December Mannarsala, haven of sanctity (Dec 25th, 2002) Situated in southern Kerala in Alleppey district is this temple dedicated to Nagaraja and his consort Nagayakshi. The main poojas at this temple are performed by a priestess... The garlands that she wore (Dec 11th, 2002) The majestic temple tower has 12 tiers and rises up to an awe-inspiring 192 feet. This tower is said to have been built by Periyaazhvar, the father-in-law of the Lord… Thirukadaiyur (Dec 4th, 2002) There are a very few temples that are well-known for both the Lord and his Consort and Tirukkadaiyur is one among them. The worship services are offered six times a each day in the temple. November Where She rules (Nov 20th, 2002) The serpent then coiled itself and formed a circle with its tail in its mouth - known as halasya in Sanskrit and aala-vaai in Tamil. October Samarapuri (Oct 30th, 2002) Despite its glorious past, the temple seems to have been dulled to insignificance down the course of the years. It was not until Chidambara Swamigal, who found the Swayambu Murthy... Thirucheeralaivaai (Oct 23rd, 2002) Thiruchendur the second padai veedu of this ancient Lord of Tamils defies all these general rules. Having been mentioned in Sangam classics… Thiruvarur (Oct 9th, 2002) Tiruvarur is one of the seven most celebrated places dedicated to Lord Shiva, the other six being Tirumaraikkkadu... He appeared amidst bamboos (Oct 2nd, 2002) Thiruppaasur is one such rich shrine that has come to us from a very distant past. Built by Karikal Cholan, it is on the Tiruthani National Highway... September The Doctor Divine (September 25th, 2002) One of the important legends is that it was here that Sri Rama and Lakshmana cremated Jatayu, the vulture king and the younger brother of Sampati... The elephant and the spider (September 18, 2002) The Lingam in Thiruvanaikkaval is known as Appu (Water) Lingam. The deity is installed under a very old Jambu tree... Uchi Pillayar Koil on Rockfort (September 11, 2002) This is the very idol that graces the Srirangam Ranganatha temple today Vinayaka with his Consorts (September 04, 2002) Ganesha or Vinayaka is popularly known to be a bachelor. The majority of Vinayaka temples in the South portray him in that state... August The Temple of Arunachaleshwarar  (August 29, 2002) Early next morning the tastefully decorated and flower bedecked panchamurtis were taken in procession on the four streets around the temple... Where the Lord beheld His Devotee (August 28, 2002) Patteswaram is the place where the Lord desired to have a glimpse of His devotee for a bit longer and ordered the Nandi to move aside... Guruvayur (August 21, 2002) The Krishna idol in Guruvayur is very unique in that it has four arms. Krishna, it is said, was seen with four arms only on very few occasions… Santhna Rajagopalan ( August 14, 2002) The temple is situated in a sprawling 6 acres of land and was built by Rajati Raja Cholan and hence was called as the Rajati Raja Vinnagaram... The Lord who gave sight to Sukra ( August 07, 2002) This is the story of Lord Velleeswarar who is resident in Mylapore and is believed to have granted the power of sight to thousands of devotees who were afflicted with eye ailments... July The fruit of wisdom ( July 31, 2002) Thus began the grand old tradition of kavadi that devotees of the Lord the world over so very devoutly follow to this day... Shani Shinganapur ( July 25, 2002) There is also a belief that if a person is bitten by a snake in Shinganapur and is brought near the idol and a ritual is performed, the poison gets neutralised. Lord Sani at Thirunallar ( July 24, 2002) Of all the Saneeswara shrines, Thirunallar is believed to be the most sacred and the most efficacious. This belief has come about because of the various miracles which are said to have occurred here. Udupi ( July 17, 2002) Madhvacharya was delighted to find the mass of Gopi chandana to be the image of his Lord. He who ferries the souls across the ocean of births and deaths was ferried to this land in a boat! The Goddess of Wisdom ( July 11, 2002) The Saradamba temple of Sringeri was consecrated by Adi Sankara and was respected by Muslim emperors like Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan... Thanumalayan Alayam ( July 3, 2002) Suchindram is a very unique temple in India the deity enshrined in its sanctum sanctorum represents the