This temple is located about 20 Kms from Chennai. A branch road on the main Chennai - Poonamallee trunk road leads to the temple. An ornamental arch at the entrance of the branch road guides the visitors to the temple.Lord Shiva known as Vedhapureeswarar, Verkatteeswarar & Female deity known as Baalaambikai .

Thiruverkadu is nowadays more famous for Devi Karumaari Amman temple located there which attracts devotees in large numbers everyday. But the Vedhapureeswarar Temple, located about 1 Km from the Karumari Amman temple, is not known to many. From Thiruverkadu bus terminus, a well laid out concrete road named as Sivan Kovil Road leads you to the Paadal Petra Sivasthalam of Vedhapureeswarar Temple.The entrance gopuram is of medium height with 5 tiers. The main sanctum for Vedhapureeswarar is facing east. Behind the main Sivalingam of Vedhapureeswarar inside the sanctum, the wedding scene of Lord Shiva with Parvati is depicted. According to the legend, Lord Shiva is said to have blessed Sage Agasthiyar with a vision of His marriage with Parvati here. The idols of Agasthiyar and Sooriyan can be seen in the inner prakaram on the left side. The shrine for female deity Baalaambikai is on the left side of the main sanctum facing south. There are separate shrines for Chandikeswarar, Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Brahma and Durgai. A seperate shrine for Saneeswaran can be seen in the south-west corner of the outer courtyard and can be reached by turning right immediately after entering the temple through the main gopuram.

Legend: This sthalam is also associated with Lord Murugan. Lord Murugan once took Brahma as a prisoner when Brahma could not explain the meaning for "Pranavam". Lord Shiva sent Nandi to Lord Murugan with a message to release Brahma but Murugan refused to do so. On coming to know of this, Lord Shiva personally came and convinced His son Murugan and released Brahma. Lord Shiva also punished His son Murugan for his disobedience and ordered him to go to Tiruverkadu and worship Lord Shiva there for some time. Velayutha Theertham in the temple is said to have been created by Lord Murugan to worship his father.

This temple is located 7 Kms from Tiruvellore railway station which is on the Chennai Central - Arakonam section of the Southern Railway. It is 4 Kms from Veera Raghava Perumal temple in Tiruvellore which is one of the 108 Divya Desam shrines of God Vishnu.


Situated roughly 50 Kms from Chennai, the Shiva temple at Tirupaasur has gopurams on the east and the south side entrances. Once we enter the main gopuram, there is a spacious courtyard on all the 4 sides. The inner prakaram houses the shrines for the main deity, female deity and Lord Subramanya. The main shrine for Vaacheeswarar and the female deity Thangaathali Amman, are facing east. At the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum, tall stone images of Dwarapalakas can be seen. On the left side of the main sanctum sanctorum, Vinayakar Sabha is situated wherein stone idols of God Ganesha in various sizes can be seen. On the outer walls of the sanctum sanctorum, stone images of Dakshinamurthy on the south side, Annamalayar on the west side and that of God Brahma on the north side can be seen. The inner prakaram of the sanctum sanctorum houses the stone images of Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar and Sundarar.


Karikal Valavan, the Chola King is said to be associated with this temple. According to the legend, this sthalam was a bamboo forest and the Chola King Karikal Valavan while passing through this forest found a Sivalingam under the banboo trees and constructed this temple for Lord Shiva. Inscriptions from the Chola period are found inside this temple.

Masilamani Eswarar Temple,Located in tirumullaivayal (ambatthur) near chennai.Lord Shiva known as Masilamani Eswarar & Female deity known as Kodiyidaiamman .

This temple is 2 Kms from Ambattur, the industrial hub of Chennai city and is well connected by town buses. There is also a suburban railway station known as Tirumullaivayil on the Chennai Central - Arakonam section of Southern Railway and the temple is 1.5 Km from the railway station.


