Srivaikuntham - Kallapiran Thirukoil

This is an ancient Divya Desam Vishnu temple on the Thamirabarani River. There are nine important Vishnu temples along the Thamirabarani which are called the Nava Thirupathi Temples, each associated with a Navagraham. Some of the best granite sculptures of the 16th century Nayakkan era are found here at Srivaikuntham. The life size sculptures are exquisitely carved in granite which is a difficult medium to carve as it fragments easily.

The Lord here is known as Kallapiran because he once aided a bunch of robbers who stole from the rich and aided the poor. A Robin Hood kind of story. 

Solidly built granite temple, it is indeed worth visiting both for the blessings and to admire the art. 

The Thiruvengadamudayan hall to the right as you enter through the main entrance way is very beautiful.

Look for the simple elegant columns or pillars of the Pandian era and the more elaborately carved ones from the Nayakkan era. 

AlwarThirunagari is another one of the beautiful Nava Thirupathi temples very close to here which unfortunately we could not visit due to the lack of time.

Srivaikuntam

Thoothukudi / Tuticorin

Our next stop was Thoothukudi or Tuticorin, the port city. It was an easy 3.5 hour drive along the coast from Rameswaram. Decent road. Miles upon miles of salterns along the way. Never realized that the production of salt was such a big industry here.

We stayed at the Regency Tuticorin Hotel belonging to the GRT chain. We have stayed at GRT hotels before and we knew what to expect. Although rated only 3 stars, it is a clean, comfortable hotel with a decent restaurant. Thoothukudi being a busy port city I would have expected some classy business digs but this was the best in town and it served our purpose well. 

It was a good hub to visit Srivaikuntham, Thiruchendur, the historic sites of Panchalankurichchi, Adichanallur and others.

Thirupullani - Athi Jagannatha Perumal Koil

This is an ancient Vishnu temple about 15 minutes (11 Km) from Uthirakosamangai. You can do both together. It is a Divya Desam temple venerated in the Naalayira Prapantham and closely associated with the Ramayanam. Sri Raman spent 3 nights here contemplating the invasion of Lanka resting his head on a pillow of the Dharbai grass. Hence the name of this place. The legends again speak of a coastal temple but it now lies at least 5 km from the shore, suggesting that the sea indeed receded around here. 

Again it is the end result of a thousand years of temple building with a Pandian core. The Cholas, Vijayanagar, Nayakkar and the Sethupathis contributed in their own way. There is some evidence that the Jaffna kings of northern Sri Lanka also contributed to this in the 12th century. Beautiful temple.

Visited August 2019. Base Rameswaram.

Thiru Uthirakosamangai

Here is another amazing temple for those who have stuck with us thus far in this series of posts - you are in for a treat.

72 km or a 90 minute drive west of Rameswaram, over the Pamban bridge, on the mainland of the ancient Sethu country lies this very large and very old temple. Set in a serene rural area, this is indeed a hidden treasure. Some claim that this is the oldest Sivan temple in the south. The site obviously is very old. Surprisingly it is not a Paadal Petra Sthalam. Perhaps the Pathikam was lost. 

Numerous legends abound. The name comes from the legend that Siva disclosed the secret of the universe to Uma at this site. Mandothari worshipped Sivan at this place and married Ravanan here. The 64th Thiruvilayadal - the Valai Veesiya Padalam - when Siva in a fit of anger cursed Parvathi to be born as a fisherman's daughter and Nanthi as a shark, is believed to have happened here. He later appeared as a fisherman, caught the shark and married the fisherman's pretty daughter. Siva gave a private audience of the cosmic dance to Parvathi here before he danced in the Thillai forest. There are many many other stories, too numerous to write here.

The current structure again is an amalgamation of many styles by different builders over time. The Pandian kings built the core and others added on to it. Can see the stamp of the Sethupathi kings too. Lots of fish symbols of the Pandians. The legends mention a coastal temple. The sea seems to have receded several kilometres here. The six foot ancient emerald statue of Nataraja here is very special and is covered in sandalwood paste for most of the year to protect it. At 20 acres it is larger than most other temples.

Come here to be blessed if you are a Saivite. If you are not, still come here to experience the history and the beauty of an ancient temple in a peaceful setting. Please note the difference in style of the inner gopurams (likely Pandian) and the outer gopurams. Different eras. The narrow tall rajagopuram is for the Siva shrine and the squat shorter one is for the Amman shrine.

Visited August 2019. Base Rameswaram

Thiru Uthirakosamangai

Ramanathaswamy Temple - Rameswaram

This is a well known temple but I have included it here as it is one of the most important temples in the region.

This vast temple is well known and one of the most important Shivasthalams in all of India. It is one of the 12 Jyothirlinga Sthalams and one of the four Char Dhams. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam and has been praised in song by all three of the Moovar - Sampanthar, Naavukkarasar and Suntharar. It is revered both by Saivites and Vaishnavites and is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in India.

The origins are shrouded in the mists of time. When Lord Rama returned after retrieving Sita, he wanted to thank Lord Siva for his blessings and to seek forgiveness for killing Ravana, the great Siva bhakthan. Hanuman went to Kailash to bring a lingam for Rama to worship but was delayed. Sita became impatient and fashioned a lingam out of sand on the Rameswaram sea shore and it solidified. When Hanuman returned with his lingam he threw a tantrum. Both lingams are in the sanctum - Ramalingam ( Sita's creation) and Hanuman's Visvalingam. It is traditional to worship Hanuman's lingam first by Lord Rama's decree. It is believed that Hanuman's tail made a mark on the main lingam when he was angry and it is still there. 

Many dynasties have contributed to building this temple. Originally built in the 10th century by Pandian kings, it has contributions from Chola, Sri Lankan (the great king Parakramabahu), Jaffna Kings (Singai Ariyan), Vijayanagar and Nayakkan. But the greatest contributions have been by the Sethupathy kings of Ramanathapuram in the early 18th century. What we see today is the culmination of a thousand years of temple building. It is large ( 15 acres in area) and boasts the longest temple corridor and many gopurams.

The only problem with the famous temples is that thousands of people converge here from all over India and the world on a daily basis. The sites lack the infrastructure to handle these crowds which leads to congestion and a somewhat messy environment. Add to it the tight but necessary security, it is difficult to fully appreciate this temple. No cell phones were allowed inside the premises and I do not have enough pictures to show you. If you go - go in the late afternoon when it is less crowded.