Sri Parameswara - Thirukadaiyur

Our next stop was the Sri Parameswara Temple at Thirukadaiyur. The Temple is also known as the Abirami Amman Temple after Lord Parameswara's consort.
The route from Vaitheeswaram to Thirukadaiyur was beautiful and scenic. We passed through a village that was totally untouched by civilization. A single road passed through the village. As our car careened through the road, I was touched by the simplicity of the village. Green fields, brown huts, and simple people. This was a place which did not stink of dirty politics or communal tensions.
Civilization started appearing on the main road to Thirukadaiyur. We reached the Temple by 11.30 am.
The Temple was crowded. This is the Temple where men celebrate their 60th birthday by re-marrying their wives. On this day, many such marriages were being held and the Temple wore a festive look.
We went into the Sannadhi (sanctum) of Goddess Abirami. As with the custom in all temples, the Goddess wore a 9 yard saree (madisar), and loked really gorgeous in that.
After our prayers, we came out and walked around the temple. This temple also had an elephant. It was a baby elephant, but still looked huge. But God! It was so cute.
One thing that spoilt the mood of the whole occassion was a public toilet outside the temple. It was a paid service. People had to pay a Rupee to relieve themselves in a dirty waterless cubicle. It was pathetic. What was more odd was a nasty bitching old man outside the toilet. You had to pay him the money for using the potty, and also tell him whether u want to pee or shit.
Terrible. I refused to use that stinkpot.
We hurried out of the temple. We really had to hurry because we were told that the next temple would close at 1 pm. Our next stop was the Shani Bhagawan temple at Thirunellar.

Vaidyanatha Swamy - Vaitheeswaram Temple

The Vaitheeswaram Temple, near Mayavaram, was our first stop. The temple is the abode of Lord Vaidyanatha Swamy (Shiva) and his consort Thayyalnayagi.
The route from Mayavaram to Vaitheeswaram is scenic. Lush green fields, lovely lakes, and little huts dotting the countryside. The very place seemed to have God's hand in it. Nature in its glory looked at us from every side.
The Temple was gorgeous. A number of small shops lined the entrance of the temple. We bought uppu (salt) and vellam (jaggery) from a shop. It is a ritual to dissolve the jaggery in the waters of the temple tank. We also bought pooja items for the archana.
The entrance to the Temple was magnificent. The rich beauty and architecture of the place almost took my breath away. Its a wonder how such beautiful architecture was designed and given form in the early ages.
After buying the required items from the shop, we proceeded directly to the Temple tank. It was a huge tank with clear green water. Beautiful. As we went down the steps of the tank, a guard there told us that we are not to dissolve the jaggery in the water as it has been recently cleaned. We were told that dissolving jaggery in the Temple tank has been banned now.
So, we just washed our hands in the water and went to the inner sanctums of the Temple.
We first paid our respects to Lord Ganesh. A priest lead us on to the other sanctums. Handing me a paper plate containing lamps with ghee, he instructed me to light the lamps at some of the sanctums, which I did.
Proceeding through the temple, we covered all the sanctums. The Temple was huge and walking around in it was really a good exercise.
The last sanctum we covered was of Chevvai. This is one of the planets in astrology. It is believed that paying respects at this shrine removes all doshams or faults caused in a horoscope by this deity.
After the pooja, we sat for a while on the cool floor of the Temple and watched the Temple Elephant and his antics. I offered a banana to the Elephant and he blessed me with a tap of his trunk on my head. :-) .. Sweet!!
An amusing thing happened next. A person offered half a coconut to the elephant. The elephant pushed it beneath his foot. The mahout tried to push it away using a stick and tried to admonish the elephant. But, the elephant pushed it back beneath his foot and stepped on it. The coconut split into many pieces. For this, he got admonished by the mahout. I could have sworn that the elephant was smiling mischievously.
Our first stop having completed successfully, we moved out of the temple. We bought two bottles of mineral water and proceeded to the next Temple.

Mini Pilgrimage !!

Last week, I had been on a mini pilgrimage to Mayiladuthurai (formerly Mayavaram) and places around it. We left by bus on Friday night, and reached Mayavaram by Saturday morning. Its a beautiful place. The place reminded me so much of my native village Lalgudi. There was an air of quiet serenity there.

We were tired out by the bus journey. Yet, we had to get ready by 7 am, and begin our trip.

Forcibly freshening ourselves up, we got ready and had breakfast at Mayura's Lodge close to our hotel. Food was very good. I had vada and dosa. I can write verses on the coffee that was served there. Usually, I don't drink coffee anywhere else except at home, because the coffee served at hotels is not upto my taste. But this coffee was very good.

We booked a cab and began our sojourn at 7.30 am. We covered Vaitheeswaran Temple, Thirukadaiyur Temple, and Thirunallar Temple in the morning, and Thirumanancheri Temple and Thirumangalakudi Temple in the evening. I will describe each of these temples in consequtive blog entries.

At night, we had dinner at Kaliyakudi Coffee Shop (presumably a big name in Mayavaram). True to its name, the food was very good and was affordable.. :-) I had chilli parota and dosa and washed it down with coffee.

We then came back to the hotel and slept like a log.

On Sunday morning, we checked out of our hotel, and boarded a bus to Madras. By 4 pm, we were home.

The trip was very good and I enjoyed every moment of it.