Temples in and around Salem - Part II

This is in continuation with my previous post on Temples in and around Salem - Part 1. You can access it at http://travelwithguru.blogspot.com/2011/04/temples-in-and-around-salem-part-i.html.

In this post, I would like to cover temples in the Salem-Namakkal route. There are numerous temples along this route. Most of them are relatively small, nevertheless, significant temples and can be covered in a day.

1. Skandasramam:One of the primary landmarks of Salem or probably the most known temple closest to Salem. It is about 10 kms from Salem town. It islocated on top of a small hill called Skandagiri. A couple of small hairpin bends would take you to the main entrance of the temple. The temple was set up in the 1970s. As the name indicates, it is the temple dedicated to lord Muruga. However, the temple is more famous for the sheer size of statues of various gods and goddesses in its premises. In specific, the relatively big statues of Pancha Mukha Vinayaka, Anjeneya, Danvantiri and Dattareya deserve special mention.

There is also a special hall here for statues of various renowned sages and saints across India. Also, extremely unique and interesting in Skandasramam, is the presence of Nava grahas like Surya, Chandra, Ragu and Kethu with their spouses. I found this quite fascinating. Everything about Skandasramam is quite big in scale and the Nava grahas that way do not disappoint. It is very tough to find statues of Nava grahas with such grand sizes and finesse as you observe in Skandasramam. The same foundation have a Skandasramam constructed in Selaiyur in Tambaram, Chennai which is equally impressive. But, it is always good to visit the place where it all started. A must visit in Salem, especially if you have not been to the one in Chennai.

2. Kumaragiri Murugan Temple: For those fit bodies and souls, the next temple to check out is Kumaragiri. The temple is located on a hill top and is dedicated to Lord Muruga. One needs to climb more than 700 steps to reach Kumaragiri hill top. Unfortunately, you cannot take your vehicle along and will have to be climbed by stairs. The temple truly looked fascinating from the foot of the hill but looked like an exhaustive climb. Given our plans for covering more temples that morning, we decided to give it a skip. But, if you have the time and stamina, it is worth the climb. I will have to probably catch it sometime later.

3. Oothumalai Balasubramaniar Temple: The next hill top we covered was Oothumalai. Here, you could go all the way to the temple by car. Oothumalai isabout 11 kms from Skandasramam. This hill top temple too is dedicated to lord Muruga, assuming the name of Balasubramaniar. It is a small temple, but very interesting for two reasons: Here, Lord Muruga is seen holding the neck of his beloved peacock, a unique posture not to be seen in any other temple. Also, the view from the hill top is amazing and one could capture a good view of Salem town from here.

As you descend a few meters, you would notice a small Shiva temple. Next to the linga, on the rocks one would find wonderful engravings of gods and goddesses along with a suyambuSudharshana chakra. This small section of engravings is fenced and is worth a visit if you do reach Oothumalai.

4. Oothumalai Sathyanarayana Temple: In Oothumalai itself, opposite to the small Shiva temple, a climb through a series of steps would take you to a Vishnu temple, assuming the name of Satyanarayana. It is one of the very few temples dedicated to Satyanarayana in Tamil Nadu and hence assumes significance. The flight of steps are few, probably less than 60, but slightly steep in nature. The temple is a small one but the statue of the principle lord here is worth a visit for its beauty. It does feel quite enchanting to take a round around the temple premise.

5. Rasipuram Kamatchi Amman Temple: As you proceed along the route to Namakkal from Oothumalai. Rasipuram is about 27kms from Salem. This Kamatchi Amman temple is actually in a small town called Pudupalayam, about 3 kms fromRasipuram. The temple is again a small one, but the goddess here is a pretty divine sight.

6. Rasipuram Kailasanathar Temple: The more famous temple at Rasipuram is the Kailasanathar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This is a relatively old temple and is relatively a big temple compared to the ones seen thus far. The Lordess here is known by the name Dharma Samvardhini. Like in a typical Shiva temple, there are shrines for lord Muruga, Vinayaka and Dhakshinamoorthy too. A moment away from temples, Rasipuram is famous for its Ghee roast dhosas and is a definite must try item there.

7. Senthamangalam Vishnu Temple: The next temple that could be connected is Senthamangalam Vishnu temple. This is again quite an old temple and is worth a quick look. The temple is located just adjacent to the main bus stand of the town.

