DAY 1 MADURAI:
1.Nuburagangai & Palamudhirsolai:
1.Nuburagangai & Palamudhirsolai:
 |
| Steps leading to Nuburagangai |
Nuburagangai:
Nuburagangai is a natural spring where pilgrims take bath..The legend has it that 'Suthapas' Maharishi had a very peculiar gift. He could stay under water forever, without coming up, for air. Daily, he would go into the Silambar, immerse himself in the cold flowing waters and so that he could offer prayers to the Lord without disturbance. This became a daily ritual,on one such occasion, when Suthapas was deep under the waters, Durvasa came along. Knowing through his Gnana Drishti, Durvasa waited for Suthapas to come out. Suthapas, on the other hand was so immersed in his prayers that he hardly acknowledged the presence of Durvasa, and did not come out. Durvasa cursed “Oh Suthapas, when you remain under the water for so long, you are no longer fit to be a human. May you turn into a frog .” prepared to leave. Suthapas Maharishi realising the gravity of the situation, jumped out of the river and fell at his feet, begging for forgiveness. Durvasa, then said, Pray to Lord vishnu to reedeem the curse and you will regain your human form.Suthapas Maharishi, with his new amphibian body, swam through the Silambar to the holy city of Madurai. There by the banks of the sacred Vaigai, he engaged himself in constant prayer to Narayana..Finally the Lord Kallazhagar(Vishnu) comes from his abode from Alagar Hill to redeem Mandooga Maharishi of his curse..
 |
| Holy spring, where devotees are allowed to sprinkle water.. |
From the very peak of Azhagar Malai flows out the Noopura Ganga. The source of the spring is yet undetected, and it wells out from the sanctum of Rakkayi Amman and rushes down with all its purifying power. Rakkayi Amman is the protector of all the Theerthas in the place and is supposed to be the daughter of Angirasa munivar. Thousands believe that a dip in this Noopura Ganga is as holy as the one taken at the Triveni Sangamam in Prayaga.
 |
| Lord Azhagar |
All the abhishekas and bathing ceremonies performed to Azhagar are done with the holy waters from the river. Temple sources report that if any other water is used, the Bronze statue will blacken instantly. We climbed the steps, had darshan of Azhagar, here water from spring was continously flowing on the idol, backside of this sanctum devotees are allowed to get a dip from the spring, we also sprinkled holy water from this spring, and climbed down the steps..
 |
| Water continously flowing on Azhagar |
2. Palamudhirsolai:(One of Arupadaiveedu)
We then went to Palamudhirsolai,one of the six abodes of Lord Subramanya which is on the same hill, down the Nuburagangai. There is a famous legend associated with the temple. It is said that Awaiyar, a famous Tamil poet and a Muruga devotee, came here, she became tired while travelling, and sat under the shadow of a fruit tree and was very hungry and thirsty. At that time, a small
boy who was sitting on the tree asked her whether she wants fruits to eat from the tree. She replied yes. Then, the boy asked Avvaiyar whether she wanted roasted fruits or unroasted fruits.Avvaiyar thought, "Is there any roasted fruit in the world?" then she asked him to give roasted fruits. The boy shook the tree and fruits fell under the tree. The fruits are stuck with the mud as soon as they fell down. To remove the mud, Avvaiyar took the fruits and blew on the fruit. It looked like as though fruits were roasted and had become warm, and Avvaiyar had blown the fruits to cool them. The small boy asked Avvaiyar whether the fruits are warm that your blowing it to cool down.. Avvaiyar was amazed by the whole thing and thought "How did a small village cow boy played such an intelligent drama?A beautiful comparison between blowing the air on the fruit to remove the mud is like blowing air to reduce the heat as the fruit is roasted. Such a beautiful comparison would not have risen in her mind even though she had gained rich knowledge in Tamil." She asked the small boy, "Who are you?"Then the small boy disappeared and Lord Muruga appeared. This incident is believed to have taken place in Palamudhirsolai..
 |
| Palamudhirsolai temple |
Palamudhirsolai temple is middle of beautiful hills, surronded by green lush. It was drizzling, when we got down. We immediately entered the temple which inhouses a beautiful idol of Lord Subramanya...We had darshan and headed to next place...
