Shri HariMuktheeswarar temple

Today we are posting information about Shri HariMukteeswarar temple at AriyaMangai (HariMangai)

This temple is one of the seven Shiva temples in which Goddess Parvati along with Sapta-Matrikas performed Sharad NavRatri. The temple is more than 1200 years old.

Moolavar (Main deity) :- HariMukteeswarar 
Consort (devi) :- GynaAmbika
Kshetra Vruskha :- Gooseberry tree (Amla or Awla)
Sacred Teertha :- SatyaGanga Teertha (HariTeertha).
Old name :- AriyaMangalam
Taluka :- Papanasam 
District :- Tanjavur (TamilNadu)

Idols and other shrines in this temple :-

The shrine of GyanAmbika is facing the south. Lord Vishnu is in a separate shrine facing North along with his consorts - Bhudevi and Sridevi. Near this shrine we have shrine of AyurDevi (Durga) with twelve hands.

Behind the shrine of GyanAmbika, we have the shrine of Sapta-Matrikas facing East. 

As the old temple structure has crumbled, temple has been renovated recently. The path leading to the temple is difficult to traverse.

There is a separate shrine of Lord Muruga with Valli and Daivanai and a separate shrine of Lord Vinayaka.

Legends :

On the 2nd day of NavaRatri (Dwitiya), Goddess AdiParashakti accompanied by one of the Sapta-Matrikas, Maheshwari, worshiped Lord Shiva at this place. They had darshan of divine Ganga on Lord Shiva's matted hair. Hence this darshan is called DivyaGanga darshan.

This place was earlier known as NalliVanam (Gooseberry forest).

Once goddess Mahalaxmi did penance and worshiped Lord Shiva at this place in order to be with Lord Vishnu forever (i.e. without separation)
She used to take bath in the SatyaGanga Teertha and eat only gooseberries during penance.

Lord Vishnu also worshiped Lord Shiva at this place hence Lord Shiva is known as 'HariMukteeswarar'

A staunch devoted couple NadaSharma and AnaVidya got the divine darshan of AdiParaShakti in her kumarika form.

Festivals in the temple:-
1. MahaShivaRatri festival in Tamil month of Masi (February-March).
2. ShivaRatri festival in Tamil month of Vaikasi (May-June).
3. AnnaAbhishek in Tamil month of Aippasi (October-November).
4. ArudraDarshan (known as Thiruvathirai) in Tamil month of Marghazi
5. SaptaSthana festival in the Tamil month of Panguni.


Courtesy : Inputs are from TamilNadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

ShriChakraVageeshwarar temple

This Shiva temple located at Thiruchakrapalli (ChakraMangai) near Ayyampettai in Papanasam taluka in Tanjavur district.

This temple is one of the 275 Shiva temples on the banks of the river Kaveri revered by Shaiva saints Nayanmars.

This is one of the SaptaMangai sthalas where AdiParaShakti (i.e. Goddess Parvati) performed NavaRatri along with one of the SaptaMatrika (Brahmi) on the 1st day.

They had divine darshan of Lord Shiva's third eye and is known as Shiva Netra Chakra darshan.
Temple is about 1500 years old.

Moolavar (Main deity):- ChakraVageeshwarar 
Consort (Devi):- DevaNayaki
Kshetra Vruskha :- Bilva
Sacred Teertha :- Kaveri river, Kaka Teertha.
Old name :- ChakraMangai, Ayyampettai 
City :- Chakrapalli
District :- Tanjavur (TamilNadu)

The Shivalinga here is a swayambhu-linga. It is tall and attractive.

The temple is east facing. Sanctum-Sanctorum is on the western side.

There are shrines of Ganapati, Lord DakshinaMurti, Lingodhbhavar, Lord Brahma, Durga and Lord Muruga.

In the maha-mandap, we have shrines of Sun, Moon, Bhairav and the four great Shaiva saints (known as Nalvars).

Legends:- 

Lord Vishnu obtained the Sudarshan Chakra (Discuss) by worshiping Lord Shiva at this place.
Hence the place got the name Chakrapalli.

