Nalambalam Visit

The four temples of central kerala, thronged by Hindu devotees during the holy month of karkitakam ( also the month of rain. See this) are the Ram temple at Thriprayar, Bharatha temple at Koodal Manikyam, Lakshmana temple at Moozhikulam and Satrughna temple at Payyamal. It was exciting to visit these ancient places of worship which I did on last Saturday along with my wife and son .My parents and my wife’s parents accompanied us.
These temples together are called the Nalambalam and the deities here are the four sons of King Dasaratha of Ramayana. Lord Ram, the eldest of them is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, who is the Supreme God of the Hindus. Bharata , second amongst them, is the avatar of the Panchajanya (Conch held by Vishnu) .Lakshmana is the avatar of the Adisesha, the serpent of infinite measures and on whom Lord Vishnu sleeps in the Ocean of Milk. Satrughna (the One who is destroyer of enemies) is the twin bother to Lakshamana and the youngest .He is the avatar of the Sudarshana chakra held by Lord Vishnu.
The temples are located in Thrissur and Ernakulam districts in kerala and one needs to travel around 200 kilometeres to cover all these temples in the correct order.
We reached Thriprayar around 5 AM in the morning and there was a queue of over a 1000 people and a similar queue existed in all other temples.It took us a good two hours to come out of the temple after darshan.Just right before our darshan, the sri kovil ( the place where the supreme diety of the temple resides) was closed for an intermediate pooja. So that got us standing there chanting the the Ram mantras for an hour and then the darshan happened. It was wonderful feeling of waiting and then getting the chance to see the Lord.
The second temple at koodalmanikyam has a important pond ( ambalakulam) said to be the spot where the ancient sage “kuleepani Maharshi” did his Tapas/ Penance. The temple is beautiful for it’s architectural marvel. Bharata ruled the ancient kingdom of Ayodhya while his brother Ram was in exile in the forest. Bharata never ascended the throne of Ayodhya, instead kept the Padukas ( Ancient footwear made of wood ) of Ram on the throne, did Paduka Pooja and ruled on behalf of Ram. Bharata is considered to be a great ruler in the epics.
The third temple at Moozhikulam belongs to the Lakshama. He is the closest to Lord Ram and accompanied Lord Ram to the exile in forest. While all people near to Ram wanted to accompany him to the forest, only his wife Sita Devi and Lakshmana were allowed by Ram to accompany him. Adishesha (whose avatar is Lakshmana) incarnates when Lord Vishnu decides to incarnate in the world. They are closely entangled. In one of the esoteric interpretations of Ramayana, Lord Ram is interpreted as the Soul (Atman) and Lakshman as the Mind (Manas). The manas is required to dwell in the material plane perceived by the five senses and incarnation has meaning only when a mind comes to existence and so on the interpretation goes…
Payyamal was the last temple we visited and it is dedicated to satrughna. Satrughna being the avatar of sudarshana chakra, one can offer Sudarshana chakra to the diety. The temple does not come under the Governament administration. (Government controls all or most Hindu places of worship in Kerala, through the Devaswom board in the days where we have even profit making PSU’s getting decontrolled).But this temple was the place where the organizers (basically local people) did a great job in crowd control. They also did annadanam ( free food for all people after offering to Lord Satrughna) with discipline considering the space limitations in the temple.
My hearty thanks to the organizers at Payyamal.

One feels vitalized from the inner after the pilgrimage to these ancient temples in the month of karkitakam.

Nalambalam Kottayam

Nalambalam is a set of four Hindu temples in Kerala. In malayalam, Nalu means four and Ambalam means Temple. These are the temples for the Rama brothers of Ramayana
Ramapuram in Kottayam district, Kerala is a place where temples of all four brothers are situated.
First of all one has to go to  Ramapuram Sree Ramaswamy Temple.











Next one has to go to Koodappulam Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple


Koodappulam Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple





 The third destination is Amanakara Sree Bharathaswamy Temple



The fourth destination is Methiri Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple







Normally nalambalam visit will be done in the sacred  month of karkkidakam.As Lord Rama was born in the month of karkkidakam.The main speciality of this darshan is that visit to all the four temples should be done in the same day.

Pathala Ganapathy Sri Kalahasti

Pathala ganapathy is located at the entrance of Srikalahasti Temple.As the name denotes the ganapathy shrine is located at about 30 feets below the ground.The steps are too steep and narrow.At a time only 10 devottes are allowed to go and take darshan .The next 10 devotees are allowed when the first batch returns back after taking Darsan.Normally there will be no priest and we can directly put garlands to Lord Ganeesha.

