Gandhamadhana Parvata, Rameswaram

Mt. Gandhamadana is believed to be the hillock from whose summit, the Hindu god Hanuman commenced his flight to Ravana's Lanka. Kalidasa [Kumarasambhava, VI] refers to Gandhamadana, in the vicinity of the mythical city of Osadhiprastha in Himalaya Mountain, having Santanaka trees.

Nath tradition holds that Parashurama, after enacting his vengeance, sought out Dattatreya atop Mount Gandhamadana for spiritual guidance. Their conversations gave rise to Tripura-rahasya, a treatise on Advaita Vedanta. It was here the deity instructed the warrior-sage on knowledge of scripture, renunciation of worldly activities, and non-duality, thus freeing Parashurama from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Thanumalayan Temple, Kanyakumari

The Thanumalayan Temple is of importance to both Shaivaite and Vaishnavite sects of Hinduism, as the name Stanumalaya denotesTrimurtis; "Stanu" means Siva; "Mal" means Vishnu; and the "Aya" means Brahma.

The temple is an architectural achievement, known for its quality of workmanship in stone. There are four musical pillars carved out of a single stone, and which stand at 18 feet (5.5 m) in height; these are an architectural and design highlight of the temple grounds. They are in the Alankara Mandapam area, and they emit the sounds of various musical notes when struck. There are an additional 1035 pillars with carvings in the area known as the dancing hall.^[3]

There is an Anjaneya, (or Hanuman), statue which stands at 22 feet (6.7 m) and is carved of a single granite block. It is one of the tallest statues of its type in India. It is also of historical interest that this statue was buried in the temple in 1740, fearing an attack by the Tipu Sultan and was subsequently forgotten. It was rediscovered in 1930, and subsequently restored for viewing by the then Devaswom Board Commissioner Rajya Seva Praveena Sri M.K. Neelankantha Iyer of Kottarathu Mathom, Moncompu.^[4]

There is also a Nandi statue, made of mortar and lime, which is 13 feet (4.0 m) tall and 21 feet (6.4 m) long, it is one of the biggest Nandi statues in India.

The religious significance of the temple stems from the fact that the main statue of linga represent Siva (Sthanu), Vishnu (maal) and Brahma (Ayan), (as well as giving the temple its name). The representation of the three central gods of Hinduism in one linga makes it unique in India. Anthropologically it may have stemmed from the fact that the main temple at Padmanabhapuram was Vaishnavite, and the Nanjil Pillais and other communities in Nagarcoil were primarily Shaivaites, because of the influences from Chola, Chera and Pandya kingdoms. One of the unique aspects of the temple is the presence of the gods across the length and breadth of the Hindu pantheon, from Rama and Krishna to Amman and kandan. The different Hindu sects from Vaishnavism, Shaivism, to more localised Tamil sects like amman, kandan are represented in the different idols of the temple.

Anasuya, the wife of Atri Maharishi was famous for her purity and devotion to her husband. She could perform miracles by sprinkling the ‘Holy water’ to bring rain to a parched earth or to transform objects to her desire. When the three Goddesses – Lakshmi, Saraswathy and Parvathy heard from Sage Naradha the powers of this earthly woman and wanted to test her chastity. The Goddess decided to ask their husbands God Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to test Anasuya’s devotion to her husband. The three God’s on request of their wives transformed themselves into three old beggars and went to the hermitage where Anasuya was living and sought alms from her. When Anasuya was about to serve them food they told her that they had taken a vow whereby they could not accept alms from a person wearing clothes. Anasuya was in a caught in a awkward situation as denying alms to old men were a sin and also she could not stand dress-less in front of three men. She then got an idea of transforming the three men into three babies, so that she could serve them the alms, she prayed and sprinkled a little ‘holy water’ on the three old beggars. They were all immediately transformed into babies and removing her clothes she offered them food. The Goddesses after learning what had happened, went to Anasuya and narrated the whole incident and pleaded her to give them back their husbands. Anasuya then prayed and restored them back to their original form. Later they understood that Anasuya’s fame as the chastest woman on earth was justified. Thus the Thrimoorthy came to be represented by the Lingam at Suchindram; the bottom represents Brahma, the middle represents Vishnu and the top Shiva.

