Chevva Dosham ...no tension!

Narasimhapuram Temple tower

Chevva Dosham, also known as Sevvai Dosham, Guja Dosham and Manglik is the occurence of Mars  in the 2,4,7,8 or 12th house from Lagnam at the time of one's birth. When a person has such a planetary position in his or her horoscope, then the horoscope has to be carefully matched to find a suitable life partner. This process might delay the fixing up of marriage which is why it is a case of great worry to parents. There is an added anxiety as to whether the astrologer they are consulting is trained enough to identify a right and suitable match for their child. Astrology is a science and a good guide for those who take advice from ethical practitioners. A number of parihara sthalams have been identified to overcome the conceived challenges of Sevva Dosham and several people have benefitted from the same.

The Lakshmi Narasimha at Narasimhapuram on the Arakkonam- Thandalam- Perambakkam Road about 21 kms from Arakonam has been granting relief and solace to several devotees with Chevva Dosham.  A number of devotees flock to this lesser known temple about 2 kms away from Thiruvirkolam ( Cooum) Tiripurantaka Swamy Temple.

The renovated Lakshmi NarasimhaTemple at Narasimhapuram

This temple dating back to the Pallava period, and renovated and extended during the Nayaka period was quite dilapidated till recent times but it makes us happy to see it renovated nicely, without losing its original look. There are a number of special features and unique characteristics to this temple.

1. The Hanuman here is found in a separate shrine outside the temple,facing the Lord. He is a varaprasadhi with his tail twirled over his head.

The Hanuman shrine at Narasimhapuram

2. Garudalwar is almost four feet tall and is seen wearing sixteen snakes as ornaments on his body.Worshipping him is said to rid one of Naga Dosham. Childless couples worship this Garudan and are blessed with bonny babies.

Nagabharana Garudalwar at Narasimhapuram

3. The temple has separate shrines for each one of the Ashtalakshmis. This seems to have been the case with  perumal temples in this area constructed around the same period, as we saw in the case of Melvenpakkam Sri Lakshmi Narayana Perumal temple. The article on Melvenpakkam Perumal is available on Aalayam Kanden here.

A part of the Ashtalakshmi shrines that are found along the circumambulatory path
at Narasimhapuram

4.As we go around the temple after worshipping the Hanuman, Dwajasthambam, and the Lakshmis, we find Goddess Maragathavalli Thayar in a separate shrine. The speciality in this temple is that the Goddess sits on the Srichakram. The aged priest in the Thayar shrine told us, if you stood for one minute and looked at the compassionate eyes of the Thaayar, you can offload all your worries and walk away light-hearted. His words are very true. As we stood looking at the Thaayar, so carefully and beautifully decorated, we could feel our weariness lifting away and a sense of peace descending on us.

A view of Goddess Maragathavalli Shrine at the Narasimhapuram temple

5. The Ashtalakshmis are found along the circumambulatory path. After worshipping an equally beautiful Andal, we moved into the main shrine of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha. Words cannot describe the vibration found in the Sanctum Sanctorum. The Lord over seven feet tall, with the Lakshmi on his lap, looks at us with compassion. He is also known as Shanta Narasimhar unlike his Ugara (fierce) form in several other temples.
As the Lord is a Santha Swaroobi, the Goddess is not looking at him to pacify him. Instead, she sits close to her Lord with her hand around his waist, looking at the devotees who have come to visit them. Lord Narasimha unlike in other temples, is also holding his consort close and one can almost see a gentle smile around the corners of his mouth.

Sri Kalyana Lakshmi Narasimha at Narasimhapuram

As the Lord and Mahalakshmi are found in the Anyonya Bhavam, the Lord is also known as Kalyana Lakshmi Narasimhar. Worshipping him rids one of hurdles in marriage and doshams like Kalatra Dosham and Sevvai Dosham.

Procedure for Sevvai Dosha Pariharam:
1. Worshipping the Lakshmi Narasimha for 90 days continuously is said to rid one of all kinds of Doshams.
2. For those who cannot visit for 90 days, worshipping the Lord on nine continuous Swathi nakshatrams, lighting two ghee lamps at his shrine and circumambulating 32 times is equally beneficial.

The Lakshmi Narasimha avatar happened at the twilight zone. Worshipping Narasimha at Sandhya Kaalam, and Pradosham time, on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays brings health and wealth to the worshipper.

The Bhattar spoke about a number of happy families who return to the temple once their prayers have been granted to perform Thirumanjanam.

The temple is quite crowded on Saturdays and Swathi Nakshatram days.

How to get here:
The temple is just 55 kms from Chennai. If proceeding from Chennai, take the right at Empee Distilleries near Sriperumbudur. This road is Arakkonam Road. The road is not very well maintained and hence vehicles can only progress slowly. After crossing the Tiripurandaka Swamy temple the Narasimhapuram temple is on the main road and can be identified quite easily. There are a number of buses plying from both Koyambedu and Poonamallee to the temple.

Google Map Link

Temple Timings:
7.30 am to 12 pm
4.30 pm to 8 pm

Contact Details:
94425 85638/ Bhattar 94871 94649

Dakshina Ahobilam, Avaniyapuram

Ever since I read about Avaniyapuram Navanarasimhar temple in Shri Raju's blog "Raju's Temple Visits", I had been very eager to visit the shrine. An opportunity presented itself during my last trip to Tiruvannamalai - Along with visits to Nedungunam Yoga Ramar Temple, I thought we could also have the opportunity of worshipping nine Narasimhars in one shrine too.

