Sri Andal

Andal, the incarnation of Mother Earth, Bhoodevi, is one of the twelve Aalvaars, great devotees of Vishnu. She was found in the garden of Periyaalvar. She grew up to be a great devotee of Vishnu and a mystic poet. She is the author of Thiruppavai. Even as a human she attained beatitude, as the consort of her chosen Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam. She is the best exponent of Bakthi Marga and a celebrated model of "bridal mysticism".

SLOKA/PRAYER

Sree Vishnu Chiththa Kula Nandhana Kalpa Valleem
Sree Ranga Raaja Hari Chandhana Yoga Dhrusyaam
Saakshhat Kshammaam Kaarunyaa Kamalaami Vaanyaam
Godhaam Ananya Sarana: Saranam Prapadhye.

MEANING
Bereft of any other refuge in Godha (Andal) who is merciful like Goddess Mahalakshmi, has come in human form of Andal. She is like a wish fulfilling creeper, that makes the family of Vishnuchitta (Periyaalvar) happy. With her inner eye, she always sees and dwells on her Lord, the king and God at Sriranga.

ANDAL AT SSVT

In Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Andal is installed in a separate shrine built in Chola style architecture. She holds a blue lotus on her hand.

AUSPICIOUS DAYS AND FESTIVALS

Wednesdays and Fridays are auspicious to Andal. Andal married Sri Ranganatha on the Makara Sankaranthi day. On that day Andal's marriage is celebrated in a grand style. " Aadi Pooram" and "Aani Thirumanjanam" are also important festivals to Andal.

SPECIAL OFFERINGS

Andal is specially worshipped by reciting her songs called Thiruppaavai, early in the mornings during the Hindu month of Dhanu. Performing Andal Kalyanam is customary. Venpongal and Sweet Pongal are offered to Andal.

GAYATHRI

Dhanurdharaayai Cha Vidmahe Sarva
Siddhayai Cha Dheemahi
Thanno Dharaa Prachodhayaath.  

MEANING

We worship the Goddess who adorns a bow and arrow in her hand. Salutations to the Goddess who gives all the boons to the devotees. May that Boodhevi stimulate our creative faculties.

SRI ANDAL

Siva Ghoshta Vigrahas

There are a number of mythological tales and legends surrounding Lord Shiva. Here're a few popular ones

Ganga Comes Down to Earth

 

A legend from the Ramayana speaks of King Bhagirath who once meditated before Lord Brahma for a thousand years for the salvation of the souls of his ancestors. Pleased with his devotion Brahma granted him a wish. He requested the Lord to send the river Ganges down to earth from heaven so that she could flow over his ancestors' ashes and wash their curse away and allow them to go to heaven. Brahma granted his wish but asked him to pray to Shiva, for he alone could support the weight of her descent. Accordingly he prayed to Shiva and he allowed the Ganges to descend on his head, and after meandering through his thick matted locks, the holy river reached the earth. This story is re-enacted by bathing the 'linga'.

 

The Tiger & the Leaves

 

Once a hunter while chasing a deer wandered into a dense forest and found himself on the banks of river Kolidum when he heard the growl of a tiger. To protect himself from the beast he climbed up a tree nearby. The tiger pitched itself on the ground below the tree fostering no intention to leave. The hunter stayed up in the tree all night and to keep himself from falling asleep, he gently plucked one leaf after another from the tree and threw it down.

Under the tree was a Shiva Linga and the tree blessedly turned out to be a bilva tree. Unknowingly the man had pleased the deity with bilva leaves. At sunrise, the hunter looked down to find the tiger gone, and in its place stood Lord Shiva. He prostrated before the Lord and attained salvation from the cycle of birth and death.

 

Why Shiva is Worshipped in His Phallic Form

 

According to another legend, once Brahma and Vishnu, two other deities of the holy Trinity, had an argument as to their supremacy. Brahma being the Creator declared himself to be more revered, while Vishnu, the Preserver, pronounced that he commanded more respect.

