Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Kailasanathar Temple, Murappanadu, Thirunelveli

Kailasanathar Temple, Murappanadu, Thirunelveli
Kailasanathar Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva located at Murappanadu Village in Thirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. This is the Fifth Kailasam and the first among the temples of the Middle Kailasam. The temple is called as Nadukailasam and Dhakshina Gangai. This temple is associated with Guru (Jupiter or Brihaspathi) among the Navagrahas and special temple for Dhanusu and Meenam Rasis. At Murappanadu, Thamiraparani River flows from north to south.

Legends
For brief details, please refer below link;
History
During the 15th century, when the Vijayanagar Empire was at the peak of its glory, Achyuta Devaraya and Rama Rayar, a provincial king, succeeded the great emperor Krishna Devaraya. Vittala Rayan, the brother of Rama Rayar, was the representative of the kingdom in Tamilnadu. During that time, Vittala Rayan, made this temple as his encampment. After worshipping Guru Bhagavan at this temple, he waged war on the King of Travancore, who refused to pay his taxes. He defeated the haughty king and collected the duties for the kingdom. He attacked the Portuguese, who planned to ransack and planned to loot Bhagavathy Amman Temple in Kanyakumari and he made them retreat.

The Temple
Presiding Deity is called as Kailasanathar and Mother is called as Sivagami Ammai. The specialty of this temple is that the Nandhi in this temple is having horse head instead of bull head. And there are 2 Bhairavars in the Bhairavar Sannidhi. One is with his dog and the other without. The Bhairavar with dog is called as Kala Bhairava and the other is called Veera Bhairavar.

There are 2 Ganesha Idol in the entrance of the Sri Ganesha Shrine instead of Dwarapalakas. This is rarest in any Vinayagar temple. The main deity of this temple faces east to view directly and bless the devotees who take a holy dip in the waters of River Thamirabarani. Goddess Sivagami Ammai faces south and is present in a separate sanctum. She is the pinnacle of patience and the savior of all those who come to her with trust.

This temple is on the western banks of Thamirabarani. There are four stages and the first stage, Pandhal Mandapam has ten pillars. Then when we enter the temple, we can see the flag mast and the statue of Lord Nandi, with a horse face. If we walk around the outer courtyard by turning left, we can see the idols of Sura Devar and Ashta Lakshmi followed by the idols of the sixty-three Nayanmars and Kanni Moola Ganapathy in the top corner.

Outside the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva, is the idol of Dhakshinamoorthy, the Lord of education, facing south. As we circumambulate the Lord’s sanctum, we can see the idol of Panjalingam. At the northern corner is the idol of Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Deivanai, followed by Lord Chandikeswarar and Sani Bhagavan in the opposite side. At the front of the temple are the idols of Bairavar, Suryan and Adhikara Nandi.

The sculpture of Lord Hanuman, Kannappar (one among the sixty-three Nayanmars), an elephant, a peacock and Komatha (the sacred cow) performing Shiva pooja is mesmerizing and makes the onlooker spell-bound. Once upon a time, this temple was in a dilapidated condition and the compound walls were badly broken. The pavement in front of the temple that led to the Kasi Theertha Kattam of River Thamirabarani had been obstructed by fields. It was difficult and scary to get into this famous temple of bygone years.
During that period, the Kailasanathar Narpani Mandram of the village performed huge tasks to restore this temple. The Panchayat Council built a road leading to the river. Due to the joint efforts of the Sri Kailasanathar Thirupani Kulu and the Thoothukudi Sri Rama Bhaktha Seva, this temple was slowly restored. As a result of their endeavors, a road for cars and other vehicles, from the front of this temple to the river has been constructed. Also on 27.01.2008, the Maha Kumbabishekam was done here.
Temple Opening Time
·        Morning: 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m.
·        Evening: 5.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Festivals
·        Shivaratri
·        Thiruvadirai
·        Guru Peyarchi
·        Sani Peyarchi
·        Pradosham days
Religious Significance
Special Poojas are performed on Thiruvathirai, Shiva Rathri, Pradosham days, on the first of every Tamil month, Guru Peyarchi and Sani Peyarchi. Also daily poojas are performed twice a day. This temple is attributed to Guru and highly beneficial for people belonging to the sun signs Sagittarius and Pisces. If women of these sun signs worship the Lord, then they can attain whatever they wish. It is believed that worshipping the Lord at this temple is equivalent to worshipping Lord Shiva at Alangudi.
One must worship the Lord here to remove obstacles in marriage and to be blessed with a peaceful family life and good health. According to Hinduism, a person’s luck is determined by his virtues and sins. Everyone born in this world acquires sins during his lifetime. Hence to seek atonement for the sins, one has acquired and to prevent oneself from doing further sins, one needs the blessings of the Lord. Kailasanathar at Murappanadu rescues his devotees from their sins.
In today’s world, education is necessary for one’s survival. A person who teaches is known as ‘Guru’. It is believed that ‘Guru Bhagavan’, the teacher of the heavenly Devas, will also help us mere mortals by his guidance and by being our divine guru, when we offer our prayers here.
It is said that Guru Bhagavan, is all powerful at this temple. Hence, devotees at this temple, follow a unique ritual here. It is believed that if one worships the idol of Dhakshinamoorthy and Sani Bhagavan, by performing nine circumambulations, one can get the blessings of all the Navagraha.
Contact
Sri Kailasanathar Temple
Murappanadu, Thirunelveli District,
Tamilnadu – 628 252
Mobile: +91 994311 93076 / 98437 96544 / 98424 04554
Mobile: +91 98425 16789 / 98424 04559
Connectivity
This temple is located at about 10 Kms from Thirunelveli, 170 Kms from Madurai and 166 Kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Take the road that branches just before the Thamirabarani Bridge, on the highway from Thirunelveli Junction to Tuticorin. It is located at a distance of two kilometers along the lane from the Murappanadu bus-stop. Hence it is advisable to go here on a car or on a motorcycle.
If you are travelling via bus, then you can climb any of the local buses that go to Tuticorin from Thirunelveli New Bus-stand and alight at the Murappanadu bus-stop. The bus no.16, which starts from Thirunelveli Junction, stops at the village of Murappanadu. Nearest Railway Station is located at Thirunelveli. Nearest Airport is located at Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram.