Kamakshidevi Temple at Mangadu

There is another temple at Mangadu (forest of Mango tree) near Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu connected to the legend of Kamakshidevi. The main deity at this temple is Devi Kamakshi. Kshetra vruksha i.e. sacred tree is Mango tree.

This place is about 3000 years old. This place is mentioned as Sudhavanam in puranas. There is another temple very close to this and is known as Velli-ishwar. It is dedicated to the planet Venus (Velli in Tamil). In Kamakshidevi temple, only the foot print of Kamakshidevi is installed. In this temple there are 2 Vinayaka idols. In one idol we perceive Lord Ganesha holding Paddy stocks and a Mango in His hands. In the other idol He has an umbrella and a mango. Aadi-Shankaracharya has installed a Arthameru chakra in this temple. This chakra has 43 triangles and is made of Ashtagandha. Hence no Abhishek is done on it. On all days the chakra is covered by a Silver casing. Except on Vijayadashami day, when it is covered by a Gold casing. 

Legend associated with this place according to the puran – 

This is the place where Parvati was asked to start Her penance under a mango tree. She was promised by Lord Shiva that He will marry Her after Her penance. She started Her penance observing rigid rules, standing amidst fire. She made five agnikundas and stood near the central agnikunda with Her left toe touching the fire with right leg placed on her left thigh i.e. She stood on one leg. The left hand was on Her navel and right hand held a Japa-mala above Her head. Later on, at the end of Her penance, She heard a voice advising Her to proceed to Kanchipuram and continue the penance there. As her penance started at this place, the place is revered as Aadi-Kamakshi sthala. 

Goddess Ambika gives darshan at this temple in 4 forms. 1) As Srichakra 2) Aadi-Kamakshi idol of Panchadhatu 3) Kamakshidevi doing penance among five kundas 4) a small lamp burning near Aadi-Kamakshi which is revered as Ambika Herself. 

Another legend from the puran is as follows. Shukra (Venus) tried to dissuade Mahabali from giving 3 feet of land to Lord Vishnu who appeared as Vamana. He blocked the vessel containing water while giving Daan. Lord Vishnu removed this block with a Kusha (Darbha) grass and made Shukra blind. Shukra performed penance at this place on Lord Shiva and got his vision back. He did penance during same period as Parvati. Lord Shiva appeared before Shukra first and granted the boon. This indicates that the priority is for devotee. 

When Lord Shiva came to acknowledge the penance of Parvati, Lord Vishnu also came along with gifts for His sister’s marriage. When he proceeded to Kanchipuram, along with Shiva & Parvati, Maharshi Markandeya begged Him to stay at this place. He stayed back and he graces his devotees at this place as Vaikuntha-perumal.

Festivals – 
On the full moon day Nava (9) kalash homa is conducted for nine forms of Shakti.
Nirayamani festival is conducted on the full moon day in September-October.

Courtesy: Following sites 
https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ and
https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/

Kanchikamakshi Devi temple

This temple is situated at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. This place is mentioned in puran. A number of saints have taken birth at this place. It is stated in puran as the greatest of all Kshetras i.e. Nagareshu-Kanchi. This is one of the Panchabhoota sthalas representing element “Earth”. This city boasts of 180 Shivalayas, 10 Vishnu temples but has only 1 Goddess Parvati temple.

Main idol – Kamakshi amman
Sthalavriksha – Champa tree
Sacred Teertha – Pancha ganga

The main idol of this temple is Kamakshidevi seated in Padmasana (Yogic posture). This signifies peace and prosperity. She holds a sugarcane bow and bunch of flowers in the lower 2 arms. She has a Paash (noose/lasso) and Ankush (Goad) on her upper 2 arms. There is also a parrot perched near the flower bunch.

There are a number of legends from the purans associated with this place and also for the fact that why only one Devi temple is found in this city. According to Kamakshivilasa, Goddess have to absorb all other Shakti forms to grant a boon to Kamadeva (God of Love). According to another legend the Rajarajeshwari pose signifies absolute control over the land under her control. Aadi-Shankaracharya re-established the Srichakra in the Kamakshidevi temple in the temple tank (sacred teertha) for the shrine.

In the shrine of Kamakshi amman close to the sanctum, Thirukklavanur, one of the Divya Deshams (temples of Vishnu) is present. It is believed that the old Kanchikamakshi temple is also a Shaktipeeth where Aadi-Shankara has installed the Srichakra.

Legends: 

The following legends are stated in the purans regarding the Goddess Kamakshi. 