 |
| Palamudhirsolai temple amidst beautiful hills |
Meenakshi Sundareswarar:
We then headed to Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple...According to Hindu legend, in order to answer the prayers of the second Pandya king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai, Goddess Parvati appeared out of the Holy Fire of the Putra Kameshti Yagna(sacrifice for childhood) performed by the king. This girl, who came out of the holy fire had three breasts. A voice from the heavens told the king not to worry and added that the third breast would vanish soon the girl meets her future husband. The happy king named the girl as Tadaatagai and being the heir to the throne, Tadaatagai was trained carefully in all the 64 sastras(fields of science). As the time came when Tadaatagai was to be coronated, she had to wage war on the three worlds across eight directions. After conquering Sathyaloka(Brahma's Abode), Vaikunta( Vishnu's Abode) and Amaravati(the abode of the Devas), she advanced to Kailasha(Shiva's Abode).She very easily defeated the bhoota ganas(Shiva's army) and Nandi(the celestial bull of Shiva) and headed to attack and conquer Shiva. The moment she looked at Shiva, she was unable to fight and bowed her head down due to shyness; the third breast vanished immediately. Tadaatagai realized that Shiva was her destined husband. She also realized that she was the incarnation of Goddess Parvati. Both Shiva and Tadaathagai returned to Madurai and the king arranged the coronation ceremony of his daughter, followed by her marriage with Shiva.The marriage was supposed to be the biggest event on earth, with the whole earth gathering near Madurai. Vishnu, the brother of Meenakshi, prepared to travel from his holy abode at Vaikuntam to preside over the marriage . Due to a divine play, he was tricked by Indra and delayed on the way. The marriage was presided over by a local god from Thirupparankundram Pavalaakanivaai Perumal, (incarnation of Vishnu). After the marriage, the pair ruled over Madurai for a long time and then assumed divine forms as Sundareswarar and Meenakshi who are presiding deities of the temple.
Meenakshi temple was originally built by Kulasekarer Pandya. But the credit for the present look of the temple goes to the Nayakas, who ruled Madurai from 16th to 18th century.Meenakshi sundareshwara temple is said to inhouse 33,000 statues on the towers and inside the temple, and is famous for architectural and sculptural magnificence.
No wonder it was listed in, 30 nominees of the "New Seven Wonders of the World".The complex houses 14 gopurams ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the southern tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high and two golden sculptured vimana (shrine) over sanctum of the main deities.Prominent things in Meenakshi temple are Meenakshi , Sundareshwaa and Mukkurini Pillaiyar (Ganesha).
.The base of the Kadamba tree under which Indra worshipped Shiva linga (in the corridor outside the main shrine. And the idol of Nataraja who is covered with silver leaves. Hence the hall is named as Velli Ambalam (Silver Hall) can also be noted.
5 Thiruparankundram temple:
One of Arupadaiveedu
We reached Thiruparankundram temple around 5:30pm. This is a very big temple. As soon as we enter temple we saw colourful carvings of Horse and Mythical animals on each pillars at the entrance of the temple.
We walked further and noticed Durga Idol. People were throwing Venne undai(Butter balls) on the Durga idol. When i asked person there they told its for good, however i did not get correct reason of why this is done.
.We walked further reaching a big mantapam, with various carvings and idol..Crossing that mantapam, we reached a huge door. Once you pass through the door you will find actual temple Mantapam. Lord Murgan is the main deity here..
Legend of this temple is, Lord Muruga at the end of Soorasamharam stayed here, along with his soldiers. As a gift for victory, Lord Indira married his daughter Deivanai to Muruga. To commemorate this event, Lord Muruga is worshipped as the presiding deity of this temple.Poet Nakkirar has composed a poem about this Temple and is called Thirumurugatrupadai. Thiruparankundram is a rock-cut hill temple dedicated to the Lord Subramanya Swamy. It is referred as the "Southern Himalaya" in various classical Tamil texts, where the gods assemble. Some Legends mentioned Thiruparankundram as the place where the sun and moon abide.
Mariamman Teppakulam:
The mandapam in the centre has an idol of Vigneshwara (Vinayaka). I was wondering as i expected Amman Temple, as it is called Mariamman Teppakulam, and when i asked purohit he told, vinayaka idol was found when the earth was being dug out from here to build the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal. So, the place attained sanctity and was converted into a teppakulam (tank).This is where the annual float festival (Theppotsavam in Tamil) takes place.
