A Hanuman like never before!

Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy, in Raja Alankaram

There are several hundreds of temples for Hanuman all over India where the Ramadhootha is seen in different forms and sizes. Whatever be the location, size of the temple or the idol, Lord Hanuman remains a source of strength and a much sought after God for devotees around the world. 

Here is a temple where you can see Anjaneya like never before - with eight unique and distinctive features that set him apart from any other Hanuman, rightly called Sri Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy! 

As I stood before him, he seemed to me like a young child in the family, that parents love to dress up,and dote upon, relatives and friends love to visit and adore, a child so special, that brings joy and happiness to everyone who comes to his doorstep!

Another form of Raja Alankara!

The temple is located off the busy Avinashi Road in Coimbatore. The infrastructure is very simple. There is a main shrine for the Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy with a Pravachana Mandapam to the left of the temple. So how did this Anjaneya Swamy, the darling of thousands of devotees come to Coimbatore and what do his features signify?

Swaya Roopa Alankaram

His Holiness Swamy Haridoss Giri had given the Moola Sri Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Anjaneya Icons and Seetha Rama Shalagrama that were personally worshipped by him to Shri Rajamani Bhattar,of Tirunelveli, from the generation of Sri Vaikanasa, with instructions to worship them with care and devotion every day and when the time came true, to create a unique temple for Sri Hanuman and instal the idols and Shalagrama in the temple.

Butter alankaram

After searching for an ideal location for 22 years, the temple was finally built in Coimbatore and consecrated on 9th February 2004 and Lord Hanuman with these eight unique features came to bless the world. 

1. Right hand that gives boons (Varada Hastham): 

In most Hanuman temples, he can be seen with folded hands (Anjali Hastham). However, in this temple, the right hand is seen raised as if to tell his devotees not to fear when He is there to protect them. 

2. Left hand that holds a mace (Gathayudha):

The mace in his left hand symbolises that there is no defeat for those who surrender to the Lord. Moreover, the Gatha (mace) destroys the six evils of the mind, namely, Kama (lust), Krotha (anger), Lobha (Greed), Moha (attachment), Mada (pride) and Matsarya (Jealousy) collectively known as the Arishadvargas.

3. Countenance facing West :

The Western ghats are a part of the Sanjeevi Parvatha that Hanuman brought to revive Rama-Lakshmana during the Ramayana war. This mountain range is full of medicinal herbs that can cure any disease. The face of Sri Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy is turned towards the West to symbolize worshiping him would cure all physical and mental ailments.

4. Feet facing South:

South is the direction of Yama, the lord of Death. The feet facing South protects devotees from untimely death, and grants them the boon of long, healthy and peaceful life.

Muthangi (coat of pearls) Alankaram

5. Tail facing North:

In the Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy Temple Coimbatore, the tail of the Lord is fully visible to the devotees. The nine planets that are responsible for a person's happiness, misery, disease and prosperity are found in the tail and worshiping the tail rids one of all the problems connected with horoscope or planetary motion. Moreover, North is the direction of Kubera, the Lord of Wealth. Worshiping the tail, brings prosperity and material success to the devotees.

6.Rudramsam : 

Lord Shiva's powers known as Rudramsam are embodied within Sri Hanuman.In this temple, Lord Hanuman is found within the shape of a Shivalinga and so worshiping him is equivalent to worshiping Lord Shiva.

7. Lakshmi Kadaksham:

Goddess Lakshmi is found within the raised right hand of Sri Hanuman and is willingly waiting to grant all Aishwaryams (wealth) to the devotees.

8. Netra Deekshanyam (Speciality of the Eyes):

The eyes of Sri Hanuman in this temple are special. These beautiful life like compassionate eyes reflect the brightness of the Sun during day and the gentleness of the moon in the evenings. From whichever direction  one were to view the Lord, the eyes seem to be looking and providing comfort.

10,008 Vada Alankaram

Decorations of the Lord:

The special feature in this temple is the meticulous way in which the Lord is decorated every day and every occasion. As you would have witnessed through the pictures, the bhattachars, Sri Narayana Bhattachar and his brother Sri Muralidhara Bhattachar, sons of Sri Rajamani Bhattachar, take utmost care and decorate the Lord with love and devotion. Pictures of the various alankarams are uploaded every week in the temple's blog.