Nellaiappar Temple, Thirunalveli

The temple of Swami Nellaiappar and Sri Kanthimathi Ambal is situated in the heart of the city. The river Tamirabharani referred to by poets as "Porunai" flows round the town. In the distant past the town was a bamboo forest; hence it was known in those days as "venuvanam". One of the famous temples in Tamil Nadu steeped in tradition and history and also known for its musical pillars and other brilliant sculptural splendours, this is one of the largest temples in South India. Siva is said to have been worshipped by Agastya in a bamboo grove and by Rama after having killed Mareecha some nine miles away at Manoor. There is also a shrine to Vishnu near the sanctum, signifying the belief that Nellai Govindan (Vishnu) visited Tirunelveli to officiate the divine marriage of Shiva and Kantimathi. A little to the south of Swami Nellaiappar Gopuram stands the Gopuram of Sri Kanthimathi Ambal temple. It was here, where composer Sri Muthuswami Dikshithar composed the carnatic song 'Sri Kanthimatheem' in Hemavathi ragam.

Sripuram Golden Temple Vellore

Home > Golden Facts The ‘Sripuram’ temple of Mahalakshmi is made of tonnes of gold gleamed and glittered on 24 August 2007 under the rays of the sun when it was unveiled by Sri Narayanieetam for consecration who is an old godman of 31 years and known as Narayani Amma. It is amongst thewonders of the world for devotees and they say that the only temple completely covered with gold is this temple. The workers from Thirupathi Thirumala Devasthanam numbered 400 and above, coppersmiths and goldsmiths have worked for about 6 years to build it with Rs 600 crore Gold for an area of 55,000 Sqft at a stretch of 100 acre in the Malaikodi city, which is at a distance of 6 km North ofTamil Nadu from Vellore. Before using Gold, the coppersmiths created a base of copper on the structure of the templemaking nine layers beaten of foils. The Mahalakshmi statue is in the sanctum sanctorum which is of stone granite and covered with the gold kavacham. Murali is a trustee of Peetam said that Sripuram is the dedication of Amma to mankind and world. He also said that Amritsar’s Golden Temple has not more Gold than the Sripuram temple.

Rameshwaram temple

The temple and the island of Rameswaram have acquired this name because, Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva, the God of Gods here on return from Sri Lanka. According to legend, after killing Ravana Lord Rama returned with his consort Goddess Seetha to India first stepping on the shores of Rameswaram. To expiate the "dosha" of killing a brahmin, Lord Rama wanted to offer worship to Lord Shiva. Since there was no shrine in the island had despatched Sri Hauman to Kailash to bring an idol of Lord Shiva.

Thiruaannamalai, Arunachaleswarar Temple

Shiva is known by devotees as Annamalayar or Arunachaleswarar. And this is believed to be the largest temple in the world dedicated to Shiva. The history of this Annamalayar temple dates back to thousand years. Mention has been made in the Thevaram and Thiruvasagam, both great works in Tamil.

Bramha took the form of a swan and flew to see the crown of Siva. Unable to see the crown, Bramha saw a thazhambu flower which had decked Siva's crown falling down. He asked the flower as to the distance of Siva's crown whereby the flower replied that he had been falling for forty thousand years. Bramha, realizing that he would not be able to reach the crown asked the flower to act as a false witness.  

The thazhambu flower acting as a false witness declared that Brahma had seen the crown. Siva became angry at the deception and cursed that Bramha should have no temple on earth and that the thazhambu flower should not be used while praying to Lord Siva. The place where Lord Siva stood as a column of fire to eliminate the ego is Thiruaannamalai

Sree Ramar Padam, Rameswaram

Sri Ramar Padam temple, residing on a hillock in Pamban Island is incidentally the highest point on the island too. The temple houses the footprints of Lord Rama. This is the location where Hanuman allegedly met Lord Rama and conveyed his sighting of Sita at Ashokavanam in Sri Lanka.From the top of this hillock, the entire island of Rameshwaram is visible.