In Kailash, Mother Parvati covered the eyes of Lord Shiva (who was in a secluded place) in a playful mood. This resulted in a total stand stilling of all activities of the universe. Parvati requested Lord Shiva for atonement and pardon. He advised Her to proceed to bhoolok and undergo penance. He stated that at the end of your penance you will be pardoned. He gave her the following instructions. You will be born as a daughter of sage Katyayan. He will take care of you for 8 years. At the end of 8 years he will hand over certain things to you. With these things you will proceed to Kashi. There you will take care of people from famine as Annapurni for 12 years. Then you will proceed to South. At a place in South, the things in your hand will change. That is the place where you have to perform the penance.

As per His instructions, when She reached the place in South, the things held in Her hand changed. The vessel in Her hand became a lamp; Rudraksha became a Bilva garland; Yogadanda became a Trishul; the fan became a parrot; and the Ganges water in Kamandalu became the Milk and so on. Parvati understood that the time has come for Her to start her penance. Sage Narada appeared there and initiated Her with Panchabaan Mantra. She did penance for 6 months by making Shivalinga of mud on the banks of river Kamba. In order to test Her, Lord Shiva sent Ganga Devi to destroy Shiva linga. Parvati commanded one of Her maid servant to catch the Ganga Devi in Kamandalu. Later on, the same maid became the Shakti for Pralaya (eternal deluge). Parvati held Shivalinga to Her heart to protect the Shivalinga. Even today we can observe the marks on Shivalinga. Later Lord Shiva manifested as Kameshwar and Parvati as Kameshwari. They married on the bank of river Kamba under a mango tree. The place where She worshiped Lord Shiva is Kanchipuram. Hence this became one of the Panchabhoota sthalam representing the element Earth.

Festivals:
1. Golden chariot festival – Every Friday. 
2. On the first day of Tamil month, full moon day and new moon day there is chariot festival. 
3. Navavarana Pooja is conducted on every full moon day. 
4. Bramhotsavam is held every year in February. 5. Besides this, Navratri festival is held on a grand scale. 

There is a 2nd part which is associated with the above legend which we will cover in the next article.

Courtesy: Following sites https://tamilnadu-
favtourism.blogspot.com/ and
https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/

Shri Vilas Karnik

It is very sad to report that Shri Vilas Karnik (Karnik Sir), founder of Dnyandeep Classes, Dombivli and close associate and friend of our Shri Raghupathi Sir; and a contributor of this blog passed away on Tuesday December 3 at the age of 79.

Shri Karnik founded Dnyandeep classes and then sometime later invited Shri Raghupathi Sir to join as well. During their tenure Dnyandeep classes grew exponentially and gained a lot of respect and popularity in Dombivli. Many students from this class still remember Dnyandeep classes and pay their respect and attribute their success to the learning from this class.

Shri Karnik was a great human being indeed. He gained lot of respect among his students and his associates. 

In his later years he spent lot of his time writing spiritual articles and published and distributed spiritual booklets free of cost. He also contributed in this blog.

Shri Karnik was also closely associated with the activities of Shri Sainath Maharaj Trust.

We offer our sincere condolences to bereaved family and pray that his soul may rest in peace.

Structure of Shiva Temples

The following article is from the lectures of His Highness Sri Chandrasekhar Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchipeetha which he delivered in 1932. This reference we got from an old Tamil spiritual magazine.

According to the rules described in Vedas, a Shiva temple has to be built with certain rules regarding the position of the other deities in the temple. 

In Shiva temples, we come across Shiva Linga denoted by various names but Lord Shiva is personified as Maha Lingam. 

Typical structure of Shiva Temple is as follows. In all Shiva temples Lord Ganesha is located in the sannadhi corner; Lord Subramanya in the West; Chandikeshwar in the North; Dakshinamurti in the south; Lingothbhavar or Lord Vishnu on the back wall of the sanctum's outer side; Somaskandha in the south-west (agneya) direction and Nataraja and Bhairavar in north-east (Eshan). All these are known as Parivaar devata.

Interestingly, in Tanjore district we come across such an arrangement of Shiva temples at geographical level. At Thiruvadaimaruthur, Mahalingam (considered as Moolavar) i.e. main deity. Sannadhi corner is Thiruvalanchuzhi where there is SwetaVinayaka temple; to the west at SwamiMalai there is Lord Subramanya temple; at South – at Alangudi there is Dakshinamurti temple; in the North there is Thiruchaianjalur Chandikeshwar; at East at Thiruvadurai there is Nandikeshwar temple; at south west there is Thiruvarur Somaskandha temple; at Chidambaram there is Nataraja temple and at Sirkazhi we have Bhairava temple. And so, if we look at all these places on a map, we perceive that whole Tanjore district can be considered as a Shiva temple.

Courtesy: Following sites https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/ and https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/