Hindu Trinity in a single form. June Worship of Guru ( June 26, 2002) Kind-hearted Guru is considered as the dispenser of justice and can be known only by a proper study of the Vedas. Thursdays are considered to be the best day for the worship of Jupiter... Guruvayur (June 19, 2002) The Krishna idol in Guruvayur is very unique in that it has four arms. Krishna, it is said, was seen with four arms only on very few occasions… Vada Venkatam (June 12, 2002) Venkatachalapathi is the passion of all Alwars and Acharyas. It was Ramanujacharya who visited the temple several times and regularised the rituals... Varasiddhi Vallabha Vinayaka of Besant Nagar (June 05, 2002) The main concept expounded in this temple is the concept of Vigneswara Panchayadham, where the synergy of Siva, Vishnu, Amba, the Navagrahas and Balasubramania is evident. May Alagiya Manavalan (May 29th, 2002) To the Vaishnavite, the word temple means only Srirangam, which is the first and foremost among all the Divya Desams… The Lord of the Universe (May 15th, 2002) The imposing temple car, measuring 45 feet high, with 16 wheels of 7 feet diameter each... Vinayaka with his Consorts (May 8th, 2002) There is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Ganapathi called the Manarkula Vinayakar temple... April A city built by the Lord (April 30th, 2002) Dwaraka was built by Lord Krishna after slaying Kamsa, to protect his people from Jarasandha and Kalayavana… He is the Sky (April 23rd, 2002) The Lord is worshipped in His ethereal form in Chidambaram. He is consecrated in a formless form and that is the core of ‘Chidambara rahasyam’…  Ujjain (April 16th, 2002) Like Thirupullani, (Dharbasayanam) in the South, Ujjain is one of those places where drops of nectar - amrutha - is believed to have fallen… A gift from the distant past (April 9th, 2002) Ambika of Arasur is one of the oldest shrines in the country. Where could Arasur be? Just take a wild guess… Triplicane Parthasarthy Perumal (April 2nd, 2002) The Parthasarathy Perumal temple of Tiruvallikeni has a hoary past. Going by the stone inscriptions found in the temple it can safely be concluded that that it is more than 1200 years old… March Dharbasayanam (March 26th, 2002) Thirupullani has the special distinction of having visited by Rama twice - before going to and when returning from Lanka... Tirupparankundram (March 18th, 2002) Besides being one of the oldest temples of Tamil Nadu, Tirupparankundram is also a place where great religions confluence in peace… Devotion is the salt (March 12th, 2002) Uppiliappan Koil is one of the celebrated 108 Vishnu temples where the Lord married Bhoomi Devi… A forest of wisdom (March 6th, 2002) Thiruvenkadu, also known as Jnana-aranya is one of the most important and ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva… February Bhooloka Vaikuntham - Nanguneri  (February 27th, 2002) Nanguneri is one of the most important Divya Desams as it is one of the swayamvyakta kshetrams… He who restores all that is lost (February 20th, 2002) Vallakkottai Subramanya Swami Temple is one of the oldest temples around the city of Chennai… Child is Teacher of the Lord (February 13th, 2002) Swamimalai is the fourth of the six abodes of Lord Muruga and it was here that Lord Shiva had His ‘instructions’ from his Child on pranava mantra… Remnants of a rich dynasty (February 6th, 2002) The temple of Gangai Konda Cholapuram was built by Rajendra Chola in memory of his glorious victories… January Thirucherai the shrine of debt-relief (January 30th, 2002) The ‘Runa-vimOchana Lingam’ is installed in a separate sannadhi. The Lord is worshipped with the firm belief that he absolves the devotees of all their debts… Vada Nageswaram (January 23th, 2002) Kundrathur is also known as Vada Nageswaram and is as holy as and as glorious as Then Nageswaram… Sankara Narayanan Temple (January 16th, 2002) The presiding deity has been so positioned that direct light from the sun falls on the idol at 6.00 a.m. on March 21, 22 and 23 and also on… Where foxes turned into horses (January 9th, 2002) Aavudayaar Koil has the distinction of constructed and consecrated by Manikka-vaasagar… The sky is Her roof… (January 2nd, 2002) Considering the fact that Vekkaliamman temple is a very old temple, one is really curious about a roofless sanctum sanctorum…

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