Friday 8 November 2013

The third Ranga

The third Ranga is in Srirangam and it is called Antya Ranga. The road diastance from Srirangapatna via Shivanasamudra to Srirangam is about 360 kilometers and the travelling time is around seven hours.
If you leave Srirangapatna around 7-30 a.m., you will be able to pray at Shivanasamudra and touch Srirangam by 5-30 p.m.
Some of the routes to take are Srirangapatna-Shivanasamudra- Kollegal - Chamrajnagar - Hanur - Dimbam - Banneri - Sathymangalam - Athani - Anthiyur - Bhavani - Tiruchengode - Nammakal and Trichy.
Other routes are Shivanasamudra-Kollegal-Hanur-MM Hills-Kolathur-Mettur-Mecheri-Omalur-Salem-Namakkal-Srirangam. The distance on this route would be 323 Kms.
Another route is Shivanasamudra-Kollegal-Hanur-Muthuchettiyur-Bargur-Bhavani-Namakkal-Srirangam and this is 292 Kms long.
If you are not comfortable with the Sathy-Bhavani road, go from Sathy to Annur and join NH 47 at Avinashi and travel via Erode to Tiruchengode and Namkkal. Do not take the Namakkal-Musiri route but opt for Thuraiyur instead.
Besides, the Hanur-Kolathur-Mettur route is a jungle road with forest check posts. This was once the haunt of the dreaed forest brigand Veerappan.
Once in Srirangam, halt either there or at Trichy. There are scores of temples in both the places. Some of the other places are as follows:

Gunaseelam

This is a famous temple town with Lord Venkateshwara believed to have powers to cure mentally ill and physically challenged people.
This is a famous Vaishnavite centre and it is situated on the Trichy-Salem Road. It is 18 kms from Trichy.
 
Thiruvellarai

This is another Vaishnava centre and one among the 108 Divya desams of Vaishnavites. It is situated on the Trichy- Thuraiyur road. It is 15 kms from Trichy.
The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and he is called Pundarikasha Perumal.

Uthmar koil

Here, we can find the Holy Trinity of Vishnu, Brahma and Maheshwara. Devotees believe that any of their wish will be fulfilled if they pray sincerely to the pious trinity. 
The temple is north of Trichy Fort Railway station and it is located on the Salem- Trichy road. This is also one of the 108 Vaishnavite sthalams.

Samayapuram

This is a Shaivite centre and it is 16 kms from Trichy. It is an important Sakthi centre and it is located on the Trichy-Chennai highway.
The main temple is dedicated to Mariamman. This temple is about 10 kms from Trichy.

Makalikudi

This is just a kilometre south east of  Samayapuram. The temple here is called Ujjaini Kali Amma Temple.
According to legend, Emperor Vikramadhitya of Ujjaini, took bath here and worshipped the Kali idol. The Kali is a small brass deity  with eight hands.
The Shakthi Theertha here is said to have curative powers.

Kodumbalur

This is also called as Moovar Kovil and it is located 42 kms from Trichy. It is on the Trichy-Madurai National Highway.
There are two temples here built during the Irukkuvelar dynasty when they ruled these areas. The temples were constructed by Boodhi Vikramakesari in the 10th century A.D. The sculptures of Kalarimurthi, Gajasamharamurthi, Ardhanariswara and Gangadaramurthi are masterpieces of art.
Another temple nearby is that of  Muchukumdeswarar but tsi is dated to the period of the Early Cholas.

Puliancholai

This is a beautiful picnic spot. It is located 70 kms from Trichy and it is located at the foothills of Kolli Hill ranges. The Agaya Gangai falls on top of the Koli Hills is believed to have medicinal value. The trek to reach Agaya Gangai Falls (Hill top) takes close to five hours. The falls are located on age-old rock structures, dolmens and the Pithukkuli caves.

Tiruvanikaval

This is a Shaivite temple and it is located 6 kms from Trichy. Shiva here is named as Jambukeshwara and the Goddess as Akilandeswari. This is among the jyotirlinga stalams (temples) of India.
Shiva here is in the form of water called Appulingam (water). The linga is partly submerged in water which keeps on coming up from a spring.

Viralimalai

This is a small town located at about 30 km from Trichy. It is famous for the Murugan temple and a Peacock park.
The wild peacocks roam around the Murugan temple. The Peacock is said to be the Vahana or vehicle of Murugan.

Sittannavasal

This is a small village 30 kms from Trichy.
There are remains of  Jain cave temples dating back to 2nd century B.C. The fresco paintings here remind us of the paintings of  Ajanta near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Many of the paintings belong to 9th century Pandyan period.
There are also inscriptions dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries. Fresco painting from the 7th century can be seen on the ceiling of the Dhamandapam. There are many pre-historic burial sites around Sittannavasal and several relics such as burial urns, cists have been unearthed from here and at Kurangupatarai.

Thirukokarnam

This has a Government Museum located at Pudukkottai. This is 40 kms from Trichy. The museum has rare collections and artifacts on covering geology, zoology, art and painting, anthropology, epigraphy and historical records.
The museum is open on all days except Mondays.

