Thirukazhukundram - Eagle Temple near Chennai

Recently I had an opportunity to visit the historic Thirukazhukundram temple. The temple is located near Chengalpet, about 60kms from Chennai. It is a temple located on a hill top. Apart from a great dharshan of lord Shiva, a visit to the temple offers a very refreshing experience with cool breeze and amazing locales, so pleasing to the eyes.

BRIEF HISTORY: The temple has a nice history backing it. Simply put, two sages on account of a curse get born as eagles (kazgugu in Tamil) on earth. They were destined to be on earth until all their sins were absolved and they attained nirvana. These eagles have historically been found to have hovered around the temple here and in fact they come to a specified location on the hill near the temple. It's been a traditional practice to feed these eagles at around noon every day. The observation of eagles have stopped in recent years. However, one could now have a sight of the eagle feeding point. This also explains the name of the temple and the village below. Thirukazhukundam literally stands for hill temple of the eagles.

REACHING THERE: The temple can be reached from Chennai by two routes. One could come via Tambaram and Chengalpet. If one comes in by this route, then one needs to get into Chengalpet town (avoid the by-pass road) and take a left near at a prominent junction (junction has a statue of Rajiv Gandhi). Thirukazhukundram is about 15 kms from the junction. Alternatively, one could come via Mahabalipuram. The temple is also around 15kms from Mahabalipuram. The nearest rail head would be Chengalpet.

FLIGHT OF STEPS: The hill-temple is open from 9AM to 12PM and then from 4PM to 6PM. To reach the temple, one needs to climb a series of 500+ steps. However, one need not panic about the number of steps. Each step is relatively small and well-laid. Further, there are benches put up along the way for pilgrims to take rest and climb the stairs in phases. The stair gate opens at 8:30AM in the mornings. It would be a god idea to reach the temple by around 9-9:30AM, as there could be delays in opening the gate.

MONKEYS GALORE: Like any other hill temple, the hill is laden with monkeys. So, one needs to be careful in terms of what they carry with them. Avoid taking any eatables openly in your hands. The monkeys are after any objects in plastic covers. So, avoid carrying any item in plastic covers openly. Also, avoid carrying water bottles, if possible. Monkeys do come after such bottles to quench their thirst. Although it's a great sight to see monkeys feeding themselves with the bottles, it is better to avoid them. Also, for those who are a touch afraid with monkeys around, it would be advisable to carry a stick with you.

VEDAGIRISWARAR: At the hill top is a temple for lord Shiva, assuming the title Vedagiriswarar, meaning the protector of vedas. The temple tower has a more rounded structure, similar to North Indian temples rather than the standard pyramid structure that we see across South India. The shiva linga in the temple is seen decorated with flowers and ornaments that would quickly remind one of Thiruvannamalai. With wonderful decorations and with oil lamps lit all around the karpagraham (sanctum), the linga is a very pleasant sight.

I am sure you would forget all aches in your muscle, having climbed 500-odd steps, the moment you witness the god in all the glory. The mere sight carries an amazing vibe that makes you feel fulfilled. You would definitely feel that all the effort was definitely a great worth. Behind the linga, one could see the statues of Somaskandar (Lord Shiva, Lordess Parvathy and Lord Muruga as a child) engraved on the wall. One interesting aspect of the temple is the fact that one would not observe the statue of Nandhi in front of the main linga as in all Shiva temples. In that sense, one could have a more direct face-to-face dharshan of the lord here. Apart from this, the temple also hosts statues of Ganapathy, Muruga and Lordess Sokka Nayaki.

Having had a fulfilling Dharshan, one could enjoy the cool breeze and amazing views the hill top has on offer. One could have a great view of paddy fields all the way till the horizon, the bustling Chengalpet town below and several water bodies that drain the region. The most interesting of them is a large temple tank called Sangu (conch) Theertham. The temple tank is clearly one of the biggest I have ever seen.

The way down from the hills is through a different set of stairs. On this route, one would find the Eagle feeding point as well as a couple of Shiv Lingas. There is also a small cave temple en route, but it remains closed. One could see wonderful sculptures carved inside the caves, although most of them appear to have worn down over time. The descent also offers better view of the town and the Sangu Theertham.

THIRUPARASUNDARI TEMPLE: There is a big temple located near the foot of the hill dedicated to Lordess Thirupurasundari Amman. The temple towers can in fact be viewed from the Vedagiriswarar Temple. This again would remind one of Thiruvannamalai, given the temple towers on all four sides of the temple compound. The temple towers are quite a tall structure with each of them having at least 7 tiers.

A small Shiva linga is also housed within this temple by the name Bhaktavatsaleswarar. This temple is quite an historic one housing several sanctums including one for lord Muruga. The main sanctum is dedicated to Lordess Thirupurasundari Amman. On the inner walls of the sanctum, one would find Abirami Sthothra mala engraved in marble. The temple also boasts of a huge pond, named after Nandhi, called the Nandhi Theertham. The pond is said to have curative properties.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISITS: Interested pilgrims could also visit Rudhrakoteswarar temple located within the town. This is a small temple dedicated to lord Shiva and a visit to this temple is said to be equivalent to performing penance with 1000 rudrakshas. One needs to take the straight road from Thirupurasundari Amman temple towards the Sangu Theertham and take a right turn there to reach the Rudhrakoteswarar temple.

SCHEDULING YOUR VISIT: You could possibly start from Chennai, reach Thirukazhukundram via Chengalpet, complete the dharshan of the three temples, spend the afternoon (when all temples are closed between 12Pm-4PM) at Mahabalipuram and then push for a couple more Vishnu temples along the route, namely Thirukadalmallai (in Mahabalipuram itself) and Thiruvidanthai (on the way back to chennai). In fact, both these temples are among the 108 Divya Desam temples.

In Thirukadalmallai, one would have a Dharshan of Sthala Sayana Perumal, where Lord Vishnu is seen in a reclining position. The uniqueness of this temple is that, unlike other places where the lord is in a reclined position on Adi Seshan (the snake), here he is found lying down on the floor. The lordess of the temple is called Nila Mangai, meaning lordess of the land. This temple is said to have been constructed as a pallava king feared the sea could possibly erode the sea shore temple in Mahabalipuram and hence wanted to construct a temple slightly away from the sea.

In Thiruvidanthai, one could have a dharshan of Nithya Kalyana Perumal, where the lord is seen holding the beloved lordess on his lap. The lordess here is known by the name Komathivalli Thayar. Both the lord and the lordess here are seen here in kalyana kolam (marriage costume). Alternatively, apart from these two temples one could also visit the famous Muruga temple Thiruporur, where the lord is known by the name Kandhasamy.