26th September 2016.
I made up my mind to attend the
Ponniyin Selvan’s second-year meet ( for the 1st year's
details... Please click here) at Tanjore Periya Kovil (Big Temple)
immediately on seeing the Ponniyin Selvan’s Post on FB. I thought it would
add some flavor to this trip by visiting some temples constructed by
Chozha Kings, especially Rajaraja-I and Rajendra Chozha. Mr. Raja, Mrs. Sakthi Prakash, and Ms. Gowthami (Aathirai Chinnaswamy) also
joined me for this visit. We selected Kumbakonam as a hub to
visit the temples.
Arrived on Saturday and hired a
taxi. We can cover Pazhayarai East (Keezha Pazhayarai) and North
Temple (Vada Thali - Muzhaiyur), Patteeswaram, ThiruSakthiMutram,
Thiruvalanchuzhi, Panchavan Madevi Pallipadai, Darasuram, and Swamy Malai
Murugan (One of the six abodes of Sri Subramaniar). Panchavan Madevi
Pallipadai and Pazhayarai Vada Thali have not been visited before, and other
temples were visited earlier, as part of Padal Petra Sthalangal Darshan.
The temples selected are in a sequence such that they start from the Lodge and
come back to the lodge without detouring. This would save time and cover a larger number of Temples.
KEEZHA PAZHAYARAI / Pazhayarai Keelthali
In Pazhayarai, there are 4 temples
in all four directions. During my Yathra to Paadal Petra Sthalangal, I visited this temple twice. In the earlier visits, the temple was under
renovation. For the details of my earlier visit. (Click
here). The mottai gopuram stands with a stone structure at
the base and brickworks after that. We had the opportunity to climb up to the top.
Pazhayarai was once the capital of the Chozha empire. There is a series of temples built by Adithya Chozha to celebrate
the victory of the battle at Thirupurambiyam (871 – 907 CE) on the banks of the river Kaveri. The Ponniyin Selvan’s heroes, Rajaraja Chozha and
Kundavai, grew up here. Rajendra Chozha was brought up here by Kundavai.
The famous Chozha king Vijayalaya lived in Pazhayarai. The capital was moved to
Thanjavur during the Sundara Chozhan Period, and Pazhayarai lost its importance.
..........
to be continued ( Pazhayarai Vada thali).
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OM SHIVAYA NAMA:---
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