Krishnapuram - Interesting Venkateswara temple near Tirunelveli

Through this post, I introduce you to a small village called Krishnapuram located in South Tamil Nadu. Krishnapuram, the name, stands for the land of Krishna. Accordingly, the primary temple of the place belongs to Lord Vishnu. The primary temple deities here share the same names as Tirupati. The temple, although not large in size, is definitely worth a visit for some interesting wonders it offers.

REACHING THERE: Krishnapuram is located near Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu. The village is located en route to Tiruchendur, from Tirunelveli and hence could easily fit into your tour itinerary. The nearest town would be Tirunelveli, at a distance of just about 10kms. The nearest rail head would also be Tirunelveli.

KRISHNAPURAM TEMPLE: The outside look of the temple may not be really stunning. By its exterior appearance, one could easily pass it on as just an other temple. But the real beauty definitely lies inside. The temple deities here share the same name as that of Tirupati Venkateshwara. As such, the presiding deity is known by Venkatajalapathi, with his consorts, Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.

As soon as you enter the temple, the main hall that leads to the temple sanctum, leaves you amazed. The pillars of the walls carry wonderful work of art that leaves you thinking that this place has something unique to offer and makes you feel good that you did the right thing by visiting the temple and did not shrug it off as a regular one.

What is unique about this wonderful sculptures in the temple, is the sheer size of it. Each of these sculptures is huge in size, almost the size of a human. This adds great life into these sculptures, and as they say, they are truly life-like. Creating these six feet sculptures calls for intricate detailing and the sculptors have truly lived up to this task.

Each of these sculptures carry so much of detailed work that one could easily pass off an entire day just observing the finer aspects of the work. These stone marvels depict a variety of themes. Some of these sculptures relate to war heroes, some of them are manifestations of the Lord and some depict an artist at work.

The astonishing work of art at the entrance hall is just a precursor to what is found inside the main sanctum. Here again, you are loaded with great sight for your eyes, as you come across more life-like sculptures adorning each pillar. In fact, each side of the pillar is decorated with an unique sculpture. As you stay engrossed in this spectacle, you are forced to wonder, how many people must have worked on these sculptures and how long this exercise would have taken.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISITS: The Nava Tirupati circuit, of nine Vaishanvite temples located on both banks of the river Tamirabarani is not far off from here. So, one could easily start of early morning from Tirunelveli, visit Krishnapuram and then proceed for Nava Tirupati temples. As the name suggests, each of these Nava Tirupati temples is associated with a particular planet and is definitely worth a visit. Some of these temples have their own interesting wonders to offer (more on Nava Tirupati later).

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: Plan for a day long trip. Start from Tirunelveli, make the first halt at Krishnapuram, then complete the Nava Tirupati circuit by after noon. After lunch on the way, proceed to Tiruchendur. On the way, do not forget to check out Vana Tirupati, the new abode of Lord Venkateshwara. You can find all about Vana Tirupati, located at Punnai Nagar near Nazreth, in my older blog post, http://www.travelwithguru.blogspot.com/2009/12/vana-tirupati-new-abode-of-lord.html

So, push off to check out this great wonder at Krishnapuram.

Vana Tirupati - The new abode of Lord Venkateshwara in South Tamil Nadu

This is my first post. Going forward, I would like to publish several posts relating to various interesting places I have travelled covering a wide gamut of trips, including religious places, fun destinations, places of great architectural marvel, adventure getaways and so on.

It is always tough to begin...As I browse through my memory for the right trip to highlight as my first post, the thought that strikes my mind immediately is my recent visit to Vana Tirupati...Yes, you heard it right...it is the new Tirupati that has emerged in South Tamil Nadu.Vana Tirupati loosely translates into Tirupati of the forest. Well, the location however does not really resemble a forest and is relatively well accessible.

REACHING THERE: Vana Tirupati is located at Punnai Nagar in Thoothukudi District in South Tamil Nadu. It comes under the province of Tiruchendur. The best means to reach here is by road. The nearest major towns are Tirunelveli and Tiruchendur. If you start in either direction, catch the Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur highway. At Kurumbur (near the Kurumbur Petrol Station), proceed on the Kurumbur-Nazreth main road. On the 5th km, the new Vana Tirupati temple would welcome you. The nearest rail head would be Kurumbur and Nazreth stations located on either side of the temple. Chennai-Tiruchendur Express and Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur passengers would stop by both these stations.

HISTORY: The temple has been constructed very recently although I am not sure of the exact year of its origin. The temple has been built by Hotel Saravan Bhavan (HSB), one of the famous restaurant chains of Chennai. Punnai Nagar happens to be the native place of the owners of the hotel, and this explains the construction of the temple in this village.

THE PREMISE: For Chennaites and those who are familiar with HSB or those who have visited the Vadapalani Murugan Temple (which is maintained by HSB), the first thing that would strike them as they reach Vana Tirupati is the uniform of the security guard and the manager of the temple. It is in line with the HSB practice. The small stream of water at the entrance of the temple (a la Vadapalani Murugan temple) and the style of flooring all strongly bear the HSB stamp.

The temple has a twin tower entrance, each leading to one of the two primary deities of the temple. In between the two towers, right at the front of the temple, is the small sanctum for Lord Vinayaka. As you proceed through the first tower, you would reach the sanctum of Lord Venkateshwara, known here as Srinivasa Perumal. The striking feature of the idol is its strong resemblance with that of Tirupati Balaji. Great care has been taken to replicate the idol as close as possible to the original Tirupati Balaji idol, including the height of the idol and other finer details. The poojas performed here are also largely in sync with that of Tirupati.

The real difference however is that while in Tirupati it is tough to catch a glimpse of the lord, at Vana Tirupati, one can have a very peaceful darshan up, close and personal and at your own pace. With all the wonderful jewel and floral decorations, Srinivasa Perumal is a great sight and one could stand immersed in lord's beautiful form all day long.

The second tower leads to the sanctum of Adhi Narayana. The blue coloured idol is sure to invoke memories of Guruvayurappa. Apart from the two primary deities, one could also find idols of Vadapalani Murugan, Lordess Lakshmi and a few village gods, as one moves around the sanctums. Interestingly, an idol of Kirubananda Variar is also found in the temple.

TEMPLE AND POOJA TIMINGS: The Temple is open from 7:00AM to 8:00PM, with no intermittent closure. In general, poojas are performed five times in a day at 7:00AM, 9:30AM, 12:30PM, 6:30PM and 8:00PM. Ladoos are offered as Prasadam.

AMENITIES: Opposite the temple premise there are small rest houses for visitors to stay, if required. Next to the temple, there are decent options for one to have a quick bite or to freshen up.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISIT: One could also visit the Nagakanni Amman temple located close to Vana Tirupati. It is located just a few meters away from Vana Tirupati. It is generally visited by those with Ragu-Kethu doshas. This temple is also maintained by HSB.

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: The best way to schedule your trip to Vana Tirupati is to combine it with Nava Tirupati and Tiruchendur. Nava Tirupati represents nine temples of Lord Vishnu, each being associated with a particular planet (will post more on this later), while Tiruchendur is the famous sea-shore temple of Lord Muruga. The best way to plan the trip would be to start from Tirunelveli, complete the Nava Tirupati circuit, visit the Vana Tirupati (around 20 kms away) and then proceed to Tiruchendur (around 15 kms away).

Hope you have a great darshan at Vana Tirupati.

Any suggestions/comments to refine this post is highly welcome!!!