8. Dattagiri Dattareyar Temple: Quite close to Senthamangalam, there is a small hill top called Dattagiri. The temple is primarily dedicated to Dattareyar, unison of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. However, very few locals are aware of the temple as belonging to Dattareyar. There is also a sanctum for Muruga here and that is what the locals associate with the temple. The same foundation of Skandasramam is also credited with construction of the Dattagiri temple.

A certain distance to the temple can be covered by your vehicle. However, one would also have to climb a series of about 50 steps as well to reach the temple. The temple primarily has two deities at the top, Lord Muruga and Lord Dattareya, both being quite magnificent structures. There is also a provision to take a round around the temple premise. This is quite a fascinating one given the cool breeze around.

There is also a small temple at the foot hill. Although small, this house foursanctums for Vana Durgai, Ayyapa, Dakshinamoorthy and Saneeswara. One has to take a round trip of the premise to catch sight of the four wonderful sculptures. As though to say it has been set up by the same foundation as Skandasramam, the four statues are quite big in size and the artistry is spell binding. In specific, the statue of Vana Durgai is such a wonderful sight and is worth all the effort.

9. Namakkal Anjeneya Temple: This is one of the more famous temples and has a good coverage on the net. Just thought would include it to give it a completeness. The Hanuman statue here is one of the largest in the region. Several larger statues of Hanuman are now seen across the state, but clearly this is among the oldest and hence carries its own charm and significance. The temple, by size is quite a small one with just the Hanuman statue. The statue is however not covered on top, as the legend has it that any efforts to place a roof on top of the statue has been unsuccessful in the past, either lost to fire or otherwise. The statue is wonderfully sculpted in such a way that the eyesight of Hanuman directly falls on the feet of Narasimha statue located quite a few meters away at the foot of the Namakkal fort.

10. Namakkal Narasimha Temple: The fort temple at Namakkal is quite an old one made by sculpting through the rocks. It is a wonderful exhibition of Indian craftsmanship. The premise of the lord is like a cave, as is generally the case with Narasimha temples. Narasimha is not alone here. We also have rock carvings of Shiva, Brahma and his sons too standing besides him. Interesting aspect of the statue is the red mark on Lord Narasimha's hands, reflecting the legend that the lord presented himself at Namakkal, after killing Hiranya Kashipu. The lordess here is known by the name Namagiri thayar. The sight of the lordess is indeed a great spectacle and quite a divine experience.

11. Paramathi Bheemeswara Temple: One other temple we explored is Bheemeswara temple at Paramathi. This is beyond Namakkal, at about 15-20 kms away. Here, there is an old Suyambhu linga temple that is said to have been installed and worshipped by Bheema from Mahabharatha, and hence the name Bheemeswara. This is quite a small temple, but the pillars and carvings tell a great story of how they have stood the test of times.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISITS: Apart from the temples above, there are a couple of other temples that could also be explored. A Murugan temple at Belukurichi, which is located between Rasipuram and Senthamangalam could be added to the itinerary. Also, there are a couple of old temples at Mohanur, about 15 kms from Namakkal again, but in a different direction from Paramathi. There is one temple here dedicated to Lord Shiva and one to Lord Vishnu, that could also be worth a visit.

Temples in and around Salem - Part I

Just back from a temple tour around Salem. Did a lot of net search to arrive at the list of temples to cover. So, thought would be a good idea to put in at one-place list of possible temples to cover. Broadly there are three routes of coverage, one could plan from Salem: Salem and around, Salem - Namakkal and Salem-Tiruchengode route. I would thus like to make my blog post a three part-series. In the first part, I would cover temples in Salem and around Salem.

1. Raja Ganapathy Temple:It is located at 1st Agraharam, one of the primary market areas of the town and is always bustling. It is a good temple to start one's temple tour around the region. For the size of the outer structure of the temple, the statue of lord Ganesha inside is reasonable large in size and gives one a pleasant feel. This is a small but powerful temple located at the heart of Salem Town.

2. Sugavaneswarar Temple: This temple within Salem is dedicated to Lord Siva. It is a reasonably big temple and one of the primary landmarks of the town. The Siva is said to be a suyambu, meaning, to have come into existence on its own without anyone constructing it. In fact, this is one of the five temples around river kaveri in that region to have emerged on its own. The main linga is in a slightly slanted position. Lordess Swarnambikai is housed in a separate sanctum. There are shrines for other gods like Ganapathy, Muruga and Dakshinamoorthy too.