Thiruvairanikkulam Mahadeva Temple

Thiruvairanikkulam Mahadeva temple is situated in Aluva,Ernakulam District.There are pratishtas of Lord shiva and parvathi Devi .But the   importance of this temple is Parvathi Devi's Sreekoil will be opened only for 12 days in a year.During this time people from many places will visit this temple.This season will be called as nadathurakkal Mahotsavam.It will; be on every thiruvathira during Dhanu masam.
It is belived that  any body with prayer for marriage or child birth who visit the Goddess Parvathi during those 12 days, gets their prayers fulfilled. Large number of devotees from all parts of Kerala visit the temple during that period.  

THIRUMANDHAMKUNNU Temple

 

Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavthy temple is one of the ancient and famous Mahakshethras of Kerala.The temple is located at Angadippuram town  malappuram District.The temple stands prominently on the top of a hillock with an attractive look and majestic apperearance.The main pooja here is Mangalya pooja .It is believed that through is grace all obstacles overcome and a perfect alliance obtained. Three mangalya poojas one each every year for 3 consecutive years is obligatory. Even if the marriage takes place during this period the poojas remaining to be done should be performed without break.

 

Kadampuzha Devi Temple

 

One of the few temples where Goddess Durga is worshipped in the Parashakthi form, Kadampuzha Devi Temple is located in Malappuram district, Kerala, India. The temple is unique as there is no idol in the temple.

Kadampuzha, Malappuram district is just 2 km from the east of Vettichira Junction, in between Valanchery and Kottakkal on NH-17. The temple is located in Marakkara Panchayath in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram District of Kerala, India.

Daily offerings

There are two main daily rituals at the Kadampuzha Devi Temple.

• Poomoodal (covering the deity under a heap of freshly picked flowers) is the highest puja done in the temple. The Poomoodal offering is being done between 0900-1100 after which the temple will be closed after morning pujas by 1100.
• Muttarukkal, another offering, involves breaking coconuts before the deity by the pujari, correctly into two equal halves, and is used for warding away problems in the life of the devotees. The word itself means "keeping away obstacles". If an offered coconut fails to be broken into two exact halves, then fresh coconuts are broken until one is broken "correctly" - ensuring that the problem has been solved by the divine interference of the deity.
•  “Muttu” means ”obstacle” and “Arukkal “ means “to cut”. So Muttarukkal literally means to “cut away any obstacles”. The obstacles may be of many forms, it could be illness, an obstacle to good health, lack of business growth, obstacles due to bad influences etc. There are very many predefined obstacles for which this offering could be done by the devotee.Coconuts for the offering could either be brought by the devotee or could be purchased from the Devaswom counter. 

The Muttarukkal offering is being done only in the morning i.e. between 0500 and 0700 on weekdays. On Sundays the timings for the Muttarukkal offering is also allowed between 1500-1745 in addition to the morning time. The counter timings in the evenings are between 1530-1700 on Sundays.

Accomodation
The Devaswom is having a Rest House with ample facilities for the convenient stay of devotees. The rooms can be booked in advance.
For Booking please write to the

The Executive Officer, 

Kadampuzha Dewaswom, 

P.O. Kadampuzha, 

Malappuram District, 

Kerala. Pin- 676 553 

South India. 

Email – accomodation@kadampuzhadevaswom.com 

Fax No - 0494 – 2615790. 

Phone - Devaswom office - 0494-2615790 

               Rest House           - 0494-2618000.

Siva Tandava stotram

 जटाटवीगलज्जलप्रवाहपावितस्थले
गलेऽवलम्ब्य लम्बितां भुजङ्गतुङ्गमालिकाम् ।
डमड्डमड्डमड्डमन्निनादवड्डमर्वयं
चकार चण्डताण्डवं तनोतु नः शिवः शिवम् ॥१॥

Jatta[a]-Attavii-Galaj-Jala-Pravaaha-Paavita-Sthale
Gale-[A]valambya Lambitaam Bhujangga-Tungga-Maalikaam |
Ddamadd-Ddamadd-Ddamadd-Ddaman-Ninaadavadd-Ddamar-Vayam
Cakaara Canndda-Taannddavam Tanotu Nah Shivah Shivam ||1||

Meaning:
(My Prostrations to Lord Shiva, the description of whose great Tandava Dance sends a thrill of Blessedness through the Devotees)
1.1: (There dances Shiva His Great Tandava) From His Huge Matted Hair like a Forest, is Pouring out and Flowing down the Sacred Water of the River Ganges, and making the Ground Holy; on that Holy Ground Shiva is dancing His Great Tandava Dance;
1.2: Supporting His Neck and Hanging down are the Lofty Serpents which are Adorning His Neck like Lofty Garlands,
1.3: His Damaru is continuously Weaving out the Sound - Damad, Damad, Damad, Damad - and filling the Air all around,
1.4: Shiva Performed such a Passionate Tandava; O my Lord Shiva, Please Extend the Auspicious Tandava Dance within our beings also.