Sundarar has composed hymns on the God of this temple. Sundarar when he lost his eye sight at Tiruvottriyur, came to Tiruvadamullaivayil and composed a Pathigam consisting of 11 songs. This temple is more than 1200 years old. The king Thondaiman, who ruled Thondai Naadu with Kancheepuram as the capital, was once defeated at the war by his enemies Kurumbars. The king, dejected by the defeat, was returning from the battle field on his elephant. When the elephant's legs got entangled with mullai creeper on the ground, the king cut the mullai creeper with his sword to free the elephant's legs. To his surprise he found blood coming out from underneath the mullai creeper. When he cleared them, he found a Sivalingam. After prayers to the God, the God sent Nandi along with him to fight his enemies once again. The king won the war, and in appreciation of God's help in conquering his enemies, he constructed the temple at Thiruvadamullaivayil.

Because Nandi went to war along with the king, the Nandi in this temple is facing east instead of facing the God as seen normally in other Shiva temples. There is a grand tower on the southern entrance to the temple. It is considered very special to pray the female deity Kodiyidaiamman here in full moon days. In this temple, there is no seperate shrine for Navagrahas, the nine planets. Sage Vasishtar has visited this temple and did penance and got Kamadhenu.

Lord Shiva known as Ekambaranathar, Ekambareswarar and Female deity known as Kamatchi Amman.

Temple Location :

Kancheepuram is well connected by train and road from Chennai, the Capital City of Tamilnadu and also from other parts of the state. It is situated at a distance of 80 Kms from Chennai by road. Kancheepuram railway station is on the Chengalpattu-Arakkonam section of the Southern Railway.

Known as the "City of Temples", Kancheepuram is one of the seven great holy centers of ancient India. It was a royal capital once, a flourishing Buddhist and Jain center mentioned in the Tamil Epic Manimekalai, was intimately associated with Pallava and Chola Kings and was connected with the lives of saints. During the Chola period it was a seat of art, religion, education and trade. The Chola kings built several temples in and around Kancheepuram, also known as Kanchi.

Ekambaranathar temple is situated in this holy town of Kancheepuram, one of the Panch Bootha Sthalangal of God Shiva. This vast temple covers an area roughly 40 acres. It is one of ancient temple reported to be in existence from the year 600 AD. Pallava, Chola and Vijanagara Kings have contributed to the building of this temple. The presiding deity Shiva is worshipped here as Prithvi Lingam (Lingam of Earth). There is no seperate shrine for the Female deity as is customary in all the Shiva Temples found in Kancheepuram. All the 4 famous Saivite Saints, Appar, Sambandar, Manickavasgar and Sundarar have sung the glory of this temple.

There is a sacred mango tree inside the temple which is supposed to be more than 3000 years old. This tree is the Sthala Vruksham (Temple Tree) of this temple. The four branches of this tree represents the 4 Vedhas and the tree bears 4 different type of mango fruits in 4 different seasons. Goddess Parvathi, once seperated from her husband, came to Kancheepuram and made a Sivalingam out of sand and installed it under a mango tree on the banks of a river and worshipped it and got Shiva's hand in marriage.

Madurai is one of the oldest cities of South India. It is the seat of Dravidian culture.

There are spiritual associations to the name Madurai. Once a merchant noticed Indra worshipping a Swayambhu Siva linga and informed King Kulashekhara of this. Lord Siva appeared in the king’s dreams as Sundareswar. Drops of nectar fell from Siva’s hair on the spot and as nectar is supposed to be the sweetest of all sweets, the place was called Madhurai. Madhurai is also called the Kadabhavanam Kshetram as the place used to be full of kadambha trees. The pandya king built the temple for Lord Sundareswar and his consort Meenakshi.



But this temple was destroyed during the Moslem invasion. It was subsequently rebuilt by the future generations. The temple was named Meenakshi temple because fish or meen was the emblem of the Pandyan kings.



