Thirupparankundram Murugan temple

Thirupparankundram, which is one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga, stands 10km south from Madurai . It serves as the best among the Arupadai Veedu of Lord Muruga, attracting rolling crowds all the year. Thirupparankundram, the place where Lord Muruga was married with Devayanai, is considered as a sacred place for marriages.

This rock cut temple has separate shrines for Lord Ganapathy, Shiva, Durgai, Vishnu and other deities. The entrance of the temple is built with 48 Nayaka period pillars with artistic carvings engraved on them. The speciality of Thirupparankundram temple is that the innermost shrine is carved from a single rock.

Another interesting fact about the Thirupparankundram temple is the presence of subsidiary cave shrines excavated in the rock, with idols arranged so orderly like a military session. These small cave shrines can be approached through narrow dark passages. It is quite difficult to find similar group of cave shrines elsewhere. 

The antiquity of Thiruparankundram Temple can very well be gauged from the fact that it finds mention even in the Sangam Literature. The Sangam poet Nakkiran has referred to this temple in his songs. Actually the oldest shrine of the Thiruparankundram Temple is the cave temple that is positioned at a height of 1050 feet. The current structure of the Thiruparankundram Temple was constructed in the 8th century A.D. during the reign of the Pandya kings. The saint poets Sundarar and Sambandar and Arunagirinathar have also bestowed a lot of praise on this temple.

What is sure to catch your attention immediately after entering the Thiruparankundram Temple are the 48 pillars with elegant carvings. You are sure to be impressed by the sculptural dexterity revealed in the seven tier gopuram. Each of the five cells within the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is dedicated to a particular deity. Some of the gods and goddesses who are worshipped in the shrines of the Thiruparankundram Temple are Murga, Durga, Vinayaka, Vishnu and Shiva Lingam. The images of Brahma, Indra, Surya, Chandra, Sri Devi and Bhoodevi carved on the walls adorn the interiors of the Thiruparankundram Temple.

Other noteworthy features of the Thiruparankundram Temple are the Brahmi inscriptions. The exquisite sculptures of Sivathandavam in a dancing posture, his celestial attendant beating a drum and his wife reclining on a bull to witness it are all very impressive. Do not miss out on the other group of sculptures where Nandi is standing along with other sages. 

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Kamakshi Amman Temple

The Kamakshi Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Kamakshi, one of the forms of the goddess Parvati. It is located in the historic city of Kanchipuram, near Chennai, India and is popularly associated with Sankaracharya, one of the greatest Hindu gurus. The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, the Akilandeswari temple in Thiruvanaikaval near Tiruchirappalli and this Kamakshi are the important centers of worship of Parvati as the mother goddess, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The temple was most probably built by the Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram, around 6 C.E.

The main deity, Kamakshi, is seated in a majestic Padmasana, an yogic posture signifying peace and prosperity, instead of the traditional standing pose. The goddess holds a sugarcane bow and bunch of flowers in the lower two of her arms and has a pasha (lasso), an ankusha (goad) in her upper two arms. There is also a parrot perched near the flower bunch. There are no other Parvati temples in the city of Kanchipuram, apart from this temple, which is unusual in a traditional city that has hundreds of traditional temples. There are various legends that account for this fact. One of them according to Kamakshivilasa is that the Goddess had to absorb all the other shakthi forms to give a boon to Kama, the Hindu god of love. Another legend attributes it to the Raja Rajeswari pose of the deity that signifies an absolute control over the land under the deity's control.Legend has it that Kamakshi offered worship to a Shivalingam made out of sand, under a mango tree and gained Shiva's hand in marriage.

The Old Kamakshi Devi Temple

The original Kamakshi Devi Temple is what is presently known as Adi Peeteswari or the Adi Peeta Parameswari. This temple is just adjacent to the Kumarakottam, and is near to the presently famous Kamakshi Devi temple.

Adi Shankaracharya, the famous 8th-century CE scholar and saint, established the Sri Chakra at this original Kamakshi Devi temple in the trough-like structure in that shrine, This Sri Chakra soon became the All India famous Kamakoti Peeta. The Acharya's Lalitha Trishati Bhashya comments Kamakoti Peetam as Sri Chakra.

The Acarya changed the fierce form of worship into a sowmya form. The Devi in this original Kamakshi temple is called by various names like Kirtimati, Devagarbha in extant Tantric works like Tantrachudamani. She has four hands containing in each of them respectively, Ankusa, PAsa, Abhaya and a Kapala. This description corresponds to those extant old tantric works. Further, Girvanendra Saraswathi describes precisely this swaroopa as Kameswari.

Sundaramurthi Nayanar, the Saiva saint of the 12th century is aware of the Kamakottam. He in fact mentions that the Kamakottam has come in existence just at that time

Festivals

Four worship services are offered each day. The annual festival falls in Spring, in the Tamil month of Masi, which runs from mid-March to mid-April. During this time the chariot festival (Ther) and lake festival, (Theppam) are held. Other festivals include Navaratri, Aadi and Aippasi Pooram, Sankara Jayanthi and Vasanta Utsavam in the Tamil month of Vaikasi. All Fridays are considered sacred, though the Fridays in the Tamil months of Adi (mid-July to mid-August) and Thai (mid-January to mid-February) are celebrated.

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