Rameswaram, which has Ramanathaswamy ,a form of Lord Shiva is a Holy Place for Hindus.
People take bath in the 22 Theerthas and in the sea, Bay Of Bengal to expiate their sins.
Parvatha Vardhini and Ramanathaswamy Rameswaram.
It is believed that Lord Rama built
a Bridge here to cross over to Lanka to bring Sita back.
On return He worshiped Lord Shiva in the form of a Linga.
He asked Hanuman to bring a shiva Linga to worship but as the auspicious time was running out a Shiva
Linga was made out of sand by Sita and Rama worshiped it.
He also took bath in the Theerthas.
While Valmiki mentions about Rama building a bridge from near Rameswaram, his Ramayana is silent on Rama’s worship of Shiva Linga there.
However this is narrated by Veda Vyasa in his Adyatma Ramayana.
. Rama also speaks about the merit of Pilgrimage to Rameswara in the Adhyatma Ramayana.
In Madurai Meenakshi Temple, when the plan showed that a straight line from the East tower is drawn to the West tower that line will pass through the main god Shiv Linga of the temple.
If a line is drawn between the South and North towers that will divide the Gods sanctum sanctorum in to two halves.
God’s sanctum sanctorum (garba griha) was constructed as if it is born by 8 elephants, 32 lions and 64 ganas. Till 50 years ago the sun light was falling on the god exactly on Pongal (Major festival celebrated on Thai first corresponding to 14th January).
Plan of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.
The temple is the geographic and ritual center of the ancient city of Madurai and one of the largest temple complexes in Tamil Nadu. The temple complex is divided into a number of concentric quadrangular enclosures contained by high masonry walls. It is one of the few temples in Tamil Nadu to have four entrances facing four directions. Vishwantha Nayaka allegedly redesigned the city of Madurai in accordance with the principles laid down by Shilpa Shastras (Sanskrit: śilpa śāstra, also anglicized as silpa sastra meaning rules of architecture) relevant to urban planning. The city was laid out in the shape of square with a series of concentric streets culminating from the temple. These squares continue to retain their traditional names, Aadi, Chittirai, Avani-moola and Masi streets, corresponding to Tamil month names.Ancient Tamil classics mention that the temple was the center of the city and the streets happened to be radiating out like lotus and its petals. The templeprakarams (outer precincts of a temple) and streets accommodate an elobrate festival calendar in which dramatic processions circumabulate the shrines at varying distances from the centre. The vehicles used in processions are progressively more massive the further they travel from the centre.[20] The complex is in around 45 acres (180,000 m2)
Golden Lotus Meenakshi Temple.
The temple is surrounded by gopurams (gateway tower), – There are 14 gopuram the tallest of which, the famous southern tower, rises to over 170 ft (52 m) and was built in 1559. The oldest gopuram is the eastern one, built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan during 1216-1238[21] Each gopuram is a multi-storeyed structure, covered with thousands of stone figures of animals, gods and demons painted in bright hues. The outer gopuram presents steeply pyramidal tower encrusted with plaster figures, while the inner gopuram serves as the entrance to the inner enclosure of Sundareswarar shrine.
The central shrine of Meenakshi Amman temple and her consort Sundareswarar are surrounded by three enclosures and each of these are protected by four minor towers at the four points of the compass, the outer tower growing larger and reaching higher to the corresponding inner one. The Meenakshi shrine has the emerald-hued black stone image of Meenakshi. The Sundareswarar shrine lies at the centre of the complex, suggesting that the ritual dominance of the goddess developed later. Both the Meenakshi and Sundareswarar shrines have gold plated Vimanam (tower over sanctum). The golden top can be seen from a great distance in the west through the apertures of two successive towers. The area covered by the shrine of Sundareswarar is exactly one fourth of the area of the temple and that of Meenakshi is one fourth that of Sundareswarar.
The tall sculpture of Ganesh carved of single stone located outside the Sundareswarar shrine in the path from Meenashi shrine is called the Mukuruny Vinayakar. A large measure of rice measuring 3 kurini (a measure) is shaped into a big ball of sacrifice and hence the Ganesh is called Mukkurni Vinayagar (three kurinis). This deity is believed to be found during a 17th-century excavation process to dig the Mariamman temple tank.