The vision is that, like how the mother fish casts a gaze at her spawns to instill life in them, similarly Goddess Meenakshi just has to cast her eyes on her worshippers to instill a spiritual life in them.


There are legends associated with the origin of goddess Meenakshi. She was supposed to have been born out of the sacrificial fire during the Putrakameshti sacrifice by the Pandyan king Malayadhwaja. Another legend says that she was born as a Pandyan princess who vowed to marry only the one who could defeat her in a combat. Lord Siva disguised as Sundareswar defeated her and thus married her.


The origin of the Tamil sang am took place here. There are stories attached to this incident as well. The original members are said to be the 48 parts of goddess Sarawati following a curse from Brahma. They went on to become great scholars. The temple is also famous for its pond with golden lily flowers. The art and sculpture of this place is also beyond comparison.
There are a lot of brilliant carvings here.

The Teppakulam, which is a tank that never dries up, is also an important site here.



Madurai being a famous town is easily accessible. The Madurai railway station is well connected with important cities.

This temple is located at about 4 Kms from Tiruvalankadu railway station on the Chennai - Arakonam section of the Southern Railway. Autos are available at the station for going to the temple. The temple can also be reached by road from Tiruvellore on the Tiruvellore - Arakonam road and getting down at Tiruvalankdu village. The temple is very nearby from the bus stop.

Lord Shiva known as VadaAranyeswarar, Aalankatteesar, Oorthuvathandava Murthy and Female deity known as Vandarkuzhalammai.Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar & Sundarar has written Pathigam ( slokas ) on this temple.

Ramanathaswamy Temple



Ramanathaswamy Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the island of Rameswaram (Devnagri, Tamil) in the state of Tamilnadu, India.Sri Ramanathaswamy temple is situated close to the sea on the eastern side of the island, which is in the shape of a conch. The island is connected with the main land at Mandapam by an awe-inspiring rail bridge and a road bridge. In ancient days, the shrine was only a thatched hut. Over the centuries, the small shrine was gradually developed into what it stands today as a massive and magnificent structure According to Shaiva mythology, Lord Rama is believed to have prayed to Lord Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon king Ravana. The temple along with Viswanathaswamy temple, Varanasi is one of the holiest Hindu shrines that has to be visited in one's lifetime and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas the holy abodes of Shiva.
To worship Lord Ramanatha or Ramalinga, the hallowed sand Linga made by Sita and installed by Sri Rama, pilgrims enter through the eastern gopuram. They offer prayers to Lord Anjaneya smeared with sindhoor. Then comes the Nandi Mandapa, which houses the flag staff and the Nandi. The stuccoed massive image of the bull is made of lime stone, measuring 17.5 feet high, 23 feet long and 12 feet wide. On either side of the Nandi, one finds interesting sculptural representations of the ocean gods Mahodathi and Ratnakara. The sanctum is flanked on either side by shrines of Vinayaka and Subramanya. Inside the sanctum, we worship Sri Ramanathaswamy. It is said this Linga contains marks of Hanuman’s tail, with which he tried to uproot it in a fit of anger. The Linga is decorated with silver kavacha. It is customary to offer abhisheka to the Lord with holy Ganga water.
In the front mandapa, there is a canopy, carved under which are images of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman with the two Lingas brought from Kailas, and Sugriva, appearing to be informing Rama about Hanuman’s return. In three other canopies in the front hall, we find exquisitely-carved figures of Hanuman, Gandhamadhana Linga and Agastya Linga.
Parvathavardhini
She is the consort of Lord Ramanatha and is enshrined separately to His right. There is a Sri Chakra installed inside. Special significance is attached to a Devi shrine situated on the right of the Lord’s shrine. In Madurai, too, the shrine of Meenakshi is situated to the right of Lord Sundareshwara. On Fridays, an especially decorated image of Parvathavardhini is taken round the temple corridor in a golden palanquin.
Vishwanatha & Visalakshi
To the north of Ramalinga shrine, Lord Vishwanatha or Vishwalinga has a separate shrine. This is one of the two Lingas brought from Kailas by Hanuman. As per tradition, pujas are first performed to Vishwalinga and then to Ramalinga. In the first inner corridor, Visalakshi, consort of Vishwanatha, is enshrined.
Sayanagruha (Palliyarai)
This is in the north-eastern corner of the corridor around the Visalakshi shrine. The gold image of the Lord is ceremoniously brought here every night from the main shrine and placed in the Oonjal (swing) by the side of the Devi’s golden idol. The Sayana puja and the early morning puja, when the Lord is taken back in a procession to the sanctum, are worth witnessing.
Jyothirlinga
In the first inner corridor, devotees offer worship to the venerated Spatika Linga, installed by Vibhishana. This Linga is the southernmost among the 12 famous Jyothirlingas in the country.
Sethumadava
There is a legend associated with this shrine. Once there ruled a Pandya king by name Punyanithi. As he had no issues, he along with his queen undertook a Sethu Theertha Yatra. Soon he found a baby girl in the palace garden and adopted her as his daughter. As years passed, the princess reached marriageable age. One day an old Brahmin from Kashi, holding Ganga water, appeared in the palace garden and sought her hand in marriage. The king got angry and ordered the old Brahmin to be kept chained in the temple corridor. That night the king had a dream in which he realized that the old man in chain was none other than Lord Vishnu with his daughter, Goddes Lakshmi, by his side. He fell at the Lord’s feet and sought forgiveness. He gave his daughter in marriage to Lord Vishnu at Rameswaram. He is known as Sethu Madhava or Shwetha Madhava (as his image is made of white marble). In Kashi, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Bindu Madhava.

