Enroute from the marriage temple Thirumanancheri we saw a village celebration around this image of Hanumanji. Lots of happiness and prayers all around.
"5 tier Gopuram of Shiva temple at Vedaranyam (Tirumaraikkaadu). The Sivalingam of the presiding male deity Maraikattunathar is a Swayambu Lingam. The shrine of Thyagesar is also veryfamous here. The main shrine for Lord Vedaranyeswarar and the presiding female deity are facing east." Temple is 45 kms from Nagapattinam.
"The Manikarnigai Theertham (tank) that you see is considered to be very sacred because it is believed that a holy bath in this well is equivalent to taking bath in the sacred rivers of Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada, Cauvery." Temples trees are Vanni and Punnai . Missed seeing images of 12 Zodiac signs. Temple was closed when we went.
Rear view of main gopuram. "The presiding female deity’s shrine is also facing east and She is known as Yazhinum Iniya Mozhiyal in Tamil which means that the voice of the Goddess is sweeter and melodious than the sound of Veena (a musical instrument). Hence it is pertinent to note that the Shrine for Saraswathi in this temple is different in the sense that Goddess Saraswathi is seen here without her Veena in her laps as normally seen everywhere." To read about temple tradition and see pictures of deities Click here
Tank with entrance to temple. "Vedaranyeswarar temple built by Aditya Chola (871-907 CE) along the banks of River Cauvery to celebrate his victory in the Tirupurambiyam battle." The annual Brahmotsavam is attended by thousands of devotees. It is here that I met a 22 year old student from Durgapur, Rahul Ghosh, who accompanied me for rest of the yatra.
Entrance to sanctum. Dwarpals (doorkeepers) on either side. "This is One of 275 Siva Devara Sthalam. The temple is One of Saptha Vidanga Sthalam."
Entrance gopuram top part. To see video on temple Click here
Pillars in mandapam, with Yalis but design faded away with time. ""There is an image of Uma Maheswarar behind the Shivalingam in the sanctum. Agastya is said to have obtained a vision of Shivas marriage here. There is also a separate temple for Durga here. There are inscriptions here from the Chola, Vijayanagar and Maratha periods here."
Enroute from marriage temple to Vedaryanam we stumbled upon this temple with name Shri Manavaaleshwara Swamy Devasthanam. It is in a small village. Thanks to my friend Chitra for helping with translating name from Tamil. She has been very helpful with finer details of captions for other temples.
Since it was 1 noon temple was closed. Seems like lots of vegetation inside temple compound.
Villager weaving the leaves of a coconut tree into a mat. These mats are used to build huts, shades.
Water body outside temple. What I like about Tamil Nadu temples is the presence of numerous water bodies in and out of the temple. There surely must be a deeper spiritual reason. In today''s water starved times, it is a good form of water harvesting.