The sacred temple tank Porthamarai Kulam (“Pond with the golden lotus”), is 165 ft (50 m) by 120 ft (37 m) in size. In the Tamil legends, the lake is supposed to judge the worth of a new piece of literature. Authors place their works here and the poorly written works are supposed to sink and the scholastic ones are supposed to float, Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar was one such work.
Only a fraction of 17th and 18th century paintings of Nayak period survives and one such portion is found in the small portico on the western side of the tank. It depicts the marriage of Sundareswarar and Meenkashi attended by Vijayaranga Chokkanatha and Rani Mangammal. The painting is executed on a vivid red background, with delicate black linework and large areas of white, green and ochre. The celestial couple is seated inside an architectural frame with a flowering tree in the background.
The corridor surrounding the sanctum the Meenakshi is called kilikoondu Mandapam (“bird cage corridor”). The space was once used to keep green parrots that were trained to utter the name of Meenakshi. There are two large cages full of squawking green parrots.
The Kambatadi Mandapam (“Hall of temple tree”) with its seated Nandi (sacred bull) has various manifestations of Shiva carved and also contains the famous “Marriage of Meenakshi” sculpture. Sculptures of Shiva and Kali trying to out-dance one another are pelted with balls of ghee by devotees. A golden flagstaff with 32 sections symbolizes the human backbone and is surrounded by various gods, including Durga and Siddar.
The Puthu Mandapam (“new hall”) constructed by Tirumala Nayak contains large number of sculptures. It is situated opposite to the east gopuram.
The Ashta Shakthi Mandapam (“Hall of eight goddess”) is the first hall in the entrance of Meenakshi shrine tower near to East Tower.Ashta indicates eight and Shakthi refers to goddess – the hall has statues of eight goddesses. The gopurams (towers) can be viewed from this hall.[28] The passage was named for eight forms of goddess Shakti carved on its pillars. Other sculptures and paintings depict theTiruvilayadal (holy games of Shiva).The sculptures of heroes of Mahabharata, the Pancha pandavas can be seen in the Pancha Pandava Mandapam (Hall of Pandavas).
The Viravasantharaya Mandapam is a large hall with huge corridors. To the south of this hall is the kalyana mandapam, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chithirai Festival in mid-April. The golden images of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar are carried into the 16th century oonjal mandapam (swing corridor) and placed on the swing every Friday at 5:30 p.m. The shrine has a 3-storied gopuram guarded by two stern dwarapalakas (guardians) and supported by golden, rectangular columns that bear lotus markings. Along the perimeter of the chamber, granite panels of the divine couple are present. The hall is situated in the western bank of the temple tank.
The Mudali Pillai Mandapam or Iruttu Mandapam (Dark hall) is a wide and long hall built by Muthu Pillai during 1613. On the pillars of the halls, there are fine sculptures depicting the story of Shiva taking the form of Bikshadanar to teach the sages a lesson.
The Mangayarkarasi mandapam is a newly built hall situated opposite to the marriage halls and bears the name of saindy queen, Mangayarkarasi who contributed to Saivism and Tamil language. To the south of Mangayarkarasi mandapam lies the Servaikarar Mandapam, a hall built by Marudu brothers in 1795. The Nagara mandapam (Hall of beating drums) lies opposite to Sundareswarar shrine was built by Achaya Rayar, the minister of Rani Mangammal in 1635. The Kolu Mandapam is a hall for displaying dolls during theNavarathri festival celebrated during September–October.This hall is situated in the second corridor of the Meenakshi shrine at the western side.
Thousand Pillar Hall.
The Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam (“Hall of 1000 pillars”) has two rows of pillars carved with images of yali (mythological beast with body of lion and head of an elephant), commonly used as the symbol of Nayak power.It is situated to the north of Sundareswarar flag staff hall. The Thousand Pillar Hall contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars. The hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569 and blends engineering skill and artistic vision.[21] Ariyanatha Mudaliar was prime minister and general ofViswanatha Nayak, the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559–1600). He was also the founder of Poligar System, the quasi-feudal organization of the country dividing it into multiple palayams or small provinces in which each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a petty chief. At the entrance of the hall is the statue of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a horse-back, flanking one side of the entrance to the temple. The statue is periodically garlanded by worshippers. Each pillar in the hall is a carved monument of theDravidian sculpture. The more prominent among the carved figures are those of Rati (wife of Kama), Karthikeya, Ganesha, Shiva as a wandering mendicant and endless number of yalis (mythical figures of lions). There is a Temple Art Museum in the hall where icons, photographs, drawings, and other exhibits of the 1200 years old history of the temple are displayed. Just outside this hall, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar, when struck, produces a different musical note.
The bounty of Grace is not reserved for only to the adherents to Hinduism.
It flows in abundance to any one who has faith and one who worships, irrespective of religious denominations.
We have Raghavendraswamy , Mantralaya. speaking to a British Collector, which was notified in the Gazette, a British collector seeing Rama and Lakshmana guarding the tank in Madhurantakam, Goddess Meenakshi saving British collector, Samayapuarthu Amman curing a British Collector.
There are more incidents that have been documented.
Sangameswara Temple, Bhavani.
Please refer my Posts on these.
Devi Vedanayaki, Sanagameswara temple, Bhavani, Tamil Nadu saved a British collector from floods and thea grateful Britisher donated an Ivory Cradle.
It is, with his signature, on display at the temple even today.
Sangameswarar alayam is a temple in Bhavani, in the Erode district, of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a Hindu templededicated to Lord Shiva.
The temple was built at the confluence of Kaveri river, Bhavani river and ‘agaya gangai’, an invisible underground water source.
The temple was praised in old Tamil literatures Thirupugazh, Pillaithamizh by Thirugnanasambandar and Arunagiriyar, as Thirunana.
Sangameswarar alayam is a Tamil Nadu tourism spot and has a huge hall for social events, a beautiful river side garden, round boat ride, swim and bath area, and an elephant too. Here Kaveri river, Bhavani river and Amudha river join together. River Amudha flow as Antharvahini, just like Sarasvathy at Triveni Sangamam of Allahabad. The place is also known as Dakshina Triveni Sangamam. This place is also known as Padhuma Giri which is surrounded by Naga Giri, Veda giri, Sanga Giri and Mangala Giri.The temple is known as Kooduthurai by locals.
Pooja Time.
Morning
5.00 A.M. to 1.00 P.M.
Evening
4.00 P.M. to 8.30 P.M.
How to reach.
Airport. Coimbatore.
Railway Station. Erode.
Bus Station. Erode, Salem, Coimbatore.
“It is said that during the East India Company regime the then Collector of Coimbatore and Salem Districts, William Garrow, who had his headquarters at Bhavani, worshipped Goddess Vedanayaki,almost on a daily basis and being a Xtian was barred from entry..But he chose to live in a Bungalow adjusant to the Amman and made 3 holes on the wall so that he can have uninterrupted Darshan every day of his favourite Deity(The holes are still there!) One night ,he was awakened in his Draem with the appearance of Amman Vedanayaki and the Goddess directed him in his dream to vacate his bungalow immediately. The moment he moved out, the entire bungalow collapsed. He wondered at this miracle and he presented to the temple an ivory cradle, which is still in the temple, with his signature…
There are some astounding features in Indian temples.
The construction of a temple is very complex and it hs to follow well laid norms in the Agama Sastra.
Thittai Vasisteswarara Temple roof.
In addition to this , many temples have special features.
Vasishteswarar ,Thenthittai
Rays of the Sun falling on the Idol at fixed time of the year.
Idols shadow touching the wall.
Idols changing colors at fixed time every day.
Temples being aligned in the same longitude.
Idol looking like one figure from the front and another from the back.
Idols growing.
Idol which feels like Human at our touch.
Shadow of the roof of the temple falling in its base(Thanjavur)
The list is endless.
Please read my posts on what is listed above and for more.
