Saturday 23 June 2018

Parshvanath Tirthankara at Talakad, the remains of Jainism at Talakad, Karnataka.

17th June 2018.
There was a heavy rush to Talakad on Sunday, 17th June 2018, due to Ramzan Holidays. Muslims gathered in large number to take bath in Kavery river. So vehicles are poured in this small hamlet. At the entrance of the Village from the main road, we were diverted to cross channel to reach the Village. On the banks of the channel we could find this Parshvanath tirthankara under the clutches of a peepal tree roots. ( may not be possible to take it out now). Jain temple might have been destroyed, since this place was once ruled by the Vishnuvardhan, a Hoysala King, who followed Jainism.


This tirthankara may belongs to 12th century Hoysala King Vishnuvardhan period before he converted to Vaishnavam from Jainism. As per the history the King Bitti Deva converted as Vishnuvardhan under the influence of Vaishnavite saint Ramanujar.

கடந்த ஞாயிறு 17ந்தேதி ஜூன் 2018, அன்று நாங்கள் தமிழக கருநாடக மாநிலங்களின் எல்லையில் உள்ள தழைக்காடு சென்று இருந்தபோது இந்த பார்சுவநாதர் சிற்பத்தைக்காண நேர்ந்தது. முகமதியரின் பண்டிகையான ரம்ஜான் விடுமுறையைத் தொடர்ந்து வந்ததால் அந்த ஞாயிறு வழக்கத்தை விட கூட்டம் கொஞ்சம் அதிகமாகவே இருந்தது. ஊருக்குள் செல்ல பாதை மாற்றி விடப்பட்டு ஒருகால்வாயைக் கடந்து செல்ல நேர்ந்தது. அப்படி செல்கையில் இந்த பார்சுவநாத தீர்த்தங்கரர் சிற்பம் ஒரு மரத்தின் அடியில் இருப்பதைக் கண்டோம். அருகிலேயே இரு வீரக்கற்களுடன். சிற்பத்தின் கால் பகுதி மரத்தின் வேர்களால் விழுங்கப்பட்டு காணப்பட்டது. சிற்பத்தில் பார்சுவநாதருக்கு மேலே உள்ள பாம்பு மட்டும் சிறிது சேதம் அடைந்து காணப்பட்டது. இது பண்ணிரண்டாம் நூற்றாண்டு போசால அரசன் விஷ்னுவர்த்தன் காலத்தைச் சார்ந்ததாக இருக்கலாம் என்று அனுமானிக்கப்படுகின்றது.. இங்கு ஒரு சமண ஜீனாலயம் இருந்து பின்பு காலவெள்ளத்தால் அழிக்கப்பட்டு இருக்கலாம். ஆனாலும் இந்த பார்சுவநாதர் சிற்பம் மட்டும் சமணத்தின் எச்சமாக இன்றும் நின்றுகொண்டு இருக்கின்றது. 

பிட்டி தேவனாக இருந்த சமண மதத்தைச் சார்ந்த போசால அரசனை வைஷ்ணவ ஆச்சாரியரான ராமானுஜர் சமணத்தில் இருந்து வைஷ்னவத்திற்க்கு விஷ்ணுவர்த்தனாக மாற்றம் அடைய வைத்தார் என்பது வரலாறு.

LOCATION: 12.180275  77.030254


---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---

Friday 22 June 2018

Hero Stone / Veeragallu / NadukaRkal / நடுகற்கள், at Kaliyur erected to celebrate the Victory of Chozhas over Gangas. at Haradanahalli, Karnataka, a Talakad Heritage Walk.

17th June 2018.
This is the continuation post on Hero stones during Talakad heritage visit. When we inquired about hero stone erected for the Chozha Victory over the Gangar's, the villagers directed us to many places and one of the Villagers came to our rescue and showed us a group of hero stones  erected behind the temple. Since the hero stones showed  was not the one, what we wanted to see. Again we talked to the Villagers and finally showed us this 11th century ( 1006 CE ) Chozha hero stone kept on the back side of a temple ( Thanks to Sasi team  for identifying the same ).  In the hero stone 2/3rd  of the stone slab has the kannada  inscriptions and 1/3rd has the  war scene  between Rajaraja Chozha headed by his Caption Kottamangala Thella Kulathilaka Aprameyan and the Gangars. The Inscription starts with Rajaraja-I's, title and also mentions the names of 18 Gangar's captains killed in the battle. The battle scene is finely carved on this slab, for which no description is required. 

The capture of the messenger by the Gangars was the main reason behind this battle. Rajaraja traveled from Chozha Nadu with Elephant and horse forces to teach a lesson to Gangas. The Gangas in fear of loosing the Capital Talakad, crossed the Cauvery river and faced the war at kaliyur on the south banks of the river. 18 captains of Gangars, Hoysalas and Nulambas were killed in the fierce battle held on 22-03-1006 with a heavy loss of solders, horses and elephant. Finally Chozhas won the battle and captured Talakad and renamed as Rajarapuram.

The place, where the battle took place was once called as Kavalur ( since the place was guarding Talakadu) and latter turned to Kalaiyur during Chozha period and now Kaliyur. The historians like Sri Appadurai and Sri Sadasiva Pandarathar mentions as Kaliyur.  


  
TALAKAD
In addition to Sri Parshvanath tirthankara ( wil be written in a separate post ), we had seen two more hero stones. Both are 3 tiers and more than 75% of the first tier was found below the ground level. The sword of the hero is very much similar to the one  shown in Haradanahalli hero stone.







KALIYURU - MUDI GUNDAM
It was around 17 hrs, when we completed the Kaliyuru visit and started our return journey to Erode, skipping the program of visiting a Chozha period temple at Mudigundam before Kollegal. Happened to see hero stones by the side of the road. Out of two reliefs one was mahishamardini relief and other one was a hero stone. This 3 tier hero stone is for a bullock cart hero who lost life. In the first tier the hero was driving a bullock cart and in the second tier the Hero was taken to heaven by the angels. In the top row hero was shown worshipping Lord Shiva. Had our lunch at 17.30 hrs at Kollegal and continued our return journey to Erode.

 mahishamardini relief 
bullock cart hero Stone.
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Hero Stones / Nadukarkal / Nadukal / Veeragallu / நடுகற்கள் at Amachavadi, near Chamarajanagar, Karnataka - A Talakad Heritage Walk.

17th June 218.
After Chikkahole Hero and sati stones visit we headed towards Amachavadi. Mr John Peter had brought a news paper cutting in which a group of hero stones, which are appeared in the the recent days news paper, identified by a researcher. Before that, We had seen a Hero stone erected for 7 persons at the entrance of the Village. The Villagers guided us to a group of 12 hero stones erected under a tree. But we could not identify the location of the group of Hero stones, which appeared in the news paper till we left the Village. One the way had seen 4 hero stones erected inside a Vinayagar Temple, a hero stone in an Amman Temple and a hero stone by the side of the road. The details are….

THREE TIER HERO STONE.
This hero stone was erected for a group of 7 persons. In the bottom tier the heros are on the horses and fighting with other groups. In addition to the battle field, two women are shown on the left side. It was told that fight was for the women, may be to save them. In the middle tier the 7 heroes are taken to the heaven by two angels. In the top tier the seven heroes are shown in sitting posture and worshiping lord Shiva. Out of 7 heroes 3 heroes are sitting in yoga posture with yoga patti. Since the stone was eroded, the first two looks like women.




HERO STONES AT VINAYAGAR TEMPLE
There are 5 hero stones erected in a row. The first one is a 3 tier hero stone erected for a group of 4 heros. In the first tier a battle field is shown in which the heros are fighting. In the second tier the 4 heros are taken to the heaven by the angels. In the top tier the 4 heros are worshiping Lord Shiva in sitting posture.


The second hero stone is also of 3 tiers in which the hero is fighting with the opponent  and in the second tier the the hero was taken to the heaven. In the top tier, the hero is worshiping Lord Krishna in sitting posture. Krishna playing flute with cattle around him are shown since the hero is a vaisnavite.


The 3rd Nadukal is a sati stone in which the  hero and his wife are shown in the first tier. The husband and wife are taken to the heaven by the angels shown in the second tier. In the third tier both are  worshiping lord Shiva in sitting posture.

The fourth one is also a 3 tier  ‘Pulikuthu kal‘ ( hero stone for killing a tiger ). In the top tier the hero is shown doing pooja to lord Shiva.


The 5th one is a ‘ondi kai masti stone’ is nothing but a sati stone in which hero and his wife are shown below a hand holding a lemon.


A GROUP OF 12 HERO STONES.
These group of 12 hero stones are erected under the trees and platform also constructed. Let us see the important hero stones alone. The bigger/ taller one is a 3 tier hero stone. The bottom tier is shown with two heros on the left and the opponent on the right. In the middle tier the two heros are taken to the heaven by the three angels and they are Ramba, Menaka and Urvasi. In the top tier the two heros are worshiping lord shiva in sitting posture.




Another important Nadukal is also a 3 tier hero stone erected for a lady, who died due to a snake bite. The snake is shown in the bottom tier.


In addition to the above we had seen some hero stones in this village and a Koil Veedu for a sati stone.

 A road side hero stone 
 A sati stone – near the Amman temple 

 A sati stone – near the Amman temple 

 Kovil Veedu with ondi kai masti – sati stone 
 Kovil Veedu with ondi kai masti – sati stone 


The yanthira kals erected at the entrance of the Village, probably for not allowing any decease in side the Village 
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---  

Hero Stones / Nadukarkal / Veeragallu / நடு கற்கள் / Sati Stones , at Chikkahole, - Talakad Heritage walk.

17th June 2018.
During our visit to Talakad on 17th June 2018, planned to visit Choza Period temples and some heritage sites. One the way to Talakad, had seen many hero stones erected for various purposes. Hope the people of the villages had the practice of erecting hero stones in remembrance of  the deceased, who had done some extraordinary brave activity. Depends on the bravery of the deceased, the relief scene of the hero stones are chiseled. Almost all the villages we traveled  from Thalavadi to Talakad, has such hero stones. It is a paradise for the researchers and enthusiasts to study on the hero stones. At one stage we had seen some hero stones without stepping out of the car. In this blog, I will cover the hero stones of three villages and their importance.

