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.