Now there is a Temple in Thittai near Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India, where a special stone called Surya/Chandra Kanthakal( Sun, Moon Stones) is fixed in the Vimana,roof of the temple over the Garbha Gruha.
This stone absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and drips water on the Shiva Linga once in 24 Minutes.( Half Muhurtha)
Vasishteswarar temple is situated in the village “Thittai” near Thanjavur.
As the village is situated south of the Cauvery river, it is also called “Thenkudi Thittai”.
The presiding deity is Swayambootheswarar and the Goddess, Ulaganayaki. As the main deity is a Swayambu Lingam he got the name “Swayambootheswarar”.
The main deity is also called as Vasishteswarar as he was worshipped here by Saint Vasishtar.
The unique feature of this temple is that a drop of water falls on the Shiva linga every 24 minutes from the ceiling.
This is because of a very special stone called Chandrakanth kept on the roof.
This stone absorbs moisture from the surrounding air and converts into a drop of water.
This temple attracts huge crowds because of the above stone as well the presence of the temple for Raja Dakshinamoorthy.
“Thittai”, the name of the village means “Thittu” in Tamil, (i-e) a Mound.
When the whole world was surrounded by water because of “Pralayam”, Brahma & Vishnu worshipped the Lord Maheshara for protection. After wandering much for a safe place, they found this only mound, which did not drown in the Pralaya waters, where there was a Shiva Lingam.
They performed Pooja to the Lingam and worshipped Lord Shiva, who appeared before them and delegated their duties of Creation and Protection.
It is believed that this is the only place, which was not destroyed even during Pralayam( Dissolution of the Universe)
Unlike many other temples, here the complete temple is built using the stone. Not only for the main deities, but also all other Sannidhi’s are constructed using stones, right from floors, pillars, walls and roof.
*Two stones “Suryagaanthakkal” and “Chandragaanthakkal” which are placed at strategic points above the Vimana are the reasons for the droplets of water which falls on the deity.
These 2 stones absorb moisture from the atmosphere, convert into 1 water droplet, performing a natural Abhishegam to the deity, every 24 minutes (1 Naazhigai), be it the day or night.
A small piece of yellow cloth (Dhothi) which covers the Lingam is always wet because of this. If one can wait patiently, they can view this amazing act.
The temple tank situated opposite the temple is called “Chakra Theertham” which is believed that it was created by the Chakra from the hands of Mahavishnu.
The Goddess is called Ulaganayagi. It is said that a Vaisya girl got back her dead husband after worshipping Ulaganayagi.
The details that have been taken into account to construct a Temple in India of the olden days is amazing.
These details reveal not only the depth of Devotin to the Deity/ies,but also the deep knowledge they had of the universe and its principles.
Lord Nataraja.
The designs of these temples are narrated in the Agama sastra.
Please refer my Posts on this.
The Building of the halls, breaking them up into Praharas(outer Corridor),Mandapas(halls),Artha Mandapas( halls of half the measurement of the Mantapas),Pillared Halls, Sabha Mantapas and the Sanctum, Garbha Gruha…..
all these follow either geological or magnetic , electromagnetic, astronomical principles or all of these put together.
I shall be writing on these aspects of some great temples of India.
I shall start with the Thillai Natarja temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.
More than the well-known Temples, it is the less known temples which have astounding characteristics.
I have written on some of these.
For the present Let me concentrate on Nataraja, Chidambaram.
Nataraja,a form of Shiva, temple in Chidambaram is one of the Pancha Bhutha Sthalas(,Earth, Water, Fire,Air and Ether)
representing the Ether.
There is Empty Space in the enclosure adjacent to Nataraja idol in the temple.
Aarthi is performed to this Space after an Aarthi is offered to Nataraja.
This empty Space reflects the Abstract principle Brahman, the Reality.
Researches have been conducted on this temple on various aspects, its construction, Roof, Pillars, Magnetic Radiation,
Natarja’s Big Toe is presumed to represent the center of the universe.
It is also stated that Lord Nataraja ‘s big toe is the Centre Point of World ‘s Magnetic Equator.
Chidambaram ,Kanchipuram and Sri Kalahasti lie in a straight line at 79* 41 East Longitude.
Curious as these happen to be among the Panchabhuta Sthalas, Places of Five Elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.
The Southern Cross and Canopus tally with Trishanku Swarga and Agasthya Star respectively.
Hence I did not want to dismiss the point that Chidambaram being the Centre of earth’s /universe’s Magnetic field.”
Research into the Idol of Lord Nataraja scholars indicate and confirm that the Idll’s design represents the Crab super Nova Explosion of 1054 AD!
‘Although the Nataraja metal icon with right leg extended was regarded as a tenth century Chola innovation, this study suggested that two fine Nataraja bronzes previously classified as Chola better fitted the metallurgical profile of Pallava bronzes of about 800 AD (Srinivasan 2001, 2004). The likely worship of Nataraja by the Pallava period at Chidambaram with ideas of cosmic creation and destruction is suggested in Manikkavachakar’s Tiruvachakam, which says, ‘Let us praise the Dancer (kuttan) who in good Tillai’s hall dances with fire, who sports (vilaiyatu), creating, destroying, this heaven and earth and all else’ [Dehejia (2002: 103)]. For me, it has been rather lovely and apt, that what had not really been discerned by conventional art history had been revealed through the dance of science and its patterns of elemental and isotopic particles. …
There seem to be astronomical connotations to the rituals associated with Nataraja worship at the Chidambaram temple. Arudra/Ardra darisanam is a ten-day annual festival in December related to the moon being full in the lunar asterism of the naksatra ardra (the reddish star Betelguese or Alpha Orionis), associated with the wrathful aspect of Siva. The constellation of Orion and surrounding stars is bathed in the soft glow of the full moon when it is high in the sky at Chidambaram. A thousand years ago, devoid of the present smog and light flares, the stars must have been even brighter in the tropical night sky.
Another annual festival at Chidambaram, the Brahmotsavam of Ani Thirumanjanam, which is related to the lunar asterism of Uttara Nakshatra around June-July, seems to have begun in the mid-eleventh century from inscription. The Indian zodiac of 360 degrees is divided into 27 parts based on the moon’s sidereal period such that a nakshatra denotes the longitudinal position of the moon within 13 degrees 20 minutes. Thus, by using astronomical software, Dr. Raghavan could ascertain that in 1054 AD the moon would have been full in Uttara Nakshatra on 11 July. This is uncannily close to the date that Chinese astronomers recorded the crab supernova explosion of 4 July! Although this is a preliminary finding, it could suggest a perceived metaphoric link between an observed cosmic phenomenon and notions of cosmic dance.
Indeed, a drawing from a Tamil manuscript sourced by Raja Deekshitar of Chidambaram shows how the Nataraja icon itself was probably traditionally visualized within the stars around Orion. In an exciting collaborative study with Dr. Raghavan, we took some photographs of Nataraja images dated from archaeometallurgical fingerprinting and plotted star charts for the constellation Orion of that corresponding era onto them. As reported in Orientations (Srinivasan, 2006), the star positions were found to a fair extent to correlate with iconometric design as noted in an image in the British Museum attributed from archaeometallurgical fingerprinting to the Pallava period (c. 800 AD). Moreover, the star chart for 1054 AD fitted well the iconometric design of a Nataraja image from Kankoduvanitham archaeometallurgically fingerprinted to the mid-eleventh century AD. Here, the hypothetical position of the crab supernova which exploded in 1054 AD lies near the top left of the head, close to the crescent moon. Chinese records suggest that the crab supernova came into view with a morning crescent moon near it and was visible for 23 days, being four times as bright as Venus. Even American Indians are believed to have made cave paintings of a supernova with a crescent moon. Could it be that the iconometric design of this icon had indeed taken into account the observation of
the supernova explosion?
Crab Nebula Explosin 1054 AD
At any rate, the above studies suggest scope for further investigation into the history of astronomy. No less than celebrated astronomer Carl Sagan suggested that the Nataraja imagery conveyed ‘a premonition of modern astronomical ideas’
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