In the Village Chikkahole, there are three hero stones found about 100 meters off main road, inside a palm grove. Out of three,  two are three tier hero stones and one is of single tier. The details with photos are..

LOCATION:  ( purposely not given )

It is believed that the hero stone belongs to Gangar period, considering the style of reliefs and the weapon used. The three tiers hero stone was  erected for a warrior, who died in the process of fighting. The hero is fighting with his opponent with bow & arrow,  but whereas the opponent holds a shield and a sword of unusual shape. In the second tier the hero is being taken to the heaven by the angels, In the third tier the hero is shown worshiping Lord Shiva in sitting posture. The hero’s headgear ‘turban’, and the other warrior’s sword are worth to note.



The second one is a Sati stone. In the first tier the hero is fighting with his opponent. Both are holding shield and sword symmetrically shown like mirror image. The hero’s wife is not shown in the first tier, but both hero and his wife are shown in the second tier. Hero and his wife who took sati after her husband’s death are taken to heaven by the angels. In the top tier both hero and his wife are worshiping Lord Shiva in sitting posture.



The third nadukal is a simple hero stone of single tier. Holding sword and shield.
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA--- 

Friday 15 June 2018

Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi Temple, Sholinganallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu.

15th June 2018.
This is the first temple exclusively built for Goddess Sri Prathyangira Devi in Chennai, founded by Sri Prathyangira Swamigal ( Sri Atharvana Vedha Sri Peedathipathi, Sri Garuda Kuhha ) in the year 1998 and kumbhabhishekam was performed in 1999, with the blessings of Sringeri Sarathapeedam and Sri Kanchikamkodipedam.  


Main deity : Sri Prathyangira Devi

Some of the important details of this temple are….
The temple is facing east with an entrance from North Side. The Temple and the 2 tier Rajagopuram are built in kerala architecture style. Sri Varahi Amman sannadhi is immediately after the north entrance.

There are sub sannadhis  around Varahi Amman and Sri Prathyangira Devi. The Sub sannadhis are Sri Manthira Varahi amman, Sri Akarshana Sarabeswarar. Sri Samunda Patrakali, Sri Indradevi, Sri Nagaraja Dharbar with 108 nagars, Sri Neela Saraswathi, Sri Sani Bhagwan, Sri Iyappan, Sri Uchishta Ganapathy, Sri Lakshmi Hayagreevar, Sri Siva Sakthis, Sri Annapoorani, Sri Mahalakshmi, Sri Iyswarya Eswar ( Stucco ) with Kuberan, Sri Dakshinamurthy, Sri Balamurugan, Sri Panchamuga Anjaneyar, Sri Gayathri, Sri Kala bhairava, Sri Durga, Sri Suryan, Sri Agni bhagwan ( Stucco ), Sri Abirami sametha Amirthakadeswarar, Sri Sornakarshana bhairavar, Sri Karkodaka Swamy ( Both Stone and Stucco), Sri Heramba Ganapathy, Sri Dhanvantari, Sri Rishi eswar, Sri Lakshmi narasimhar & Garudan.

The Lion faced Pratyangira Devi is in sitting sukhasana posture keeping her right leg down on a Lion with a fierce look. A soolam is on the right hand. It is believed that all obstacles and fear in the life will be removed if one prays Sri Prathyangira Devi.

LEGENDS
As per the legend, Sri Prathyangira Devi came from one of the wings of Sarabeswarar ( a form of Lord Shiva to pacify Narasimhar who killed Hiranyakashipu ). When Sri Prathyangira Devi sat on the laps of Sri Narasimhar, he became calm.

POOJAS, CELEBRATIONS AND SERVICES
Apart from regular poojas, special poojas are conducted on Navaratri Days, Onam. Regular medical camps is also conducted. Annadhanam is being served on Sundays.

TEMPLE TIMINGS:
The temple will be kept opened between 08.00 hrs to 12.00 hrs and 16.00 hrs to 20.00 hrs and on Sundays the temple closes 13.00 hours instead of 12.00 hrs.

CONTACT DETAILS:
Land line and mobile numbers are : 044-24501404, 24501716 & 9444691404.

HOW TO REACH :
The temple is on the banks of of Buckingham canal, between old and New Mamallapuram roads.
The temple is about a KM from distance from Sholinganallur Junction on Old Mahabalipuram Road ( OMR ).

LOCATION:CLICK HERE


 Pathrakali with Stucco image on the back 

 Sri Agni Devar  

Sri Prathyangira Devi (PC: temple web site ) 
 Shiva Shrine 
 Stucco image of Varahi sitting on eagle 
 Sri Madurai Veeran on the left side of entrance Rajagopuram 
Sri Vedali on the right side of entrance Rajagopuram 

The temple complex  in the midst of Housing colony - view from a distance  
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---