Thiruvellarai

The Thiruvellarai Divya desam experience was a beautiful one. We were driving in our car from Srirangam for quite some time into the countryside. Quite some time later, after one disappointment wherein we mistook another temple as the divya desam, we reached the divya desam.

The temple walls are big, and the imposing and unfinished Raja Gopuram made me feel what a beautiful sight it would have been, had it been completed. I was awe-struck at seeing the unfinished gopuram. It was so huge and old. A couple of unique sights in this temple - one there were two entrances to reach the Pundareekaksha Perumal. The Uttarayana Vaasal and the Dakshinayana vaasal. Each of these entrances are open only during that period - Utttarayanam or Dakshinayanam. The Perumal in the Nindra Thirukolam, along with his consorts is a sight to behold.

Apart from these two entrances, there is also a third one - the naazhi kettan vaasal. According to the bhattar, the thaayar of this sthalam stopped the Perumal when he retuned late one night and asked him why he was late.

On the day we went, the thirumanjanam for the Bali Peedam was conducted. This was a prarthanai that was being fulfilled. The bali peedam is so huge and the thirumanjanam went for more than an hour. The crowning glory was the huge lotus garland for the bali peedam. I had never seen such a garland made of lotus flours till date. The temple also has a tank within the walls and the thirumanjanam was done using this water.

This was the last temple we visited that morning and later in the evening we visited Appakudathaan, Anbil and the Uraiyur temples.

Uttamar Kovil - ThiruKarambanur

From Srirangam, we reached Thiru Karambanur. This is a special divya desam wherein you will find separate Sannithi's for Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. The sthala puranam states that the Shiva's Brahmahatthi dosham was rectified after he got alms from the Thaayaar at this kshetram. The same is also told in a couple of other divya desams as well.

Perumal - Purushottaman is in sayana thirukolam. The Lord reclining on Adhiseshan is a beautiful posture, always inviting for one more glimpse and I can never be satisifed to leave the temple. I have seen in so many divya desams, the Perumal in sayana thirukolam looks so beautiful that I find it difficult to leave the sannithi. I had this feeling in several temples including ThiruNeermalai (near Chennai), Sthalasayana Perumal (Mahabalipuram), Yadhothkari Perumal (Kanchipuram). I have visited these temples a lot of times and each time i get the same feeling every time. More about these kshetrams in later posts.

During our visit, electricity was not available. I was initially a bit irritated since I felt I could not get to see the Lord in full splendour. But once in the sannithi, the oil lamps in the sannithi and the aarathi showed the Perumal in all splendour, in natural light. I was awe struck and felt a divine feeling. Would not the Azhwars had the same darshan in those early days.

This divya desam can be reached easily from Srirangam. It is less than half an hour by a vehicle.

And finally, as I was leaving the temple, a thought stuck me - is having separate sannithi's for Vishnu and Shiva, Perumal's way to state Vainavam and Saivam are only means to reach the ultimate truth. I am still trying to understand...

Thirupper Nagar - Appakkudathan

During my visit to Srirangam, we also went to 5 other divya desams around Tiruchi on the same. One of them was Thirupper Nagar - Appakkudathaan. This temple is about 25 kms from Tiruchi. We hired a car to go to all these divya desams and by Sri Ranganathar's blessing were able to cover all the other 5 on the same day.

The temple is on a small hillock and the Moolavar Appakudathan is in the sayana thirukolam. The sayana thirukolam of Perumal is always a sight to behold. what a beautiful sight. The utsavar is Appaala Rangan. I had read before going to this temple that the Lord held a kudam filled with appam and hence the name Appakkudathaan. The Naivedhyam for the Lord is Appam on daily basis. When we are the sannidhi, the bhattar told us that the Lord does not hold the appa kudam. In fact I saw a gap between his thirukai and the appa kudam. Since then, I have been wanting to get this clarified with the learned people, but so far have not asked them.

The temple itself is on the banks of river kollidam and unfortunately when we went there was no water in the river. I could not but imagine the days when the river was in full flow and temple on a hillock on the banks of the river.

During our darshan, when the bhattar told us that Nammazhwar attained Saranagadhi in this divya desam and the last paasuram was in the temple, I had a knot in my stomach and throat. This feeling was lingering in me for a long time and even now, when I think of the visit i get a feeling that sometimes take me out of this world.

Sri Kamala Valli Thaayar Sametha Sri Appakudthan Thiruvadigale saranam...

Fortunate enough...

When I first started this blog, my intention was to share my travel experiences including the routes etc. But over a period of time, I could not get on with the writing.

I started my Divyadesam journey at Srirangam in July 2004 and penned my first thoughts in September 2006. In last two 4 years, due to many reasons, mainly my laziness, I have not written as much as I wanted to.

Finally, I have made a promise to myself to atleast write once a month. I plan to write about the divyadesams that I have been fortunate enough to visit.

During the last 4 years, with Sri Ranganathar's blessings, I have visited 72 divya desams. Over the next postings, I will continue to share my experiences in this site.