….
A continuation post ( Sri Theerthagreeswarar Temple Kurichi )
19th February
2017
This
is the last stop of our Belur, Salem heritage walk. This Perumal temple is on
the banks of Vashistanadi. This temple is dedicated to Perumal and his sister
Parasakthi in the name of Maragatha Valli.
Moolavar sanctum and left side yellow color sannidhi is Thayar sannidhi.
Moolavar
: Sri Ashtabuja Bala Madhana Venugopala Swamy.
Ashtabhuja Venugopalaswamy
Thayar
: Sri Poongothai
Some
of the important features of this temple are….
The
temple faces east with a three-tier Rajagopuram. Anjaneyar and Garuda Thoon
are in front of the Rajagopuram but not on the same line. I
Moolavar is in the form of a relief panel with eight hands holding various weapons and
articles including a sugar cane (signifies to remove the bad desires of
sex). The upper two hands holding the Conch and disc belong to Sri Vishnu.
The two hands below belong to Krishna's avatar. The
bottom 4 hands belong to Balaraman an incarnation of Sri Maha Vishnu. The cheeks on both sides have different characters. The left cheek is
smooth belonging to the feminine character and the right cheek is a little rough
belonging to the masculine. The dress on the left is chiseled like a Pancha
kacha saree and on the right leg is like a male. On the top of the
head, the 7-hooded Adiseshan.
In
the artha mandapam moorthams of Alwars. In
the outer prakaram sannadhi for Chakrathalwar & Yoga Narasimhar,
Thumbikkai Alwar ( Vinayagar ), Poongothai Thayar, Maragatha Valli
Ambal, and Andal.
ARCHITECTURE
The temple consists of sanctum sanctorum, artha mandapam, and front mandapam. Balipeedam, Dwajasthambam, Garudalwar are in the front mandapam. Chakkarathalawar Sannidhi is in Dravida style of construction from the base.
Chakkarathalwar Sannadhi
HISTORY AND INSCRIPTIONS
It
was believed that Vashistar installed this moortham. The mandapam was
built during the Nayak Period and their emblem of the sanctum Sanctorum with sun and moon are in
the form of reliefs. ( the dog in the moon signifies what? ). A Kannada / Telugu inscription is on the entrance steps of the artha mandapam.
Vijayanagara Nayaka's emblem of Prastaram nasi kudu
LEGENDS
Maragatha Valli Ambal is in a separate temple like sannidhi. Ambal looks old age. As per the legend, Ambal took different incarnations like Kamakshi, Visalakshi, Ulagammai, Parvati, and Thatchiyaayani. The story starts in Madurai. A devotee ( Kanchanamalai in the next birth ) treated Meenakshi as a child and used to sing Thalattu to make her sleep. Ambal was pleased by her devotion and promised her that she would take rebirth as Meenakshi to her. The devotee was blessed to take rebirth as Kanchanamalai and married to Pandya king. Perumal as a brother conducted the marriage of Sri Meenakshi with Lord Shiva. So Ambal Maragathavalli took the form of an old mother and blessed the devotees in this temple.
Since Garudalwar belongs to the Rama avatar period, the wings are in chopped condition ( who fought with Ravana while Seetha was taken to Lanka ). Dwarapalakas are at the entrance of the artha mandapam and look beautiful.
TEMPLE
TIMINGS:
The
temple will be kept open between 06.00 Hrs to 11.00 Hrs and 16.00 Hrs to 20.00
Hrs.
HOW
TO REACH:
The
temple is about 30 KM from Salem and 6 Km from Valapady.
Town
buses and share autos are available from Valapady.
The
temple is on the other side of the Vashistanadi a walkable distance from the
bus stop.
LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK
HERE
Moolavar
sanctum and right side painted with yellow color is Ambal sannidhi.
The
north side Vimanam stucco images look in North Indian Style - Puri Jaganath
See
the mouth of the female relief
Front
mandapam, Dwajasthambam, balipeedam and
Garudalwar
…
to be continued (Inscription Pillars of Mookaruppu battle, Chekkampatti, Kurichi &
Belur)
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---
அருமையான தொகுப்பு!
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