Thirukazhukundram temple - a short visit

Wish you all a Very Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year 2013.

The past year has been great, more so in my path of spiritual development which has been highly fulfilling and satisfying.

An opportunity to contribute to a spiritual forum dedicated to spread the teachings of Kanchi Shri Paramacharya came out of the blue exactly one year ago. Infact, I got the call while I was just stepping out of the Brindavan of the Mahaswami at Kancheepuram !!

What started as a means of lending a helping hand to an old friend running the site has transformed me so much in the past one year. Sri Maha Periyava, the great Sage of Kanchi has been constantly guiding me in everything I do, and the journey has been rewarding and fulfilling spiritually. I am indeed blessed.

Please visit the forum www.periva.proboards.com and www.periva.org to know more about the Paramacharya.

I would like to begin this year's post on my short visit to Thirukazhukundram temple last week. The temple is located near Chengelpet.

It was just my husband and me for this trip as my son had exams.

 

Pillayar temple near the Arasa Maram

This was our first visit to this temple. We started early and reached the foothill at 9.30 am. You need to climb the steps leading to the temple on foot. 

There is a temple for Pillayar at the foot hill around an Arasa maram.(Peepal tree). In addition to Lord Ganesha, there are beautiful deities of Dakshnamurthy and Lakshmi Varagar too.

The climb uphill was not difficult as I thought. The steps are neatly laid and only about  half feet in height. The laying of the steps has been sponsored by several devotees whose names are inscribed on the side walls. A steel raining on either side provides a grip while climbing. We reached the temple at the summit in 30 mins as I am a slow climber. However, the Sannidanam opened at about 10.00 am only.  

The moolarvar Shri Vedagiriswarar is a beautiful sight to see and worship.  There are deities of Vinayaka and Murugan at the entrance. The unique feature is that there is no Nandi before the Shivalingam. The floral decorations made to the main deity quickly reminds us of the Shri Annamalaiyar temple at Thiruvannamalai.

We had a good darshan. The cool breeze and the view from the hill top was wonderful.

One has to return via another path to visit a cave and the place where the two eagles were fed every noon by the temple priest till the 1990's. Unfortunately, we missed this as we returned via the same path we climbed. We realized it after climbing down about 200 steps, but were too tired to climb up again!. So, when you visit, make sure you do not miss these spots even though the pakshi's (eagle's) do not visit the temple now. I got the reason for this from the archakar in the big temple at the foot hill.

The temple dedicated to Goddess Tiripusasundari is at the foot of the hill. The Lord here is known as . Ambal here is suyambu. The temple is currently under renovation.

             

         

Another significant feature is this town is the Sangu Theertham which is one of the several theerthams in the regiion. It is a really big tank. The legend has that Saint Markandeya, who visited the temple wished to perform abhishekam to the Siva lingam here, but he found no vessel to take the water. Just then a conch suddenly emerged from the tank, and Markandeya performed the abhishekam. It is said that even now, once in 12 years, a conch emerges from this Sangu Theertham , which the temple authorities collect with all honours and preserve in the temple. 

Sangu Theertham

The archakas at the temple told me that the last conch was collected during September 2011.

All these conches are used to perform the Sangabhisekham for Shri Vedagiriswarar at the hill top temple once a year on the last Monday in the month of Karthigai. After this, all the conches are preserved in the temple at the foot hill only. You can have a darshan of the sacred conches after buying a ticket for Rs:2/- per head.

Here is  picture of the sacred conches. The big white conch that you see is over 1000 years old and this is the one which appeared from the Sangu Theertham to Saint Markandeya. The recent one collected in Sept 2011 is the small one you will see right in the front. All these conches are those collected in this century. The remaining ones are preserved separately.

 

Sacred Conches from the Sangu Theertham

I was actually curious as to why the two eagles have stopped visiting the temple. Legend has that two Rishis Boosha and Vithatha, are the two eagles that have been visiting Thirukazhukundram daily since time immemorial, in order to worship Shiva and obtain salvation from His curse. The archakar at the temple told me that since the eagles (rishi's) have obtained salvation, there is no need for them to be visiting again. The eagles have stopped coming after the 90's.

There is another Shiva temple in this town for Shri Rudrakoteeswarar. It was after 12.00 noon by the time we reached the temple, and the temple was closed at that time. We returned regretfully hoping that we will get to visit the temple on another occasion.

On the whole, a nice darshan on Prodosham day.

Cheers!