In the evening, after sunset, at the end of Puja, whoever utters this stotra for 10 times sung by the one with the ten heads (Rāvaṇa), which is dedicated to the worship of Śiva, Lord Śiva will indeed bless him with great Lakṣmī (prosperity) with all the richness of chariots, elephants and horses.

जटाकटाहसम्भ्रमभ्रमन्निलिम्पनिर्झरी_
विलोलवीचिवल्लरीविराजमानमूर्धनि ।
धगद्धगद्धगज्जलल्ललाटपट्टपावके
किशोरचन्द्रशेखरे रतिः प्रतिक्षणं मम ॥२॥

Jattaa-Kattaaha-Sambhrama-Bhraman-Nilimpa-Nirjharii_

Vilola-Viici-Vallarii-Viraajamaana-Muurdhani |

Dhagad-Dhagad-Dhagaj-Jvalal-Lalaatta-Patttta-Paavake

Kishora-Candra-Shekhare Ratih Pratikssannam Mama ||2||

Meaning:

(My Prostrations to Lord Shiva, the description of whose great Tandava Dance sends a thrill of Blessedness through the Devotees)

2.1: (There dances Shiva His Great Tandava) His Huge Matted Hair like a Caldron is Revolving round and round; and Whirling with it is the Great River Goddess Ganga, ...

2.2: ... and the Strands of His Matted Hair which are like Huge Creepers are Waving like Huge Waves; His Forehead is Brilliantly Effulgent and ...

2.3: ... on the Surface of that Huge Forehead is Burning a Blazing Fire with the sound - Dhagad, Dhagad, Dhagad (referring to His Third Eye), ...

2.4: ... and a Young Crescent Moon is Shining on the Peak (i.e. on His Head); O my Lord Shiva, Your Great Tandava Dance is passing a surge of Delight Every Moment through my being.

 

Temples of India: Karikkakom Devi Temple,Trivandrum

Karikkakom Devi Temple,Trivandrum

Karikkakom Devi Temple is a temple situated seven kilometers east of Trivandrum.The  Karikkakom Chamundi Devi Temple which is one of the most ancient and renowned shrines of Kerala.

        Chamunda, also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses). She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga. The name is a combination of Chanda and Munda, two monsters whom Chamunda killed. She is closely associated with Kali, another fierce aspect of Devi. She is sometimes identified with goddesses Parvati, Chandi or Durga as well. 

      In Hindu scripture Devi Mahatmya, Chamunda emerged as Chandika Jayasundara from an eyebrow of goddess Kaushiki, a goddess created from "sheath" of Durga and was assigned the task of eliminating the demons Chanda and Munda, generals of demon kings Shumbha-Nishumbha. She fought a fierce battle with the demons, ultimately killing them.

Temple Opening Timings 

Karikkakom Chamundi Devi Temple is open on all days. The temple opens daily at 05:00 AM to 11:30 AM in the morning and 5:00 PM to 08:00 PM in the evening. 

How to reach Karikkakom Devi Temple

Karikkakom is just 7 km from Thiruvananthapuram city. The nearest railway station is Trivandrum Central Railway Station and bus station is Thiruvananthapuram Central Bus Station. 

Karikkakom Devi Temple Contact Address 
Karikkakom Sree Chamundi Temple 
Karikkakom, Beach PO, 
Thiruvananthapuram 
Kerala
Postal Code - 695007 
South India 

Contact Telephone Number - 0471 - 2500989 (Temple) 2507671 (Office) 
Email: karikkakomdevitemple@gmail.com

Map

http://www.distancesbetween.com/road-map/driving-map-karikkakom-sree-chamundi-devi-temple-tvm/3287282/vi5/

Thirupathi,AndraPradesh

Last week we went  to Thirupathi,the   second richest temple.

We stayed at Vellore,Tamil nadu and after that we went to thirupathi, .

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It is around 600 km (370 mi)^[2] from Hyderabad, 138 km (86 mi)^[3] from Chennai and 291 km (181 mi)^[4] fromBangalore.