Natarajar Temple, Chidambaram

Chidambaram Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram, 58 km south of Pondicherry in Cuddalore District, the east-central part of the Tamil Nadu state of southeastern


The Chidambaram Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva (Siva) in His form of the Cosmic Dancer, Nataraja is a temple complex spread over 40 acres in the heart of the city. It is an ancient and historic temple dedicated to Lord Shiva Nataraja and Lord Govindaraja Perumal, one of the few temples where both the Shaivite and Vaishnavite deities are enshrined in one place.


The Pallava king Simhavarman,is a well known renovator of this temple. He also known as Hiranyavarman who lived in 5th century A.D. It is one of the few examples of Dravidian architectural and sculptural styles built up over the centuries including that built by the Cholas.
To the follower of Shaivism (Saivism) or the saivaite, the very word koil (Tamil- "temple") refers to Chidambaram. In the same way, to the followers of Vaishnavism it refers to Srirangam or Thiruvarangam.


Festivals

A whole year for men is said to be a single day for the Gods. Just as six poojas are performed in a day at the sanctum sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are performed for the principal deity - Lord Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December - January ) indicating the first pooja , the fourteenth day after the new moon ( chaturdasi) of the month of Masi ( February - March) indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai Thiruvonam ( in April- May), indicating the third pooja or uchi kaalam , the Uthiram of Aani (June- July) also called the Aani Thirumanjanam indicating the evening or the fourth pooja , the chaturdasi of Aavani (August-September) indicating the fifth pooja and the chaturdasi of the month of Puratasi ( October - November) indicating the sixth pooja or Arthajama.
Of these the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai ( in December-January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam ( in June-July ) are the most important. These are conducted as the key festivals with the main deity being brought outside the sanctum sanctorum in a procession and include a temple car procession followed by a long anointing ceremony. Several hundreds of thousands of people flock the temple to see the anointing ceremony and the ritualistic dance of the Lord when He is taken back to the sanctum sanctorum. There are references in Umapathy Sivam's 'Kunchithaangristhavam' that the Maasi festival also had the Lord being carried out in procession. However, the same is not in vogue these days.