Kudumiyanmalai

This is 25 kms from Trichy. This has a temple dedicated to Shiva. The deity here is called Kuduminatha or Shikhagirinatha as alock of hair or Kudumi was noticed on the idol.
The sanctum was built by the Cholas in 9th century.

Tirumayam

This is 79 kms from Trichy.
It is located near Pudukkottai. There are rock cut cave temples and an old fort. The cave temples are dedicated to Siva and he is called  Sathyagireeswarar: and Vishnu (Sathyamoorthy) and they were built by Mahendra Verma  and Narasimha Varma, both Pallava Emperors.
On top of the hills is an old fort Oomaiyan Kottai.
It was in this fort that the British imprisoned rebels captured by them. The fort was built in 1687 by King Sethupathi of  Ramanathapuram. The Siva temple has some inscriptions related to  music. There are two shrines in the Vishnu temple. The first is where Vishnu is seen reclining. This is the largest reclining statue of its kind in the country. On the walls behind the idol are beautiful carvings depicting Vishnu and the serpent Adisesha chasing away rakshasas by spewing fire and poison

Panchamalai

This is a beautiful hill range  80 km away from Trichy. The best route is through Thuraiyur. It is a picnic spot to enjoy nature. Pachai in Tamil means green and the area is covered in green. The tribals here have their own unique culture.
The altitude of the hills is from 500 metres to 1000 meters. This hills have a number of scenic spots like Thenparanadu, kombainadu , Athi Nadu and Vannadu. This is good for trekking, Nature walk and observing wildlife.
Vayaloor

This is just 12 kms from Trichy. It has a Subramaniya Temple. It is called Arulmigu Subramaniyaswamy Temple and it is located at Kumara Vayaloor near Kuzhumani.
It is well connected by road from Trichy.

Srinivasanallur

This is famous for the Koranganatha Temple, which is situated on the banks of Cauvery. It is 50 kms from Trichy. It is located on the Tiruchy - Salem highway. This is not a living temple and it has some of the finest Chola sculptures.

Tirupattur

This is the location of the famed  Brahmapureeswara temple and it is 30 kms from Trichy.
It is located on the Trichy-Chennai route at Siruganur village. The main deity here is Swayambu Linga and it is worshipped as Brahmapureeswara.
Devotees believe that it is only at this place that one’s fate can be changed. There is a Samadhi of Sage Patanjali opposite the idol of Brahma.

Poovalur

The temple here is of Shiva. It is here that Rathi Devi got back Manmatha, the God of Love, by praying to Shiva.
Shiva had burnt Manmatha to ashes after he tried to divert his attention by aiming arrows of love at him. A grief struck Rathi Devi prays to Shiva to restore her husband back to life. Shiva here is also called as Jnanapureswara as the Sapta Rishis worshipped him here for obtaining knowledge.
The temple is called Thirumoola nadha Shiva temple. It is located 20 kms from Trichy and 3 kms north of Lalgudi. It is located on the Trichy-Ariyalur road.

Lalgudi

In earlier days, Lalgudi was called Thiruthavathuri. It is 20 kms from Trichy and it is on the banks of Coleroon.
Lalgudi is well known for the temple of  Saptharisheeswara or the seven saints or rishis- Atri, Brigu, Pulsitha, Vasishta, Gautha, Angeerasa and Marichi. These rishis prayed to Saptharisheeswara here to rid them of the curse of Lord Murugan.

Thirupalaithurai

This temple town is just 12 kms from Trichy. It is also called as Panayapuram.
This is famous as one of the 275 sacred Shiva temples.The temple is called  Thirumoolanadhar Thevar.
The linga is a self manifested one. The Sun God and Sage Markandya worshipped Shiva here.

Pettaivaithalai

This is located 23 kms from Trichy and it is on the road to Karur.
There is a Shiva temple here and the deity is called Madhyarjuneswara. This is an ancient temple and a large number of women come here to get rid of  their problems.
Apart from these places, there are plenty of temples in and around Lalgudi such as the Asta Bhuja Durga, Alandurai and Nambi temples at Anbil; the Samavedeeswara temple at Thirumangalam
(2 kms from Anbil);  the Ambravaneswara Temple at Thirumandhurai (5 kms from Anbil); the Adi Lakshmi Temple at Natham (12 kms from Anbil).
We have alist of more than two hundred temples and a hundred towns and villages in and around Trichy-Srirangam area. But to detail all that information here would be impossible. I hope the information provided here is sufficient. By the way, in case you stay for more days, head for Thanjavur and Kumbakonam from Trichy. Thajnavur is famous for the Big temple and Kumbakonam has hundreds of temples. The most important temples here are the Sarangapani and Chakrapani temples and the Kumbeshwara. Of course, there is the Vijendra Theertha Matah where Raghavendra Swamy lived for several years and preached. The Brindavana of Vijendra Thertha, the Parama Guru of Raghavendra Swamy, is here.
You can also take a trip to the Navagraha temples in and around Kumbakonam.       

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