The Tirumala Hill is 853m above sea level and is about 10.33 square miles (27 km²) in area. It comprises seven peaks, representing the seven heads of Adisesha, thus earning the name Seshachalam. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. The temple is on Venkatadri (also known as Venkatachala or Venkata Hill), the seventh peak, and is also known as the "Temple of Seven Hills". The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Venkateswara, a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is known by other names: Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.^[5] The temple lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. The temple complex comprises a traditional temple building, with a number of modern queue and pilgrim lodging sites.

The temple is the richest pilgrimage centre, after the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, of any faith (at more than  50,000 crore^[6][7]) and the most-visited place of worship in the world.^[8][9][10] The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world.^[11]

There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord in Tirumala. According to one legend, the temple has amurti (deity) of Lord Venkateswara, which it is believed shall remain here for the entire duration of the present Kali Yuga.

Sattainathar Temple, Sirkazhi

Sattainathar temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Sirkali,Tamilnadu, India.^[1] The temple is incarnated by the hymns of Thevaram and is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.Sirkali Bhramapureeswarar is an ancient temple complex with 3 different Shiva Shrines. The Bhramapureeswarar shrine is housed in the lower level. The second level houses Periyanakar with Periyanayaki on a Thoni, hence the name Thoniappar. Sattainathar/Vatukanathar is also housed here. From the steps leading to the Toniappar and the Vatukanathar shrine, one can grasp the entire layout of this vast temple, its gopurams and mandapams. There are 22Theerthams associated with this shrine. Three different forms of Shiva are worshipped here, the Shivalingam (Bhrammapureeswarar), a colossal image of Uma Maheswarar (Toniappar) at the medium level, and Bhairavar (Sattanathar) at the upper level.

Special worship services to Bhairavar (Sattanathar) are carried out on Friday nights. The annual Bhrammotsavam is celebrated in the month of Chittirai, and on its second day, the Tirugnanasambandar festival is celebrated. Festivals for Ambaal are celebrated in the month of Aadi and during Navaratri.

Karikkakom Devi Temple,Trivandrum

Karikkakom Devi Temple is a temple situated seven kilometers east of Trivandrum.The  Karikkakom Chamundi Devi Temple which is one of the most ancient and renowned shrines of Kerala.

        Chamunda, also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses). She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga. The name is a combination of Chanda and Munda, two monsters whom Chamunda killed. She is closely associated with Kali, another fierce aspect of Devi. She is sometimes identified with goddesses Parvati, Chandi or Durga as well. 

      In Hindu scripture Devi Mahatmya, Chamunda emerged as Chandika Jayasundara from an eyebrow of goddess Kaushiki, a goddess created from "sheath" of Durga and was assigned the task of eliminating the demons Chanda and Munda, generals of demon kings Shumbha-Nishumbha. She fought a fierce battle with the demons, ultimately killing them.

Temple Opening Timings 

Karikkakom Chamundi Devi Temple is open on all days. The temple opens daily at 05:00 AM to 11:30 AM in the morning and 5:00 PM to 08:00 PM in the evening. 

How to reach Karikkakom Devi Temple

Karikkakom is just 7 km from Thiruvananthapuram city. The nearest railway station is Trivandrum Central Railway Station and bus station is Thiruvananthapuram Central Bus Station. 

Karikkakom Devi Temple Contact Address 
Karikkakom Sree Chamundi Temple 
Karikkakom, Beach PO, 
Thiruvananthapuram 
Kerala
Postal Code - 695007 
South India 

Contact Telephone Number - 0471 - 2500989 (Temple) 2507671 (Office) 
Email: karikkakomdevitemple@gmail.com

Papanasam Temple

Papanasam Temple is located at Papanasam village, near Tirunelveli. The presiding deity is Papavinaseswarar ( Lord Shiva), the redeemer of sins.The river Thamiraparni that flows by the temple teems with fish. Devotees believe that these are redeemed souls, and harming them would bring retribution.

Murugan temple Karamana

Murugan temple is half a kilometer from karmana junction.near to karamana high school.First we will enter to ganapathy temple and then there is an entrance to murugan temple.We can see two peacocks and a peahen outside this temple.we can offer them avil,rice which we get from the nearby shops.This temple is in the banks of the karamana river.

