THE NAVAKAILAYA TEMPLES IN TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT, TAMILNADU
In this journey of life, what gives us peace, happiness and satisfaction is the pilgrimage we take to various temples. Journey of bhakthi is a part of our life. When our mind is tired and with pain, bhakthi becomes a medicine and a rejuvenator. These words come out of experience and everybody who is even a little bit spiritual will accept this. During this journey of going to temples and worshiping our gurus and prostrating ourselves before lord gives us immense pleasure. Along with our body our mind also gets nurtured and we gain some sanctity(punyam) also.
I am going to share with you all my experience during the journey of navakailayam temples which I took with my wife.
The celestial wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvathi is one of the major events in Shiva Purana. When sage Agastya stood on the Podigai hills and earned to see the divine wedding of Shiva and Parvathi, the lord gave darshan to the sage on the rishaba. Here in Podigai hills, they say that the vedas have taken the shape of trees. Romasa maharishi who was the disciple of sage Agastya wanted to have darshan of lord Shiva and attain mukthi. Sage Agastya told him that he will place nine lotus flowers on the course of the river Tamirabarini. Wherever each one of the flowers halt he has to build a temple for the lord and worship him. These temples built by this great disciple are called the navakailasam temples.(kailayam or kailash is the abode of lord shiva)
1. PAPANASAM
Located 45 km away from Tirunelveli and on the foothills of podigai hills and on the western banks of the river Tamirabarini is the temple of Papanasam. Here sage Agastya himself is said to have done penance.
This is the first temple of navakailasam. River Tamirabarani which sources from podigai hills lands first in the plains in papanasam. Papanasam in tamil means the destroyer of sins.
God: Shri Kailasanathar
Goddess: Ulagambigai
Temple timings: 6.30 am to 12 noon--5 pm to 7pm
Planet : Sun
The speciality of the gopuram or the tower is that it has 7 stages in it.
In the vasantha mandapam since we could see the shape of fishes engraved, it is believed that this temple was built during the period of pandian Vikramasingan.
2. CHERANMAHADEVI
This is the place where the second lotus flower went and stopped. Located approximately 25 km from Tirunelveli and on the right side of the river Tamirabarani, this temple is a beauty in itself.
Romasa maharishi did the prathista of a shiva linga and worshipped here. The linga he worshipped was found under a pipal tree. The story goes like this. Two sisters who were ardent devotees of lord shiva, came here every day before going for selling their goods. They both wanted a build a temple for their favorite shiva linga and started saving money for it. As the lord always does, wanted to test their bhakti and came in disguise as a rishi and wanted to eat in their house. Happy to feed him, they both took him to their house. But seeing that there is no light he denied to eat. As they had no lamp to light, one of the sisters broke a coconut and added ghee and put a wick to it and lighted a lamp. Lord realised that they are very desperate to feed a shiva bhaktha. Pleased with their bhakthi, he showed them his original form. Both the sisters were very excited and Lord blessed them with more wealth and properity. They fulfilled their wish of buildig the temple for shiva.
God: Ammai nathar
Goddess: Avudai nayagi
Planet: chandran(moon)
Temple timings: 9am to 10am--4pm to 5pm
Scriptures say that the main sanctum is built by the two sisters. Rest of the temple is built by the king Raja Raja Chola.
Offering of ghee lamp in the coconut placed on the pile of rice and abhishekam to goddess with the juice of pomegranate is a very special here. We can see the idol of Romasa maharishi in one of the pillars in the temple.
3. KODAGANALLUR
The third lotus flower stopped in this place which was formerly called Karkodaganallur (karkodagan means serpent). The serpent was given mukthi in this place by lord shiva and so this name. As days went by the name of the place became Kodaganallur.
God: shri kailasanathar
Goddess: shri sivagami amman
Planet: chevvai (mars)
Timings: 9am-10am--5pm-7pm
There is no kodimaram in this temple. Everyday the lord is given a change of vastra(cloth) 8 times. Thirukalyanam(wedding) to nandi is performed every day. People tie a bell around the neck of nandi after their wishes are fulfilled.
4. KUNDRATHUR
The fourth lotus came and stopped in this place. Romasa maharishi prayed Shiva and installed a Shivalinga here.
God: Kothaparameshwarar
Goddess: Sivagami amman
Planet: rahu
Timings: 7am-8am--5pm-6pm
The story goes like this. Once on the banks of the river there was a mango tree which bore only one fruit per year. That fruit was eaten by the king. One year, as the king was little late, the mango fell into the river and in its flow went into the pot of one of the woman who came to bath in the river. Without realising she took the pot home. When the king found the mango missing from the tree, asked his soldiers to search each house. The woman in whose house the mango was found was brought to the king. Without making a justified query, the king ordered death sentence for the woman. The whole village stood and watched this. Nobody came to her rescue. in a rage, the woman cursed the whole village except the cows be destroyed by snakes. Panicked villagers, went and prayed to lord shiva. He came and advised the citizens that when king goes wrong, it is the duty of the citizens to correct him. The lord took all the serpents and wore them as ornaments and thus saved the village. Villagers in turn, chose the right king for them. Even now, we can see serpents moving on shiva, dakshinamoorthy and bhairavar.
During rahu kalam special pooja is offered to shiva.
