After all the near-by Kumbakonam temples, I spent an evening and an early morning visiting 6 local temples. (My other posts on the Kumbakonam visit are here, here, here, and here.
1. Kasi Viswanathar temple
Bang next to the Mahamaham kolam (tank), this temple has two pieces of interesting information attached to it. The nine great rivers of India went to Lord Shiva in Kasi and said –
“Everyone takes a dip in our waters to get rid of their sins. Where do we go to get rid of all those sins?”
Lord Shiva said, the waters of the Mahamaham tank are so pure, you can wash off your sins there. After their bath here, Lord Shiva is said to have given dharshan as Kasi Viswanathar here.
There is also a main Shiva lingam in the outer praharam under the Sthala vriksham. This is said to have been worshipped by Lord Rama and Hanuman on the way back from Lanka, where he begged forgiveness for any sins committed during the war.
The temple is a nice small temple. The Shiva lingam can be beautifully seen right from the road through the raja gopuram. There is some confusion about whether this was Kudandhai Kaaronam (one of the padal petra sthalangal). But I get to hear from reliable sources that this is fake data, and was conjured up to get some moneys from the endowment board. (This is what happens when you bring temples under Government control).
2. Kumbeshwarar
This is one of the main temples of Kumbakonam – from where the town gets its name. It is said this lingam was made of Lord Shiva himself mixing the immortality nectar and sand. Since the lingam is of sand, no abhishekams are performed.
I went in at sunset time. And they were doing Saaya Raksha (evening rituals) to Soma Skandar. Very nice program for about 20 minutes. Soothing and Relaxing.
And then ofcourse, when I was going around the outer praharam, the amateur photographer in me, took over.
3. Ramaswami temple
This is a great temple. I have already written about this temple here. This time I noticed that they had spruced up the Ramayana murals on the inner walls of the temple. They look fantastic. Take a look yourself.
4. Nageswarar temple
Again, I had written briefly about this earlier here. Adding a few more photographs here. Also, in my more recent quest for Tevara Sthalangal, this is one. This used to be called Thirukudandhai Keezhkottam.
5. Someshwarar temple
I had briefly written about this earlier as well here. Visited again because, this is another thevara sthalam. This is the original Kudandhai Kaaronam.
6. Sarangapani temple
Ofcourse, no visit to Someshwarar is complete without visiting his neighbor – Sarangapani (pictures here). Beautiful majestic Vishnu in lying down pose.
(Looks beautiful in Black and white – doesnt it?)
So that is the end of my Kumbakonam Weekend travelogue of 18-21 April. I might do a couple of more this summer. Will update.
My count of Thevara sthalangal is now 6. Yaay.