Somehow, I seem to like Lord Siva the best, as opposed to any other God or Goddess. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I want to know! And don’t be surprised if there’s gonna be a long rant about Nataraja, Nataraja, and more Nataraja on this post :)
Two full days on the road, more than 14 hours inside a car and save for the seven hours of sleep in between, the remaining hours were spent on foot. This was how I spent my trip to Chidambaram on Saturday and Sunday last. I had a big list on me on the number of temples I wanted to visit, but couldn’t visit most of them; still I can’t say I was disappointed.
We started from Anna Nagar at 11:30 on Saturday and by 2:00 we were at Panchavatee near Pondicherry. We were lucky enough to see the deity this time of the year, since there was a kumba-abhishekam scheduled for the massive 36-feet tall Panchamukha Anjaneya on the 31st of this month; the entire temple was all decorated and colorful for the event.
Our next stop was at Sri Lakshmi Hayagreeva temple, the God of Knowledge, believed to bless students with the triumph of knowledge. It was 4:30 by the time we got out of this temple and we headed directly to Chidambaram, not wanting to miss visiting Lord Nataraja the same evening. We stopped by at my friend’s aunt’s place (who was considered to be pretty influential inside the temple).
We didn’t want to lose one precious minute and headed straight to the temple. Apparently, this time around there was a kumba-abhishekam at this temple as well. They were performing it for the four entrances (gopurams) separately. All four gopurams were painted in bright blue and red paints. The kumba-abhishekam for the South (and most important) gopuram was scheduled for the day after we reached.
The gold plated sanctum has about 26,700 golden leaves, said to be the average number of times we breathe in a day and is woven together with 72,000 nuts and bolts, said to be the number of nerves in the human body. I am not sure about the significance (if any) or the authenticity of the information but just happened to learn it this time. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!
Though the temple was crowded, we did get a chance to see Lord Nataraja, Sivagama Sundari ambal, and a special darsham of the Chidambara Rahasyam (the concept of nothingness). Something mystic about the aakasha lingam which though even to this day, I didn’t understand the concept, I love gazing deep into the nothingness of those golden leaves when that faint light from the dheep-aaradhana illuminates them.
Aaah! The feeling of walking the loooong corridors of the temple was awesome; we were almost three hours inside the temple which by itself seemed like we were rushing through each sanidhi. Anyway, we were out by 8 in the evening and headed for the wedding reception (which was the primary reason of the trip btw).
Day 2 started with the much needed hospitality from the family we were staying at, and we started off for the marriage. As soon as we had breakfast, our next stop was at Vaidheeshwaran kovil. Another crowded temple where I met four ex-collogues, each trying to fight to get a glimpse of the Lord. The only temple that got me exhausted was this one and by the time we were out, I was gasping for breath and feeling glad that I got out. On our way back, we saw the kumbha’s of the South gopuram of Nataraja temple for which the kumba-abhishekam was over a couple of hours earlier.
We started from there at 12:30 and I was home at 4:30 that evening. By the time I was home, I felt washed out and dog-tired! Although I can’t complain, the packed schedule and the road trip was the only thing that wasn’t a good idea.
All in all it was a great trip. I’m immensely happy I did this. I really want to do more of these, and actually want to visit the Chidambaram temple more often; and next time I’m NOT spending less that a whole day inside the walls of this temple. :-D
Two full days on the road, more than 14 hours inside a car and save for the seven hours of sleep in between, the remaining hours were spent on foot. This was how I spent my trip to Chidambaram on Saturday and Sunday last. I had a big list on me on the number of temples I wanted to visit, but couldn’t visit most of them; still I can’t say I was disappointed.
We started from Anna Nagar at 11:30 on Saturday and by 2:00 we were at Panchavatee near Pondicherry. We were lucky enough to see the deity this time of the year, since there was a kumba-abhishekam scheduled for the massive 36-feet tall Panchamukha Anjaneya on the 31st of this month; the entire temple was all decorated and colorful for the event.
Our next stop was at Sri Lakshmi Hayagreeva temple, the God of Knowledge, believed to bless students with the triumph of knowledge. It was 4:30 by the time we got out of this temple and we headed directly to Chidambaram, not wanting to miss visiting Lord Nataraja the same evening. We stopped by at my friend’s aunt’s place (who was considered to be pretty influential inside the temple).
We didn’t want to lose one precious minute and headed straight to the temple. Apparently, this time around there was a kumba-abhishekam at this temple as well. They were performing it for the four entrances (gopurams) separately. All four gopurams were painted in bright blue and red paints. The kumba-abhishekam for the South (and most important) gopuram was scheduled for the day after we reached.
The gold plated sanctum has about 26,700 golden leaves, said to be the average number of times we breathe in a day and is woven together with 72,000 nuts and bolts, said to be the number of nerves in the human body. I am not sure about the significance (if any) or the authenticity of the information but just happened to learn it this time. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!
Though the temple was crowded, we did get a chance to see Lord Nataraja, Sivagama Sundari ambal, and a special darsham of the Chidambara Rahasyam (the concept of nothingness). Something mystic about the aakasha lingam which though even to this day, I didn’t understand the concept, I love gazing deep into the nothingness of those golden leaves when that faint light from the dheep-aaradhana illuminates them.
Aaah! The feeling of walking the loooong corridors of the temple was awesome; we were almost three hours inside the temple which by itself seemed like we were rushing through each sanidhi. Anyway, we were out by 8 in the evening and headed for the wedding reception (which was the primary reason of the trip btw
Day 2 started with the much needed hospitality from the family we were staying at, and we started off for the marriage. As soon as we had breakfast, our next stop was at Vaidheeshwaran kovil. Another crowded temple where I met four ex-collogues, each trying to fight to get a glimpse of the Lord. The only temple that got me exhausted was this one and by the time we were out, I was gasping for breath and feeling glad that I got out. On our way back, we saw the kumbha’s of the South gopuram of Nataraja temple for which the kumba-abhishekam was over a couple of hours earlier.
We started from there at 12:30 and I was home at 4:30 that evening. By the time I was home, I felt washed out and dog-tired! Although I can’t complain, the packed schedule and the road trip was the only thing that wasn’t a good idea.
All in all it was a great trip. I’m immensely happy I did this. I really want to do more of these, and actually want to visit the Chidambaram temple more often; and next time I’m NOT spending less that a whole day inside the walls of this temple. :-D
6 comments:
aaaaahhhhh!
haven't even read the post as yet - am in a lil bit of a hurry now, but the very title got me excited.
i LOVE siva too - and u don't need reasons - HE IS THE BEST :)
so glad i found another siva lover, miss i.
har har mahadev!!
We didn’t want to loose one precious minute?
OR
We didn’t want to lose one precious minute?
You seem to have had a lovely, albeit tiring trip... Post more pics!
DHARMA,
Take your time, but just so you know, this one isnt exhaustive. In fact, I worte it in a hurry too. :)
ANON,
Thanks for proof-reading it :) I realise I havent done a great job wirting this particular post. The tone itself sounds like I has written it in haste.
Truth is, I didnt want to keep procrastinating on this one :-D
SUPERNOVA,
No pics. Remember, the camera arrived a day after I went on that trip :)
The pics you see here have actually been googled. :-D
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