Padmagiri and Sudharsana Malai

Name & Deities :
1) Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar in Padmagiri
2) Sri Venkatesa Perumal in Sudharsa malai

Location: Pazhaya Seevaram is one of the famous temple of Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar. This sthalam is found in between Chengalput and Kanchipuram, on the shore of River Palar. There are lots of buses available from Kanchipuram to this Temple.

This sthalam is one among the sthalam that is found in the hilltop where Sri Narasimhar along with the Thaayar gives his special seva to His Bhaktas. The mountain, which is found, is called with the name “Padmagiri”. This kshetram is also called with name as “Sathya Varadha Kshetram”.

Sthalapuranam:
Padmagiri:
Once, Vishnu Chitthar, a great muni in Naimisaranyam asked to the other Rishis to say which is the best and great sthalam where he can get the seva of Sriman Narayanan in Archai (one among the 5 Nilayas (or) forms of Sriman Narayanan) roopam, where he can get the complete credit of his tapas.

On hearing this, Mareecha muni, one among the muni in that group answered that there exists an sthalam, where the Perumal has already given full palan (credit) for the tapas and is gifted with nature’s beauty. He also added that the muni, who got the seva of the Perumal, is Atthiri Muni and he the wish of seeing the Perumal in Archai roopam and performed severe tapas in the place “Padmagiri”. And as a result of the tapas, the Perumal came in front of him in the form of Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar. Atthiri muni wished that the Perumal should stay in that place and the entire Bhaktas of Human community.

Triveni Sangamam :
Triveni Sangamam means 3 rivers joining in one place. In this Pazhaya Seevaram sthalam, we can find 3 rivers getting merged. The three rivers are Palaaru (Kshera Nadhi)- Cheyyaru (Bahoo nadhi) and Vegavadhi (Saraswathi). This Triveni Sangamam is termed as the Triveni Sangamam of south.

In Krutha yugam, there lived a great Sri Vishnu Bhaktan, who wanted to take bath daily in the river Ganga, which emerges from the foot of Sriman Narayanan. He took bath in this Sangamam and treated this water as the Ganga River and worshipped the Perumal in Sudharsana Malai (mountain). Another saint lived here and treated this river as the river Yamuna. Because of this, both the rivers Yamuna and Ganga emerged here and the other river Vegabagha (Saraswathi river) also emerged and these 3 rivers merge in the great Pazhaya seevaram sthalam. This river flows in between Padmagiri and Sudharsana malai.

It is 100% evident that if you take bath in this river and get the seva of Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar in Padmagiri and Sri Venkatesa Perumal in Sudharsana malai is equivalent to 100 times to that of taking bath in Prayagai.

It is also 100% evident that if we take bath in this river for a month without any interruption and be rested under the shadow of Pippali tree in Padmagiri, is said to cure all sorts of sins and diseases.

Sudharsana Malai (mountain):
On the opposite side of Padmagiri (also called as Seevara malai) another mountain is found which is called as “Sudharsana malai” where Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal is giving his seva. This Perumal gave his Prathyaksham to Brighu Muni and King Chakravarthy.

Festivals - Paarvettai and Seevaram : During the 3 day of Pongal festival in Thai month (Jan 14 – Feb 15), the utsavar Sri Varadhar of Sri Varadharajar temple, Kanchi is taken towards this Seevaram sthalam and this is one among the great utsavam of Sri Varadhar (Malai utsavam).

Lots of Bhaktas from Various parts come to Seevaram to visit Sri Varadharajar and Seevaram Paarvettai Utsavam is one of the worlds known utsavam among Sri Vaishnavites.

Not only in religious way, this sthalam is said to be an sthalam, which is surrounded by herbal trees, silent atmosphere and can cure lots of diseases as it is.

The temple is maintained in a great manner by the authorities. In the districts, this is one among the great sthalam and well-maintained sthalam and has been very appreciated by the government for maintaining the temple in a good way.

Lots of Utsavams are performed in this sthalam. Bramhotsavam in Aani month, Theerthavari in Swathi and Paarvettai during Thai month are said to be some of the Utsavams that are performed in a great manner.

Website : http://hindulistings.com/blog/category/hindu-temples/

Agasthiswarar - Thiruchunai

Name : Agasthiswarara Swamy Temple, Thiruchchunai

Location : In the Madurai - Tiruchchirappalli highway. From karunagalakkudi bus stop about two km.

God : Agasthiswarar

Goddess : Padalambikai

Great saints visited : agasthiyar

Legend : Sage agasthiyar when passing across this place, it was time for him to worship the Lord shiva, his beloved. This place was very attractive refreshing with a cool pond (chunai) on the big rock nearby, the sage decided to do the worship there itself. He made a shiva li.ngam out of the rock with his hands itself and worshiped the Lord with devotion. So the Lord is called agasthIshwara swAmy. (pirAn malai the place where the Lord showed him His blissful marriage posture is near this place.)