3. Kottai Mariamman Temple: Kottai Mariamman is believed to be the primary goddess protecting the town. Pilgrims and locals alike throng in big numbers to this temple. The goddess here is in the form of a small, beautiful looking statue and the sight is very pleasing to the eyes. Unlike in a typical Mariamman temple, at the feet of the lordess one would not find a skull or a devil, but rather just a lotus bud, making it quite unique.

4. Kottai Perumal Temple: Kottai Perumal temple is also located in the Kottai region of Salem. Kottai means Fort. When I visited the temple, there was some major renovation work at the temple and hence could not catch a complete glimpse of the gods here. Some of the statues were completely covered in cloth, while in certain other cases only part of the sanctum was open.

5. Ayodhiapattinam Ramar Temple: As the name of the town suggests, this is a temple dedicated to lord Rama. It is quite an old temple with wonderful sculptural works. It is about 10 kms from Salem on the eastern direction. The temple sanctum ceilings are filled with paintings depicting various mythological scenes, although it has got slightly eroded over time. The walls and pillars of the sanctum are beautifully decorated with intricate carvings and sculptures. Legend has it that given the delay in time for Rama to reach Ayodhya from Sri Lanka in time for his Pattabhisheka, Lord Rama had his pattabhisheka done at Ayodhiapattinam, when the good time was still available and later did it in Ayodhya with all necessary procedures. So, we find Rama and Sita in a sitting posture, which is generally not found in other temples.

Ram is seen here with his left leg folded and Sita Devi with her right leg folded. Also housed in the same sanctum are Lakshmana, Hanuman, Vaali and Vibishena. A look at the sanctum gives one a feel that one is actually witnessing a pattabhisheka. In general, we find Sita to be standing to the right side of Rama in most temples. However, here we will have Sita devi seated to the left of Rama as is done during Pattabhisheka.

6. Belur Thanthondreeswarar Temple: About 18kms from Ayodhiapattinam is Belur. Here, there is an historic, grand temple of Shiva with the name Thanthondreeswarar. It is said to have been built in the 12th century. Thanthondree means emerging on its own and as the name indicates, this is a suyambu linga. For a suyambu linga, one would be surprised by the relatively large size of the linga. The rajagopuram of the temple is quite an imposing one and is a 7-tier structure. The temple pillar carvings are also a wonderful work of art. The lordess is known by the name Dharma Samvardhini. One would also find a sanctum for Kalyana Ganapathy, which houses two Vinayaka statues within the same sanctum, one large and one slightly smaller one. People offer prayers here for early marriage of their children.

7. Tharamangalam Kailasanathar Temple: This is an historic old temple at Tharamangalam, about 30 kms from Salem. It is to the west of Salem and hence in the opposite direction to Ayodhiapattinam. This is a temple constructed by the Cholas and carries their typical architectural marks. Lord here assumes the name of Kailasanathar and Lordess is Abirami. The temple tower is an imposing structure but, we could not manage a glimpse of it, since it was completely covered for renovation work. The pillars and ceilings have wonderful stone carvings that one could admire all day long.

There are a couple of interesting features within the temple. The temple's inner walls carry sculptures of various gods, goddesses and sages equidistant from each other, in a variety of postures and displaying varied emotions. One could spend hours admiring the craftsmanship of each of these sculptures. Secondly, we have sculptures of Manmathan and Rathi, Indian god and goddess of love, staring benevolently at each other. This is said to be quite unique not found in any other temple. There is also a pathala linga here in the underground that can be reached by a series of few steps.

8. Omalur Chinna Tirupathi Temple: Omalur is about 10 kms from Taramangalam and from Omalur, the Chinna Tirupathi temple is about an other 10kms. There is one place called Chinna Tirupathi near Salem as well. So, make sure you do not land up at the wrong place. The temple is quite an old one, but has been significantly extended in recent years. So, at the outset the temple looks quite new. However, one can observe the contrast in new and old architecture when one enters the inner sanctum. As the name indicates, it is a temple dedicated to lord Vishnu. The lord here assumes the name of Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal.

REACHING SALEM: Salem is about 300 kms from Chennai. It is an important rail and road junction and is well connected. It is also easily accessible from Bangalore. It is the closest rail head for Yercaud, one of the hill stations in the region, commonly referred as Poor man's Ooty. The Salem town is famous for its steel plants, limestone mines and Mangoes. The town also has an airport where currently only a single flight plies to Chennai.