A Wandering Mind

Strength has always been one of the most admired qualities , and one has only to read history or mythology to see how much importance has been given to strength and the display of strength. One can find many temples all over India, all testifying to a victory of a god over a demon, or some special exhibition of greatness. There is a set of eight temples in the south of India, situated near Mayiladudurai, Thiruvarur and Thiruvannamalai, all of which are associated with displays of the strength and greatness of Shiva. At all these temples, Shiva has either vanquished a demon, or punished another god. These are collectively called the ‘ Ashta Veeratta Sthalams’ . Each of these temples is fascinating, and has special points of interest. What I find especially interesting is that 6 of these 8 temples have bronze statues depicting the story of the temple. These are statues that are absolutely invaluable and must be seen to be believed. Let’s take a tour of six of these temples that are situa...

An ancient 3 storied temple , which has its roots in the great deluge and the creation of life, where the goddess herself appeared to feed a child who would grow up to be one of the greatest of the Shaivite saints, Sirkazhi has everything you would look for in a temple – legend, beauty and history, and more than anything, one is absolutely awed by this temple. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip The first thing you see when you enter this temple is the pond. This is the sacred pond on the bank of which a small child was left by his father when he went to bathe. The child was hungry and began to cry. Shiva recognized his future devotee and asked Parvati to pacify the child. Parvati appeared on the banks of the pond, and fed the child with her own milk of knowledge – gynaana paal – and the child was hereafter known as Thiru gynaana sambandar , who sang songs in praise of Shiva even as a child. Even today the image of the saint in this temple is fed sweetened milk, which is given to de...

Mayiladudurai – where peacocks once danced – known more popularly as Maayavaram or Mayuram is one of the most sacred places along the Kaveri. This is where Parvati descended as a peahen and prayed to the lord. It is believed that a bath in the Kaveri during the sacred Tula month (mid-October to mid- November), early in the morning, followed by darshan of Mayuranathar, is certain to wash away every bit of sin, known or unknown. Over the ages, sages and kings, commoners and merchants, people from every caste have flocked to this holy town during this month and have cleansed themselves of their burdens. It is believed that lord Rama himself had a bath here, as have the other gods. These days, however, it makes more sense to make sure that the Mettur Dam has been opened and that there is sufficient water in the Kaveri before venturing here for a sacred bath, for during the months that the river is dry, it is indeed a sorry sight. In fact, we visited Mayiladudurai just after a bout of heav...

The stories of Shiva and Parvati’s marriage have all the ingredients of a first class romance – from the story of the beautiful Sati’s marriage to the lord of the world living in a cemetery, to their subsequent dramatic parting; her re-birth as Parvati, and her strong resolve to marry the man who wouldn’t even look at her; her standing up to him and proving her worth, and finally getting her wish; their subsequent tiffs leading to her advent on earth (her mother’s home) every now and then, and Shiva finally making up to her by arriving to get married again – every story is interesting and has been told and retold in various ways ever since. Many places linked to Shiva and Parvati’s marriage have temples dedicated to the divine wedding, Madurai and Thirumanancheri being the most popular among them. While it was Meenakshi, the daughter of the Pandya king that Shiva as Sundareswarar (the handsome one) married at Madurai, in Thirumanancheri, Parvati was born as a daughter of a rishi. Acc...