Just then a colossal 'lingam', known as Jyotirlinga, blanketed in flames, appeared before them. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck by its rapidly increasing size. They forgot their quarrel and decided to determine its size. Vishnu assuming the form of a boar went to the netherworld and Brahma as a swan flew to the skies. But both of them failed to accomplish the self-assumed tasks. Then, Shiva appeared out of the 'lingam' and stated that he was the progenitor of them both and that henceforth he should be worshiped in his phallic form, the 'lingam', and not in his anthropomorphic form.

Who Is Lord Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu god and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God. Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas. Shaivism, along with Vaisnava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Sakta traditions that focus on the goddess Devi are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance. In some Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.

 

Significance of the Shiv Lingam

The non antrhropomorphic Lingam form of Shiva is what is held in reverence in temples all over the sub continent. The Lingam is a symbol. It is a symbol of that which is invisible yet omnipresent. It is hence a a visible symbol of the Ultimate Reality which is present in us (and in all objects of creation ). The Shivalingam denotes the primeval energy of the Creator.It is believed that at the end of all creation, during the great deluge, all of the different aspects of God find a resting place in the Lingam; Bhrama is absorbed into the right, Vishnu to the left and Gayatri into the heart. The Shivalingam is also a representation of the infinite Cosmic Column of fire, whose origins, Vishnu and Bhrama were unable to trace. (see Lingodbhavar).

Legend has it that Parvati fashioned a Shivalingam with a fistful of sand at Kanchipuram and worshipped Shiva; this lingam is known as the Prithvilingam, denoting the primordial element earth. Shivalingams in several temples are swayambus, or that which appeared on their own, or that which is untouched by a chisel. On the other hand, there are temples where the Shivalingam is carved out of stone and installed. The highly polished Shivalingams of the Pallava period bear several stripes, as in the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. The Shivalingam is generally mounted on a circular or quadrangular receptacle called the Avudaiyar. This pedestal is designed so as to drain off the water offered during ablution ceremonies. In temples such as Kanchipuram, abhishekam is offered only to the pedestal and not to the Shivalingam made of sand. The bottom of the pedestal represents Bhrama, the octogonal middle represents Vishnu and the upper circular portion represents Shiva. The upper portion of the Shivalingam may be of various shapes, cylindrical, elliptical, umbrella shaped. Images may also be (rarely) carved on a Shivalingam. Nandi, the bull is depicted facing the sanctum in all Saivite temples, symbolizing the human soul Jeevatma yearning for realizing its oneness with Paramatma, the ultimate reality.

Lord Shiva

Shiva is lord of the lords and it is really not easy to write/explain everything about shiva.However many have tried to explain him and praised him as per their knowledge but the explanation is endless and it is un-imaginable from a human being even devas, asuras and other rishi munis have very little words to explain about the lord almighty.

Shiva means the supreme one, the auspicious one, the pure one and for me the beloved one. Shiva is named as Pashupati which means the Lord of all living beings either it is humans, devas, asuras or any creatures. Another name Mahadeva depicts the great God, supreme in all devas(Gods).

The God staying in a state blissful, enjoying in Its Own Self eternally, without any flaws is the Supreme Lord shiva. The Perfection is the completeness - there is nothing external that is required to make the Self blissful.

Lord Shiva is reckoned among the Tridevas (trimity). Brahma is the creator, Lord Vishnu is the preserver and Lord Shiva is the destroyer. Shiva is the lord of Shakti also.

Lord shiva is absolute which does not have any parents  which never takes birth Which is all alone without association with any of the creatures or creations enjoying in the Self. God is the only one who is dependable for anybody / anything to surrender to as It is the only perennial Being.  Hence God is the Lord of all creatures (lives/souls). For this reason the Lord is hailed as pashupati (Lord of living beings). Whether it is devas or asuras or humans or other creatures all are pashus. That being the case how could the Lord be partial to one section of pashus and withdrawing the Grace for the other ? So anybody who worships the Lord sincerely could get blessed with Its Grace irrespective of the caste, creed, race, power, status and qualities.

It is in fact to be noted that Lord shiva is worshipped by the devas like viShNu, braHma, indra, by asuras like bANa, rAvaNa, tripura, sUrapadma, by humans like sha~Nkara bhagavatpAda, samban^dhar, appar, by other creatures like jaTAyu, sampAdi (eagles), vAli (monkey) and the list goes on and on. One finds in the purANas the variety of people of different backgrounds and qualities worship the Lord shiva. There are many histories of temples which talk of the cranes, bees, elephants, spiders, snakes worshipping the Lord and getting blessed. So the Lord as the Supreme blesses anyone who worships in sincere devotion. There is no discrimination on who the seeker is. The Lord is so merciful that He showers the boons one look for when there is a determination to seek Him. It is evident from the history of asura bANa who attained a great fame of his valor and got the place in the abode of Lord shiva all due to his determined worship of the Lord.

Lord shiva is the God of all. Like the mother He showers the grace for all the children, but the misusing children get punished. This Supreme Lord better than a mother does not withhold the grace, He is our beloved pashupati.

The God would not be biased. It would not differentiate between one group versus the other, whether it be divines or daemons or humans or plats or creatures or on sex or on race etc. All that matters is dharma and the pure devotion towards It. No doubt this lovely Lord shiva is worshipped alike by divines, daemons, scholars, not much learnt simple, and the other creatures.

Hindu Triumvirate Initations - Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu & Lord Shiva The Hindu Triumvirate Initiations 1: These are  a set of 3 attunements which will connect you with the three main forms of Lord Brahman, the Supreme power within the universe. The Hindu Triumvirate is the Hindu trinity of the primary aspects of the divine which consist of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. These are empowerments versas healing energeis. . Brahma is renown as creator of the universe while Vishnu is called upon for the preservation of the world. Shiva destroys the universe in order for it to then be recreated. The  aspects of the divine trinity can also be applied to your spiritual life.  The destruction of the old in order for the new to come into being. The ego does not want to let go of energies which we have kept as part of our being for such a long period of time but it is through this releasement that you will be able to attract more of what you need and more of what you want in your life. You will also learn about  all aspects of each God  to bring forth change and growth.

Visit to Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva Temple at Kodumudi

Kodumudi is situated in the Erode – Trichy train route and is about 40 Kms from Erode and 25 kms from Karur. It is surrounded by Dharapuram, Thiruchengode, Namakkal and Thiruppur towns.

Wikimapia location link is here

Quick facts:

Main deities: Tri moorthies – Brahma Vishnu and Shiva

• Lord Shiva in the form of Swayambu lingam in the names of Magudeswarar, Paandi Kodumudi Nathar, Malaikozhundheeswarar etc., with Goddess in the names of Soundhravalli, Soudambikai, Vadivudainayagi.
• Lord Mahavishnu is in the name of Veera Narayana Perumal in sayana posture with Goddess Thirumangai Nachiyar (Maha Lakshmi).
• The 3000 years old living Vanni tree itself is considered Lord Brahma of this temple and has no Goddess part.

Theertham: Holy river Cauveri with other Holy water origins inside the temple Bharadhwaja Theertham, Brahma Theertham and Deva Theertham.

Sthala Viruksham (Sacred Tree): Vanni Tree

Significances:

• One of the very few temples which enshrines all the three moorthies – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – in exclusive shrines with legendary significance (The other one I know is Uthamar Koil near Trichy).
• A highly popular parihara sthalam from ancient times itself
• The Holy and Mystic Vanni Tree, said to be 3000 years old is a living tree with one side of the tree having thorns and the other side without it. The tree is a male version without flower and fruit.
• During the last week of Aavani Tamil Month and the first week of Panguni Tamil Month, the sun light enters through the aperture of the Rajagopuram and falls on Lord Magudeshwara.
• The river Cauvery which flows Southward from Karnataka, turns 90 degrees in front of the temple and flows Eastward.
• One of the 275 important Shiva temples glorified by Thevara hymns. Sambandhar sung 11 songs,  Appar sung 5 songs  and Sundharar sung 10 songs on Lord Magudeshwara of this temple. Sundarar composed his Namachivaaya Patikam here.
• Saint Arunagirinathar sung “Thirupugazh” on Lord Muruga of this temple.