According to the legends, the Sapta-Matrika, devas, Indra and his son Jayant worshiped Lord Shiva here.

It is believed that Goddess Parvati worshiped Lord Shiva in the form of ChakraWak (Ruddy Shelduck) bird at this place. Hence the place got the name Chakrapalli.

A staunch devoted couple NadaSharma and AnaVidya got the divine darshan of AdiParaShakti in her kumarika form.

Festivals in the temple:-

1. PanguniUthiram festival On Uttara nakshatra in the Tamil month of Panguni (March-April).
2. MahaShivaRatri festival in Tamil month of Masi (February-March).
3. ShivaRatri festival in Tamil month of Vaikasi (May-June).
4. AnnaAbhishek in Tamil month of Aippasi (October-November).
5. ArudraDarshan (known as Thiruvathirai) in Tamil month of Marghazi
6. SaptaSthana festival in the Tamil month of Panguni.


Courtesy : Inputs are from TamilNadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

Temples where Goddess Parvati performed Navaratri

On the occasion of upcoming Navaratri we are making a humble attempt to post information about the places in Tamil Nadu where Goddess Parvati performed Navaratri. 

There are seven places (in fact 9) in Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu where Shiva temples are more than 1500 years old and they have puranic, vedic and architectural importance attached to them.

According to the purans, Goddess Parvati (Uma Devi) along with sapta-matrikas performed Sharad Navaratri at these temples.

These seven temples are collectively known as sapta-mangai sthalam. 

They are located around Ayyampettai/Pasupathi kovil area in Papanasham taluka of Tanjavur district on Tanjavur-Kumbhakonam road.

As per Devi Bhagwat, in order to defeat asuras - Chanda, Munda, Shumbha, Neeshumbha, RaktaBeeja and others, Goddess Parvati manifested as Chamunda (Kali) during Navaratri. To assist Kali, devi manifested in shakti-rupa, formed from shaktis emerged from other gods. Those shaktis are - 

1. Brahmi - shakti of Brahma also known as Abhirami. She is four faced and has akshamala and kamandalu in her hands. Her mount is Hansa - divine swan.

2. Maheshwari - shakti of Maheshwar (Lord Shiva). She has a trident and bears a crescent moon on her forehead.

3. Kaumari - shakti of Kumar (Kartikeya/Subramaniam). She has a divine spear in her hand

4. Vaishnavi - shakti of Lord Vishnu. She has in her hands - conch, chakra and mace.

5. Varahi - shakti of Varaha. She has face of Varaha (Boar). Her weapons are Hal (plough) and Musal (Iron pestle).

6. Indrani - shakti of Lord Indra. She is also known as Mahendri. She has thousand eyes and her mount is white elephant with four tusks. She is blue in color (Indraneel), carries Ankush, Paash (noose), a lotus flower and has Abhaya mudra. Her main weapon is Vajra (thunder) and she has army of Vajra.

The nine places where they, sapta matrikas, performed Navaratri are as follows :

Day 1: ChakraMangai - Brahmi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the first day. They had darshan of Lord Shiva's third eye and is called NetraChakra darshan.

Day 2: HariMangai (AriyaMangai) - Maheshwari performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the second day. They had darshan of divine Ganga on Lord Shiva's matted hair. This is known as divya-ganga darshan.

Day 3: ShoolaMangai - Kaumari performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on the third day. They had darshan of Trident in Lord Shiva's hand, it is known as Shiva-Trishul darshan.

Day 4: NandiMangai - Vaishnavi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on fourth day. They had darshan of leg ornament, Anklet (Kazal in Tamil) of Lord Shiva. This is known has Shiva-Kazal darshan.

Day 5: PasuMangai - Varahi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on fifth day. They had darshan of Damaru (small drum of Lord Shiva, known as Udukkai in Tamil) on Lord Shiva's hand. This is known as Shiva-Udukkai (Damru) darshan.

Day 6: ThazhaMangai - Indrani performed Navaratri with Goddess Parvati on the sixth day. They had darshan of the crescent moon (PiraiChandra in Tamil) on Lord Shiva's head. This is known as PiraiChandra darshan.