Thirumanjanam (Abhishekam) of Lord Hanuman is performed on the day of Moola Star every month. On all other days, thirumanjanam is restricted to the Seetha Rama Shalagrama, worshipped by Swamy Haridoss Giri, that has been placed in a silver cup over Sri Hanuman's head. 

The Moola Rama icons are placed in an alcove close to the Lord, and it is believed that Lord Hanuman himself performs Aradhanam (Poojas) to his Master every day.

Surya Kirana Alankaram

Devotees:

Severaldevotees throng this temple every day. " Over One lakh people visit during special events like Hanumath Jayanthi", says Sri Narayana Bhattachar. " "We started uploading the photos on the blog to satisfy the thousands of devotees around the world who long to have a look of their favorite Lord in a special alankaram", he continues. Devotees have to wait for as long as six months to perform Raja Alankaram, the most popular alankaram to the Lord that is performed on saturdays. The temple accepts plain sarees with borders on both sides to be used for the dhoti, angavastram and turban during Raja Alankaram and several people lovingly offer the same.

There are no words to describe the commitment and love with which the Bhattachars beautify and worship this Lord who answers all prayers. One such example is the Sugarcane Forest Decoration on Pongal Day.

Hanuman in a sugarcane forest

The Whole temple covered with Sugarcane

As you can see from the picture, not just the shrine is decorated, but the entire temple is decorated to provide the appropriate effect.

10,008 fruits on Vishu Day:

Tomorrow, Tamil New Year and Vishu Day (13.4.2012) is a special day at the Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Coimbatore. The Lord is decorated with 10,008 fruits on this day every year. If you happen to be in the vicinity, do make it a point to witness this glorious sight and obtain the blessings of the benevolent Lord.

10,008 fruits alankaram last year for Vishu

Address of the temple:
Sri Ashtamsa Sri Varada Anjaneya Swamy Temple,
Avanashi road, Opposite to Esso Petrol Pump,
Near Suguna Kalyana Mandapam, Peelamedu,
Coimbatore 641 004

Temple Timings:


Morning: 7.30 am to 12 pm
Evening:  5.30 pm to  9 pm

Contact Details:


Shri Narayana Bhattachar - 94874 84624
Shri Muralidhara Bhattachar - 94433 34624

Acknowledgements:

My special thanks to Shri Narayana Bhattachar for sharing all the wonderful details about the temple despite his extremely busy schedule and for graciously allowing me to use the pictures of the temple from the temple's blog.

Chitraputhira Yamadharmaraja Temple, Coimbatore

There are several gods and goddesses in India and there are several places of worship for them as well, each with its own significance. There are a few shrines for Yama, the most feared of all Gods - the God of Death. There is one sannadhi in Srivanchiyam temple, near Kumbakonam, one in Dharmapuri and may be a few more in other parts of the country.
Similarly, there are a few shrines/sannadhis for Chitragupta, his faithful accountant who keeps track of each and every person's sins and virtues,( What is the English word for Punya?), the most well-known being at Kanchipuram.  But I do not know if there is any other temple in India where you can find both Yamadharmaraja and Chitragupta in the same sanctum sanctorum but for this temple at Vellalur Main Road, Singanallur, Coimbatore.
The month of Chitirai ( April 14 - May 15) is very special for Chitragupta and Yama, as on the full moon day of this month, Chitragupta is supposed to start his new book of accounts for the year. It is the time for special prayers to him and his Lord to pardon our sins, and to reduce the burden of punishments, and it is indeed my pleasure to share information about this temple in the wake of Chitra Pournami that falls due on 17th April.

Entrance to the temple amidst construction work going on

Once you enter Singanallur, and reach Vellalur Main Road, it is quite easy to reach the temple. There is an "aathupaalam" - a small bridge over a brook and once you cross that, anyone can guide you to the temple. There is a house being constructed close to the entrance and the building materials have been dumped right near the entrance to the temple. Watch your step as you take the very narrow path that is available among the debris to reach the entrance. A board saying Chitraputhira Yamadharmaraja Temple welcomes you.

The 310 year old temple is cool. There is a front yard which has the shrine of Rajaganapathi to its left. Lord Ganesha is seen here with serpents on either side. A board mentions that "Thulabaram" (giving jaggery, bananas or sugar equivalent to one's weight) can be given here as gratitude for prayers that have been answered.

Raja Ganapathi with Serpents on either side

We step into the inner mandapam. The most striking feature about the mandapam is the circular platform in the middle where 101 padayals (offerings) are made to Lord Yamadharmaraja and Chitragupta on Chitrapournami day.