Legend:

In a show of strength battle between Aadhi Sesha and Vaayu (God of ‘air’), some pieces of the holy Meru Kailash was thrown into five different places and these apex pieces change into five Swayambu linga Sivasthalas of different types of precious stones as follows:

EMERALD – Thiru eengoi malai (near Musiri)
RED – Thiruvannamalai
BLUE DIAMOND – Pothiigai, Kuttraalam
MANICKAM – Sivaaya Malai, Rathnagiri, Ayyarmalai (Kulitalai)
DIAMOND – Kodumudi

While all the other four are in the form of hills, the apex at Kodumudi is in the form of lingam, i.e., the lingam here is considered to be the tip of a hill (Kodumudi is 482 feet above sea level).

Brahma (in the form of Vanni tree) and Vishnu who are enshrined here, are said to have worshipped Shiva (Magudeshwarar).

Worshipped by Garudan, Pandu and others

Agasthyar got the marriage dharshan of Lord Shiva here.

Bharadwajar got the dharshan of Lord shiva’s dance here and there is also a Bharadwaja theertham inside the temple.

This is the place where river Cauvery was relieved of the curse of Sage Agasthiar (he had captured her in a kamandalam). Vinayagar, at the behest of Lord Shiva, took the form of a white crow and dropped down the kamandalam here liberating the Cauvery to continue her flow. Surprisingly, in support of this legend, the river Cauvery which flows southwards till here takes an exact 90 degree East turn here.  The vinayagar here in the inner pariharam of Shiva shrine is named as “Kaviri Kanda Vinayagar”. It seems there is a rock in the middle of the river here that has the rock cut image of this legend.

Temple:

The Shiva temple at Kodumudi is on the western bank of river cauvery. The east facing temple is 640 feet in length and 484 feet in breadth. The temple has 3 entrances on the east side and through each gate one can enter the shrines of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.

Pandiya kings have patronised the temple regularly and because of the connection of Pandiya kings, this shivasthalam is called as Thiruppandi Kodumudi. Malayathvuja Pandian, Maravarman Sundarapandian and Pandiya Kesarivarman are some of the kings who have donated land, jewellery etc. to this temple.

Main Shrines:

1. Shiva shrine
2. Ambal (of Shiva) shrine
3. Perumal shrine
4. Thayar (of Perumal) Shrrine
5. Brahma shrine
6. Anjaneyar shrine
7. Saneeswarar shrine
8. Kala Bairavar

Brahma in the form of living Vanni tree:

Shiva shrine:

Brahma (Vanni tree)Thayar and Perumal shrine:

Temple:

Our Trip:

We boarded the night Mangalore Express train at Chennai and my in laws joined us at Kulitalai, one more relative joined us at Karur in the train. We reached by about 6 AM.

The temple is just about 5-10 minutes walk from the station and it was very nice to walk down in that fresh morning. The temple is a fairly big one with a vast empty (parking) space in front; the temple elephant was standing in front; the wide Cauvery was flowing in front of the temple; there was a good lengthy bathing ghat; big trees with Vinayagar underneath; and more importantly it was not so crowded – with all these when we first sighted the temple in that morning freshness, it was a great ambience  and just beautiful!

We straight proceeded to the Cauvery bathing ghat. It is wonderful to see the Cauvery changing its direction exactly perpendicular. I am from Papanasam (Tanjore dist) and we learn swimming at the age of 5-6 in the river Cauvery and our bath was only at Cauvery. Having left that place 30 years ago, it was a wonderful reconnect with Cauvery.  There are dress changing rooms near the bathing ghat and so no problem for the ladies. There is a Vinayagar under a big tree and you can start the worship with the Cauvery water abhisheham by yourself.

Without any hurry, enjoying each and every moment, we started our parihara pooja and worship. The parihara hall is within the temple premises and it took about an hour and a half for the parihara pooja. We spent the whole morning there and left the place only by 1 PM after lunch.

It is believed to be very prosperous if you can put the vanni leaves of the Brahma tree, some coins and one lemon in a bundle of new cloth and keep in your safe vault. Some times back, the vanni leaves were being sold by the temple authorities but later it was stopped. If you are lucky you can get some leaves automatically falling from the tree when you circumambulate the tree – watch for it.

Parihara Sthalam:

This is a highly popular parihara sthalam from ancient times itself. Pariharam for marriages and child birth are the most conducted ones apart from many others. A nominal amount is being collected by the Devasthanam for various parihara poojas and homams but a bigger amount by the archagars / bhattars. Either you can bring all the materials for the pooja or you can ask them to arrange the same and the rate differs for both. Very importantly, all the parihara poojas are done inside the temple. There are touts waiting outside and don’t fall prey to them. If a specific pooja takes about an hour inside the temple, the outside people will complete it in half an hour. If you donate Rs 500/= to 1000/= to the temple, they give some special privileges like exclusive stage for the pooja / homam.

Parihara Poojas / Homams Details:

Note: The cost given are only indicative and is inclusive of all pooja / homa materials. For exact details, please call up the archagars/ bhattars (phone nos given below).

Marriage obstacles, Swayamvara / Parvathi homam – Each costs about Rs 1200/=

Navagraha dhoshams for each graham:

Rahu Kethu Preethi: Pooja is being done with a stone Punar nahar (two nahars intertwined) or flour nahar. For homam it costs about 1500/= and you can go for either Stone Nahar for Rs 750/= or flour nahar for Rs 150/=

Sevvai Pariharam: The person has to tie the mangal suthra to a plantain tree and after the symbolic marriage, it has to be cut and thrown away. This requires, saree, dhothi, a mangal suthra and the homa items and costs about Rs 1500 /= and you have to leave the dress you were wearing during the homam there itself.

Mrithyanja homam (to get rid of death fear): This costs either 1500/= or 5000/= depending upon the type of pooja.

Prithyangara homam (to get rid of the evil effects from enemies) is a little costlier and it is being done according to the affordability of the person

Dhanvanthri homam (for illness): Minimum Rs 1700/= and depends on the affordability of the person

Gubera Lakshmi Pooja: Costs about Rs 2000/= you have to bring 50 numbers of 1 rupee coins and take them back after the pooja

Durga Soolani homam (to get rid of curse by ladies): Costs about Rs 1500/= Pooja is being done for Nava durga and Sabtha Kannigas

Ayushya Homam costs about Rs 1700/=

Apart from these, Navagraha homams, Ganapathy homam, Pithru Saba homam, Brahma Harthi dosha nivarana homam, Sudharsana homam etc., are being done.

Gurukkals (Shaiva type) :

Mahalinga Gurukkal – 94438 40007
Santhoshi Sivam – 94439 13053

Bhattars (Vaishnava type) :

Sridhar Bhattar: 94881 43403 / 90809 42529

It is said the people suffering from mental illness, after doing the pariharam here, should go to Gunaseelam in the Trichy – Musiri route immediately and continue the pariharam the next day morning by taking a dip before sun rise at the Cauvery there for best cure.

Effect of the pariharam – Our experience:

Lot of my relatives / friends have done the parihara poojas here. As I can see, in 3 cases of marriage pariharams, it was immediate success while in 3 others I am yet to see a result even after 6 months. In another pariharam for husband-wife relation, we witness a miracle after the pariharam here. We are seeing the couple in dual role as ‘before Pariharm’ and ‘after pariharam’ like a dual role movie – such an unbelievable change, touch wood!

While walking down from railway station to this temple, we can see another ancient temple called Malaiyamman temple. This is where Mahakavi Kalidoss attained knowledge from Goddess Malaiyamman. There is a shrine of Pechiamman also in the same temple for curing ENT diseases. Mahakavi Kalidoss is also said to have performed pariharam here to wash out the curses of his previous birth and recover the knowledge gained by him earlier (I am not sure about this since unfortunately I didn’t know about this when I visited).

Kodumudi is the birth place of Mrs.K.B.Sundarambal, the great yesteryear playback singer and actress. KBS Theatre in the town, which was opened in 1972 in the presence of  the then CM M.Karunanidhi, MGR and J.Jayalalitha, stands as a mute testimony for her remembrance.

Oonjalur is 6 kms from Kodumudi in the train route en route Erode and it is the Sookshmayoga Samadhi of Sri Seshadri Swamigal of Thiruvannamalai. Annual utsavam here is highly popular.