Day 7: PullaMangai - Chamundi performed Navaratri with goddess Parvati on seventh day. They had darshan of divine serpent on Lord Shiva's neck. This is known as Shiva-Naga bhushana darshan.

Day 8: Goddess Parvati along with Vajreshwari devi, one of the Adi-Moola-Dwarapaliki (gatekeeper) offered worship at Thiruchelur Shiva temple.

Day 9: Shri Makutheshwari devi, one of the Adi-Moola-Dwarapaliki (gatekeeper) offered worship at Melattur Shiva temple.

It is believed that even now, during Navaratri, Goddess Parvati along with Sapta-Matrika visits these places and performs NavaRatri.

Courtesy: Inputs were taken from tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

A short moral story

This is a story translated from an article that appeared in tamil spiritual magazine. It is about how a desire for temporary bodily pleasures can become an obstacle in the path of supreme bliss.

A person was traveling in a forest bare footed. The pebbles and thorns hurt his feet. Wild beasts threatened him. Female demon chased him. By the sight of all these threatening things he ran for his life. While running, his legs got entangled and he fell into a discarded well. He saw a deadly poisonous snake inside the well. In order to save himself he clutched some creepers and plants which were on the side walls of the well. He raised his head and looked above. There he saw an elephant like animal with six faces and twelve legs. When he looked down he saw a mouse nibbling on the roots of the crippers to which he was clinging. He looked up wondering how to escape from there with his mouth open. There was a honeycomb on the branch of the tree which had grown over the well. At that time a drop of honey fell in his mouth. After tasting the sweetness of the honey, his mind forgot all threatening things around him and he started enjoying the sweetness of the honey. In his mind he started wishing more honey while forgetting to make an attempt to escape from the situation. 

The explanation for this story is given below.

Forest indicates the world. His path indicates his life span. Pebbles, thorns, wild animals indicate diseases that trouble. Female demon indicates the greying of hair and old age. The well indicates incomplete desires. Snake indicates death. Wild elephant like animal with twelve legs and six faces indicate twelve months and six seasons (rutus - grishma, shishir etc). Creepers indicate person’s passion about his body. Mouse that nibbles the root of the cripper indicate one day consisting of a day and night. Bees in the honeycomb indicate difficulties that one faces in life. Honey drop indicate those pleasures that he enjoys temporarily. This shows that even when a person encounters difficulties in life, his desire for endless temporary bodily pleasures do not seize. He considers these pleasures, which are temporary in nature, as dear and gets engrossed in them and forgets to continue his efforts to make an attempt to escape from this never ending cycle of temporary pleasures and pain and hence misses an opportunity to get permanent uninterrupted happiness i.e. supreme bliss. 

Hence, if one wants to attain supreme bliss, it is important to get away from temporary pleasures and stay focused on the path to supreme bliss.

Structure of Lalitasahasranaam Stotra

Lalita Sahasranaama Stotra, like any other sahasranaam stotra, is divided into three major parts. First part is a dialogue between Sage Agastya and Lord Hayagriva (incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu). Second part is actual stotra i.e. 1000 names of Lalita Devi and final part is phalasruti i.e. benefits of chanting Lalitasahasranama.

Second part i.e. stotra consisting of 1000 names is further divided into sixteen parts.

First part i.e. first three slokas - श्रीमाता, श्रीमहाराज्ञी, श्रीमत्सिंहासनेश्वरी - describe how mother is incarnated - Srimata (denotes creator), Sri Maharagnyi (denotes great ruler) and Srimat Simhasaneshwari (denotes destroyer, or more aptly, keeping balance between birth and death of jivas).

Second part i.e. slokas 4 to 21 describe the beauty of Lalita Devi from head to foot. People who are spiritually advanced can understand esoteric meanings of these descriptions.

Third part i.e. slokas 23 to 24 describe Sri Nagaram i.e. abode of Lalita Devi. Sri Nagaram consists of 25 forts and inside Sri Nagaram there is Chintamani Gruha where Lalita Devi resides.