We are greeted by Mr. Paramasivam, the priest at the temple, who is very friendly and offers us information about the temple. In fact, this is probably the only temple in Tamilnadu, where I have been to, in which I was immediately allowed to photograph the sanctum sanctorum....but with a condition. Women are not allowed beyond this mandapam, while men can step into the inner mandapam, close to the sanctum sanctorum. Therefore, he said I could take a picture from where I stood.

Mr Paramasivam, the priest at the temple

The Sanctum Sanctorum was one of its kind. A majestic Yamadharmaraja, sat astride a huge black buffalo, with one hand holding a spear ( Ankusham) and the other hand holding a rope ( Paasa Kayaru) to drag the departed souls to the other world at the appropriate time. Chitragupta, the faithful accountant of Yama, stands to his right, holding palm leaves in one hand and a quill in the other.

Sanctum Sanctorum

The priest explained that this temple is run and maintained by seven families of Rajakula Agamudayathevar community namely, Poththai, Thaali, Peyan, Kounda, Vaththana, Kanja and Righton, who take turns in being the priest and perform the rituals. The special 101 padayal is called Vanipongal and will be performed at 5 am on 18th morning. He mentioned that persons should not wear black coloured clothes while coming to the temple. Coconuts as you can see in the picture, are offered in full, without breaking them. The temple is open on all days between 7 am and 5 pm without being closed in between.

Across the sanctum sanctorum, we find another room, with a board outside stating that it is the shrine of Veeramachi amman, Pudavaikari Amman and Sapthakannis. Once you enter the room, there is another shrine inside. Here, women are allowed to go right into the sanctum sanctorum and worship.

There are three lingam like structures in one platform which are worshipped as the swayambu form of the three goddesses and there are seven similar but smaller structures nearby who are worshipped as the saptha kannis.

After praying at this shrine, we walk out of the room and take the circumambulatory path around the temple. To the left of the temple, is a seperate shrine for Andichi Amman, the sister of Yamadharmaraja. I was curious to go and see the temple, but found that it was closed and there were people sleeping in the frontyard. Moreover, the path to the other temple was strewn with building materials and therefore I decided against it.

As I moved around the path, I found that the backside of the temple was also circular, similar to the offering platform inside the shrine.

There was a menacing buffalo head that lay on the floor with some rope and plastic tubes nearby. It was a strange sight and looked as if Lord Yama was watching as I moved around the temple. It was time to leave and I thanked the priest for all his assistance. He gave us Vibuthi (Sacred Ash) and Sweet Pongal as prasadam. He also gave pictures of Lord Yamadharmaraja with the condition that the picture had to be kept only in a seperate pooja room and not in houses where shelfs housed gods and goddesses. With one final look at Lord Yama, watching us with his piercing silver eyes, we moved out of the temple into the scorching sun.

If you happen to be around this part of the world on 17th/18th of April 2011, you can take part in all the festivities in this temple on the special occasion of Chitra Pournami when Chitragupta and Lord Yamadharmaraja are in a benevolent mood, as the new books of accounts for the year are opened. If not, do drop by to pray at this very unique shrine of Lord Yama and Chitragupta in the same sanctum sanctorum whenever the opportunity presents itself. 

Added on 16th February 2012- through inputs from Mr Sudharshan:

Just before entering Yama DharmaRaja temple, on our left side, we can see another temple which is the Ayyanar and Aandichi amman temple. As we also visited here, I would like to share the information as told to us by the Priest Maariappan on this temple. 

Ayyanar here is worshipped with vegetarian offerings unlike Ayyanar in other (few?) temples. Children who pray to this Ayyanar for their education are blessed with good fortune. When a Siddhar visited both these temples, he told to the priests that since Yama Dharmaraja is very affectionate to his sister Aandichi Amman, Yama Dharmaraja always wanted to perform poojas for his Sister first and later for him. Due to this, people should seek blessings from his sister before entering Yama Dharamaraja's temple. Even if first timers who may miss to do this, after visiting sister's temple, they have to see Yama Dharmaraja again before leaving so that they get the 'palan' of visiting both these temples - as told by the priest.

'Uchi kaala pooja' on Sundays is special at 12 noon here. Sri Chitra Putra Yama Dharamaraja temple priest Paramasivam can be contacted on 98656 42946 and on 0422-2917789.