil star days like Bharani and Krithigai said the temple poojari. The archanai will be done only to the Urchavar on that day and not for the Moolavar.

Temple Timings 

Morning : 6A.M to 11.30A.M

Evening : 3.30P.M. to 8.30PM

Landline : 044 - 27446226

Puri Jaganath - Orissa

We started our journey from Chennai.We reached Khurdha road .From Khurdha road , we left to Puri .We stayed in OTDC hotel "PanthanNivas".We stayed there for a night.That night we visited Puri Jaganath temple.The next day we had a camel ride in the Puri beach.The Jaganath temple was very beautiful.The carvings and paintings were indeed lovely.Jagannath Puri Dham  is situated on the sea shore of the Bay of Bengal in the State of Orissa (India). It is one of thefour Holy Kshetras of India including temples at Rameshwaram, Dwaraka, Badrinath and Puri.
Puri is famous for its Historic antiquities ,Religious sanctuaries , Architectural Grandeur , Sea-scape beauty,and moderate climate.It boasts of a continuous history from the 3rd Century B.C. to the present day and its unique monuments like those of Sri jaganath at Puri , the Sun Temple at Konark are the famous in the world. It has the Chilika lake  , one of the largest  brackish water lakes in India, that holds a picturesque Sea-Scape  beauty.

Caution:
At the Puri Jaganath temple ,  we were cheated by a Pandit.

Since there was a heavy crowd to have the  Darshan.The Pandit used the opportunity and told us that he would take us with ease  ,if we pay him 100 Rupees.And we did.But he did not take us with ease.Instead we got stuck in a stampede and I had to push my way out to protect my kids , who were being crushed..

DhanushKodi

Dhanushkodi or Danushkodi (Tamil : தனுஷ்கோடி) is a town/village at the southern tip of the Rameswaram island, at the eastern coast of the Tamil Nadu state of India.
Dhanushkodi is situated in the South-East of Pamban. Danushkodi is about 18 miles (29 km) West of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The Dhanushkodi railway line running from Pamban Station was destroyed in the 1964 cyclone and a passenger train with over 100 passengers drowned in the sea.Dhanushkodi has the only land border between India and Sri Lanka which is one of the smallest in the world-just 50 yards in length on a shoal in Palk Strait.
Since Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is just 19 miles (31 km) away, there were many ferry services between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar of Ceylon, transporting travellers and goods across the sea. There were hotels, textile shops and dharmashalas catering to these pilgrims and travellers. The Railway line to Dhanushkodi–which did not touch Rameshwaram then and destroyed in the 1964 cyclone-went directly from Mandapam to Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi in those days had a railway station, a small railway hospital, a higher secondary school, a post office, customs and port offices etc. It was here in this island in January 1897, Swami Vivekananda after his triumphant visit to the west to attend parliament of religions held in USA in September 1893, set his foot on Indian soil from Columbo
Before the 1964 storm, there was a train service up to Dhanushkodi called Boat Mail from Madras Egmore (Now Chennai Egmore) and the train linked to a steamer for ferrying travellers to Ceylon.
On that fateful night (December 22) at 23.55 hours while entering Dhanushkodi railway station, the train No.653, Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger, a daily regular service which left Pamban with 110 passengers and 5 railway staff, was only few yards before Dhanushkodi Railway station when it was hit by a massive tidal wave. The whole train was washed away killing all 115 on board. All together over 1800 people died in the cyclonic storm. All dwelling houses and other structures in Dhanushkodi were marooned in the storm . The high tidal waves moved almost 10 kilometres onto this island and ruined the entire town. Pamban bridge was also washed away by the high tidal waves in this disaster. Eyewitness accounts recollected of how the surging waters stopped just short of the main temple at Rameshwaram where hundreds of people had taken refuge from the fury of the storm. Following this disaster, the Government of Madras declared the town as Ghost town and unfit for living after the storm.Only few fisherfolks now live there.Even though there was a railway line between Pamban and Dhanushkodi and a passenger train used to ply regularly, after the storm the tracks were damaged and in course of time, were covered by sand dunes and hence had to be abandoned. One has to reach Dhanushkodi either on foot along sea shore on the sand dunes or in jeeps and in tempos of fishermen.

A EXCAVATION IN RAMESWARAM STATION

Enchanting Rameshwaram

Rameswaram (Tamil: இராமேஸ்வரம், is a town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 50 kilometres from Mannar Island, Sri Lanka. Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge.Together with Kashi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus, and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages. Hence, it is a bustling pilgrim centre.
It is situated in the Gulf of Mannar at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. According to legend, this is the place from where Lord Rama built a bridge Ram Setu (also known as Adam's Bridge) across the sea to Lanka to rescue his consort Sita from her abductor Ravana. Both the Vaishnavites and Shaivites visit this pilgrimage centre which is known as the Varanasi of the south.
Ex-president of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, hails from a fishing hamlet called Dhanushkodi situated on this island.

Valaparai Trip

ANAMALAI HILLS IN WESTERN GHATS