Specialities : It is a small but marvelous temple with a very scenic and serene surrounding. Espeically at twilight very refreshing and very nice place to meditate. The temple well located on the top of the rock is seen from the distance when one passes through the madhurai - thiruchchirAppaLLi highway near kottAmpatti.

Website : http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sptcunai.html

Vannivelampatti - Agni Eswarar

Name : Vannivelampatti

Location : North of T.kallupatti 3 kms, near Virudhunagar

God : Agni Eswarar (Shiva)

Description : This is a Shiva Temple. I dont have more information about this temple now. I shall collect more information when i go there and post accordingly soon. Anyone have information about this temple can share with me.

Mangala Devi Temple - Kerala

Name : Mangala Devi Temple

Location : 13 kms south east of kumily town, Kerala

Description : Mangala Devi Temple ( 1000 years old) situated at a height of 4000 ft. There is an idol of Kannaki devi. It is believed Chithrapournami is the festival and thousands of devotees participate in it.

Visitors to this ancient temple are allowed only on Chithra Paurnami festival days. Hidden in the dense forest at the top of a peak 1337 mt above sea level, the temple is built in traditional Kerala style of architecture. The peak commands a panoramic view of the eastern slopes of the Ghats and some hill villages of Tamilnadu.

Wat Saket - Thailand

Name : Wat Saket or also known as the Golden Mount, or 'Phu Khao Thong'

Location : Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, Bangkok, Thailand

Description : It rises within the compound of Wat Saket, an unusual temple that houses Buddha relics within its 58-metre-high chedi surmounted by a golden cupola.

The temple dates back to Ayutthaya era, when it was called Wat Sakae. King Rama I renovated the temple and renamed it to Wat Saket. During the reign of King Rama III the Chedi Phu Khao Thong (Golden mountain) was added to the temple. It was finished under King Rama V and then named Suwannabanphot. This building has become a popular tourist attraction in Bangkok.

The religious visitors place flowers near the date of the month they find auspicious and light candles. As you climb to the top, enjoy magnificent panoramic views of Bangkok. The cupola is covered with small golden squares reflecting in the sun and giving the place the name of Golden Mount.

No of Steps : 318 steps

Festivals : Wat Saket hosts an enormous annual temple fair in the first week of November, when the mount is illuminated with coloured lanterns and the compound turns into a massive fun fair. Admission to the chedi costs 10 baht.

Surya Pahar - Assam

Name : The Surya Pahar temple

Location : It is situated amongst several archaeological remains in Golapara in Assam, India ( On the Dobapara road ). This temple is an ancient center of sun worship that is literally an art gallery of Indian sculpture.

Legend : Sun worship in Assam (as in other parts of India) goes back to ancient times. Assam has been referred to as Pragjyotishapura. According to the Kalika Purana of the 10th century CE, Bhrahma created Pragjyotishapura, as a city equal to the city of Indra the King of the Gods. The word Prag refers to the Eastern region and jyotisha refers to the word star-astrology. Pragjyotisha is also said to mean, ‘eastern city of astrology’. To the east of Guwahati, there is a hill temple known as Citracala, dedicated to the Navagrahams or the nine celestial bodies.

Description : Ruins of several old temples are scattered all over the hill. This hill is also the seat of a small modern sun temple. The Surya mandir on Surya Pahar is a modest structure and it enshrines a circular tablet, four and a half feet in circumference with carved images representing the various celestial bodies including Surya.

Sri Surya Pahar, a confluence of the three religion of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, is a treasure trove of ancient monuments, is situated about 12 kms. Southeast of Goalpara, 136 kms northwest of Guwahati.

In addition to being a confluence of the three religions which is evident from the innumerable sculptures , Sri Surya Pahar can also be called a garden of medicinal plants, most of which awaits identification.

The centermost figure in this sculpture is enclosed within an inner circle. The centermost figure is surrounded by 12 miniature figures in a seated posture. The centermost figure is Kasyapa muni (also considered to be Prajapati or the creator) , and the 12 figures around this figure are referred to as the 12 Suryas - sons of Kasyapa and Aditi.

Surya Pahar is an interesting archeological site, as several rock cut figures are seen here. Several granite Shiva Lingams are seen in the vicinity of the hill. Legend has it that there were once about a 100,000 Shivalingams here, as they had been installed with a idea of making this town second to none other than Benares as a pilgrimage site.

Source: http://www.templenet.com/Assam/suryapahar.html