5. MORAPPANADU
Situated 17 km from Tirunelveli on the route to Thoothukudi, this place is very special as Shiva himself took the form of guru to bless his devotees. Like the Ganges flows from north to south in Varanasi, here the river Tamirabarani takes a turn and flows from north towards south. So this river here is called dakshina ganga. Taking a dip here is equivalent to taking bath in Ganges.
The nandi in this temple has the face of a horse..surprising isnt it? The story goes like this. The queen of the place gave birth to a baby girl which had a face of a horse. The king was shattered and sought the advise of the rishis. They told the king to find the linga installed by Romasa maharishi on the banks of the river and asked him and his daughter to worship it everyday. The king and the princess did so, and in due course of time, the horse face of hers transformed into a beautiful human face, and nandi took the face of the horse. The king built the temple and worshiped Shiva for the rest of this life.
God: Kailasanathar
Goddess: Sivagami amman
Planet: guru
Timings: 7am-9am--5pm-7pm
6. SHRIVAIKUNTAM
The 6th flower came and halted here in this place known as Shrivaikuntam where already a temple for Vishnu exists. This place is located 30 km from Tirunelveli towards Tiruchendur.
This place is also a part of navathirupathi (9 temples of Vishnu). Here in the Vishnu temple the planet worshiped is suryan(sun), whereas the shiva temple here is said to be the amsam of planet shani (saturn).
Shrivaikuntam is flooded equally by saivaites and vaishnavites. They live in perfect harmony here.
In this temple of shiva, what we should not miss seeing is the herbal paintings of the details of the navakailasa temples on the roof of the kalyana mandapam--the place they conduct the divine weddng of shiva and parvathi every year.
The kodimaram (pillar in front of the sanctum) is brought from kanyakumari bhagavathi temple.
The lord, is believed to be the incarnation of shani. Devotees offer offerings to shani, for a successful marriage and to get back lost property.
God: Kailasanathar
Goddess: Sivagami amman
Planet: Shani
Timings: 6am-10am--4pm-8pm
7. THENTHIRUPERAI
The 7th lotus halted in this place on the banks of the river Tamirabarani which is located 38km from Tirunelveli towards Tiruchendur.
During the British rule, the viceroy ordered a tender coconut water to be brought from the nearby coconut farm for him to drink. When his servant went and asked for it in the farm, he was told that the whole farm and coconuts there are dedicated to the Kailasanathar temple and the coconut water will be offered to only to god and not to human beings. Hearing this the viceroy got wild and asked his servent "Do the tender coconuts offered to the god have horns?" and asked the servant to pull down one from the tree. The servent did so. To the amazement of he viceroy, he saw that the coconut had 3 horns. He had the scare of his life and asked God for to forgive him.
Even now we can see the coconut with the horn hung in the sanctum of the Goddess, but only with one horn. Due to the constant touching of the devotees, the other two horns have broken off. The pillars of this temple are made of white stone.
Like Shrivaikuntam there is a Vishnu temple here in Thenthiruperai which is one of the navathirupathi temples called "Thentirupathi"
God: Kailasanathar
Goddess: Azhagiya ponnammai
Planet: Budhan (mercury)
Timings: 7am-9am--5pm-6pm
8. RAJAPATHI
Situated one km from Thenthiruperai, this is the place where 8th lotus flower halted. This is the parihara sthlam for kethu, who gives the victory over evil in our lives.
This place which was destroyed by natural calamities, has only one stone out of the temple previously built by the king. So for a long time there was no temple for the devotees to worship.
In 2010, some devotees started building a temple in Manathi near Thenthiruperai when some devotees found a old temple amidst a forest which resembled the temple of Thenthiruperai.
According to the priest who performs puja in the temple this is the shiva worshipped by Romasa maharishi.
God: Kailasanathar
Goddess: Azhagiya ponnamal
Planet: Kethu
9. SERNTHAPOOMANGALAM
This temple where the 9th and the last of the lotus went and stopped is the parihara sthalam of sukran (venus). This place is situated enroute from Tirunelveli to Punnakayal. This the place where the river meets the sea.
There is a scripture of kubera with his two consorts on inside of the roof of the main sanctum sanctorum of Kailasanathar. It is said that after worshipping shiva we have to worship kubera who is on the roof to attain wealth and prosperity.
God: Kailasanathar
Goddess: Soundara nayagi
Planet: Sukran
Timings: 7am-9am--5pm-6.30pm
After worshiping all the nine Shivalingas, Romasa maharishi attained mukthi as blessed by sage Agasthya after having the darshan of the lord himself.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAVAKAILASAM: The river Tamirabarani travels from podhigai hills through her course to reach the Indian ocean. During this process, the river goes through so many hindrances. But the river never deters to proceed in its course and ultimately reaches the ocean which is its final destination. This process of the river is compared to the lives of human beings. We, born in this materialistic world are completely controlled by the nine planets. We are bearing the boon and bane of these planets according to our karma. When we, like the river, take the course of this life, with determination and devotion to the supreme Lord, can conquer the nine planets and attain mukthi, as the river reaches the ocean.
This tour to the navakailaya temples can be finished in one day. I pray to the Lord to bless everyone with the darshan of these temples.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA!
