I picked up a few books, mainly Sthalapuranams, during my visits to Kumbakonam. Its only last week that I sifted and picked a few to read, I chose the ones that were in English and left the ones in Tamil for later reading since my proficiency in Tamil isn't as good, having picked the reading and writing skills during my summer vacations at Madras while in School. So let me start with the story of Thirunallaru.
Thirunallaru is known to people as the holy place of Sani Bhagwan (Saturn). However there are other deities who adorn the temple , and this is something very few of us are aware.
This is the only place where Lord Shiva is known as "Dharparanayeswarar" after Dharpa or Kusa Grass which is considered as the holy plant of the temple. See my earlier posts of the temple and the Dharpa Grass. Thirunallaru Temple is situated between the Arasalaru and Vanchai River. At the end of the east street of the temple Saint Thirugnansambandar's statute is housed in a separate Mandapam.
The temple has several Mandapams - Sopana Mandapam in the first corridor, Vidanga Thiagar Mandapam near the Sanctum Sanctorum, Ardha Mandapam, Sabha Mandapam, Pandigai Mandapam and Mukti Mandapam.
The glory of this temple and the most sought after deity is Sani Bhagwan. He is facing east unlike in most temples where he faces South. He is usually depicted with four hands however in Thirunallar he is depicted with just two. At the beginning of the southern corridor is the line up of the 63 Nayanmars and 4 saints. These four saints promoted Tamil literature. Adhi Vinaayaka is situated at the very end of the Southern corridor. On the western corridor you'd find Lord Muruga and Goddess Lakshmi in two forms "Sila" and "Sudha". On the western side is Lord Elangothpavar with Thirumal and Ayan. On the North is the Dharpai bushes and an idol of Pitchatanamurthy (partly seen in my photograph) and the Sannidhi of Goddess Durga. In the north east you'll find the Sannidhi of Lord Bairavar.
I found some snaps in my digital photo basket that didn't make it to the blog posts. The first is a few snaps I clicked on my Journey to Ahobilam by Bus. The bus had the old style seating, a long seat on the right side of the bus that's supposed to seat three and the shorter seat that supposed to seat two now available only on rural routes. Having got used to push-back seats and air conditioned travel the was difficult with these uncomfortable seats and no leg space. We couldn't catch some sleep either. In the middle of the night the b
us stopped by a temple and we were served food. Yes it was cooked and carried along. The cooks travelled along. These snaps were clicked with my Palm Treo. The resolution is low.
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