Thirugostiyur Temple

Thirugostiyur is  a small village near Thirupattur in Tamil Nadu District.Thirukoshtiyur Sowmiya Narayana Perumal Temple is an ancient shrine located about 10 km from Thiruppathur in Sivagangai District TamilNadu. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams Lord Vishnu.Most noteworthy feature of the shrine is that the deity can be found in all three postures -standing, sitting and sleeping.Thirukoshtiyur Sowmiya Narayana Perumal Temple is considered as the southern Badrinath.

Thaksanamoorthy temple - Pattamangalam

                                                      Banyan tree at pattamangalam
The place is 4 kms from Thiruppathore a small town in vellore district.There is a very big banyan tree which has hundreds of Ariel roots .People will do  pooja in this roots also.The speciality in this temple is that the circumference of the tree will be about 50-60 meters. Meantime, it takes 5-8  minutes to go around this Banyan tree.Some people will round this banyan tree for 108 times.

Pillayarpatti (Vinayaka Temple)

Karpaga Vinayagar koil is one of the oldest  temples of Tamilnadu and situated at Pillayarpatti, which is between Pudukkottai and Karaikkudi. We had gone to this temple once.At that time we statyed at Thiruppattur a small town in vellore district.And in the evening we went to pillayarpatti.

Karpaka Vinayakar or Desi Vinayaka Pillaiyar is the presiding deity here, and he is portrayed with two arms and a trunk curled towards his right in the valampuri mode.This 6 feet tall mammoth image of Ganesha is a bas relief in an excavated cave, off of a hill in the precincts of the temple.

Unlike other places the three Lingams Thiruveesar, Marudheesar and Senchadeswarar and the three Goddess Sivagami amman, Vadamalar Mangaiamman and Soundara Nayaga amman all appear together at the same place and bless the devotees.It is believed that by worshipping Kathyayini amman at this temple women get relived from sevvai dosham which prevent them from getting married. "Sabda Madhar" whom importance due to changing time are provided with a seperate sannidhi known as Sakthi sannidhi at this temple.

Nalambalam kottayam

The four temples of central Kerala, thronged by Hindu devotees during the holy month of Karkitakam are centred round Ramapuram, within a distance of three kilometres. They are Ramapuram Sree Ramaswamy Temple, Koodappulam Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple, Amanakara Sree Bharathaswamy Temple and Methiri Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple. These temples together are called the Nalambalam.Visiting nalambalam is considered to be a sacred event during the Malayalam month Karkidakam. Nalambalam consists of temples of brothers Sri Rama, Bharatha, Lakshmana & Sathrughnan.

Third House in Astrology

This house is often reffered to as the house of communication.The third house of your horoscope governs all forms of communication and transportation. The style and manner of communications, neighbors, siblings and other relatives such as aunts, uncles, and cousins are representative of the third house. Early childhood education, documentation, papers, books, writing utensils, cars, the subway and all forms of short distance travel are found in the third house. Your mental attitude, learning style, opinions, the analytical mind, self-expression and speech are also 3rd house issues. The other factors that comes under third house are asthma, cough, consumption, chest and the practice of Pranayama, the breathing exercises which precede yogic meditation.

Thiruvarur Temple (Thiruvarur Periya Kovil)

The Thiyagaraja(Thiruvarur Periya Kovil) temple at Thiruvarur is one of the ancient heritage sites of India.

The actual history of Thiruvarur Periya Kovil (Thiyarajar Temple) goes back more than 30th Century BC. The chola kings just renovated the Thiyarajar temple and built few extra shrines inside the temples. The known foremost devotee Tirunavukkarasar on 7th Century CE itself has said in his pasurams that the real existence of this cultural heritage is unknown and the temple is in existence for many centuries.

The annual chariot festival is celebrated in the month of Chitrai (April/May). Every year after the chariot festival, the Theppam festival is celebrated. The temple Kumbabishekam is performed every twelve years, most recently in 2001.

In this temple there is an excellent and unique musical instrument called "Panchamuga Vadyam" with five faces. Each face is ornamented; one with a snake, another with lotus and another one is plain without decorations. One has a Swastik sign. Over each face leather is spread and over the central one Deerskin is spread. It is said that Nanchi Devi played on this instrument when Lord Shiva danced.

Sripadmanabha temple

The Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala could well be the richest in the country as unofficial estimates Saturday, the sixth day of preparing an inventory of treasures in its six chambers, suggested the value of its gold, diamond and other precious metals at close to Rs 1 lakh crore.

The inventory of the temple here, maintained by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, is being made by a seven-member Supreme Court-appointed panel.

The stock-taking process was ordered by the Supreme Court following a petition by advocate T.P. Sundararajan over mismanagement of the temple affairs.