Fourth part i.e. slokas 25 to 34 describe Lalita Devi’s war against demon Bhandasura. When Manmatha threw an arrow of love on Lord Shiva, Lord Shiva glanced with anger on Manmatha through his third eye which burnt Manmatha. However, due to Manmatha’s death the creation stopped. Ratidevi, wife of Manmatha, prayed to Mother Parvati and after Parvati’s intervention Lord Shiva revived Manmatha. However when Manmatha was originally burnt, from his ashes arose a demon named Bhandasur. Gods invoked Lalita Devi who arose from the fire pit (chidagnikunda) and helped gods in annihilating Bhandasura. She used mahapashupastra as well as kameshwarastra for killing Bhandasura.

Fifth part i.e. slokas 35 to 36 describe her subtle form divided into three kutas - vagbhava kuta (her face), madhya kuta (her body from throat till waist) and shakti kuta (her body beneath waist). 

Sixth path i.e. slokas 37 to 40 describe secrets of kundalini yoga.

Seventh part i.e. slokas 41 to 43 describes Lalita Devi’s grace towards her devotees.

Eighth part i.e. slokas 43 to 45 describe her nirguna upasana i.e. meditating her in formless stage without any attributes.

Ninth part i.e. slokas 45 to 46  describe benefits obtained by seeker when they travel through formless stage 

Tenth part i.e. slokas 46 to 51 describe benefits of nirguna upasana i.e. worship her formless and slokas 51 to 60 describe her saguna upasana i.e. worshiping her form

Eleventh part i.e. slokas 61 to 75 describe divine manifestation of Lalita Devi as an abode of five divine acts - pancha kritya, each act devoted to each of pancha brahma. Pancha brahmas gain their power of action (life) through Lalita Devi. Devoid of life they are pancha-pretas i.e. lifeless. Pancha brahmas and their acts are - Brahma (creation), Vishnu (sustenance), Rudra (destruction), Ishwara (hiding) and Sadashiva (blessing). Lalita Devi’s quality of being abode of five acts is described in sloka 

सृष्टिकर्त्री ब्रह्मरूपा गोप्त्री गोविन्दरुपिणी |
संहारिणी रुद्ररूपा तिरोधानकरिश्वरि |
सदाशिवाऽनुग्रहदा पञ्चकृत्य परायणा ||

She is an abode (paraayana) of five acts (pancha krityas). She is the aspect of Brahma while creating i.e. Srishti, aspect of Vishnu (Govindarupini) while sustaining – Goptri, the aspect of Rudra while performing destruction i.e. samhar, aspect of Ishwara (Ishwari) when hiding (tirodhana) and aspect of Sadashiva when offering blessings (anugraha).

Twelfth part i.e. slokas 76 to 80 describe body and soul i.e. kshetra kshetradnya rupa

Thirteenth part i.e. slokas from 81 to 91 describe the deities and their abodes. In nine chakras of Sri Chakra all the gods reside. 

Fourteenth part i.e. slokas 98 to 110 describe yogini rahasya i.e. meditating Lalita Devi in seven chakras in seven forms. As Dakini in vishuddhi chakra, as Rakini in Anahat chakra, as Lakini in Manipur chakra, as Kakini is Swadhishthan chakra, as Sakini in Muladhara chakra, as Hakini is Agnya chakra and as Yakini in Sahasrar chakra.

Fifteenth part i.e. slokas 111 to 180 describe supreme powers of Lalita Devi. इच्छाशक्ति ज्ञानशक्ती क्रियाशक्ती स्वरूपिणी. Her three primary powers are power of desire, power of knowledge and power of action or to put it in other way, she is the power of desire, power of knowledge and power of action

Sixteenth part i.e. slokas 180 to 182.½ are concluding slokas that describe united form of Shiva and Shakti. 

It is a belief that, reading or meditating on the meaning of sahasranaam will fulfill all the wishes of the devotees.

It’s a feeble attempt by us to narrate and explain that which is beyond our reach. Hence we pray to her to give strength and knowledge and benefits to all those who recite, read or hear Her Sahasranaam.