Climbing up the stairs to reach the main shrine

Avaniyapuram is about 75 kms from Tiruvannamalai.(Coordinates : 12°35'5.7152''N 79°23'10.5464''E).
The temple is in two levels - on the first level there is the Narasimha shrine and on the second level there is Lord Venkateshwara shrine. The most unique feature here - probably something that cannot be found anywhere else in the world is that not only does Lord Narasimha have the lion face, also the thaayar and Garudalwar are found here with lion face. The event when the Goddess prayed to Lord Narasimha to grant her his face, and obtained it through his blessings is celebrated once in 60 years (the tamil calendar has a 60 year cycle) during Sarvadhari Varusham Aani Maasam. This Avataara Utsavam has been performed last in September 2009.

Steps leading to the Narasimha shrine

We were very excited as we climbed up the first level of steps which were not too many or steep and reached the shrine. The temple is open from 6 to 12 am in the morning and 3 to 8 pm in the afternoon. On Saturdays it is open from 6 to 1 pm and 3 to 11 pm in the night. Once we went into the shrine, we found that there was no electricity. The grabagraham was quite dark and we were unable to see what we had come so enthusiastically to witness. We requested the bhattar to go inside and show us the face of the Lord and the Goddess in the light of the Harathi,but he refused saying that after the Utsavar had been placed, he cannot go inside and that even if he did we would not be able to actually identify the lion face in the goddess as the idol was very ancient and the features were no longer clearly evident.

Stopping by to pray to Anjaneya on the way up

We were extremely disappointed. There was hardly anyone inside the temple as they probably knew that there would be no electricity between 10.30 a.m to 12 p.m in the morning. We could see that the shrine across the sanctum sanctorum was that of Garudalwar, and there were shrines for Alarmalmangai thaayar, and five narasimhas to the left of Lord Narasimha but nothing was clearly visible. We decided to move up to the next level to take darshan of Lord Venkateshwara while we waited for the power to be resumed. We started climbing and the sight we saw was extremely spectacular.

Natural rock with lion face and raised paw

There was a huge rock formation in the form of a lion with face, eyes, nose, mane and a raised right paw....It was something that we could not take our eyes off.....indeed one has to see it to believe it!

We moved up the 100 odd steps and reached the next level....fortunately there was some light in the Venkateshwara shrine enabling us to see him clearly, and pray. The legend of the temple says that Lord Narasimha had given darshan to Brigu Maharishi in the form of five Divya desa deities...Tirupathi Balaji, Sholingur Narasimhar, Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal, Srirangam Ranganathar, and the Ahobilam Nava Narasimhars in the lower level.

Sri Venkateshwara at the upper level

Behind the Venkateshwara shrine, in a cave like structure the three shrines of Narasimha, Varadarajar and Ranganathar are found in a row. Here it was absolutely dark and the only way we could have darshan was with the use of the flash in our cameras.

Ranganathar in an unusual pose of facing the devotees

Varadharaja Perumal and Thaayar

From the pictures, you can imagine how dark it would have been. We just aimed in the dark and managed to shoot what we could. In fact the pictures of Narasimhar at this level and thaayar were too dark that I am unable to share them here.
We started moving down with the hope that power would  by then have been restored. But it was not to be. By this time, there were some more people who had come in to offer prayers. I tried my luck with the Bhattar again, asking him to show us the nine narasimhars in the shrine. He was not very friendly and merely said that the Moolavar, Utsavar, Another small Narasimhar in the sanctum sanctorum which was not visible from where we were, the Narasimha on the first level and the five Narasimhas to the left of the Sanctum Sanctorum,  it was nava narasimhars.

The Sanctum Sanctorum where the Moolavar and Utsavar
are partly visible. Over the shrine, you can see Lakshmi
with the lion face

We decided to use the same technique as we had in the first level. With our camera aimed at the general direction of the shrine, we shot pictures of the sanctum sanctorum, the Pancha Narasimhars and the Alarmelmangai thaayar. By the time we could actually shoot the Garudalwar, more people walked in and the bhattar shooed us away.

Alarmelmangai Thaayar

Just like in Tirupathi, where Lord Venkateshwara is in Tirumala and Alarmelmangai Thaayar is at Tiruchanur, here also Lord Venkateshwara is in the first level, while the thaayar is found at the lower level. 
One can stay all day long in front of her and still not have the heart to leave. The Goddess here is so beautiful and magnificient, that one feels so light and joyous just looking at her.

Five Narasimhas in the same shrine

We worshipped the Narasimhars and came out. The sun was shining brightly. I was a little disappointed that I could not get a lot of interesting information about the temple through the Bhattar but,nonetheless this temple is unique in all aspects and definitely deserves a mention.My sincere thanks to Shri.Raju for his very descriptive narration that was useful for us to identify the various unique aspects of this temple.

Thulabharam is a famous prathanai here. We could see some people offering sugar, jaggery and coins equal to the weight of their babies. It is believed that if childless couples pray to offer thulabharam once their prayers were answered, their wish of childbirth is granted, and they come back with the child to offer gratitude.

A view from the top

Some words of caution for those visiting this temple:
1. There is no electricity for best part of the morning so it is better to visit early in the day or in the afternoon.
2. The Bhattar is not very friendly and therefore, may not give a lot of information about the temple.
3. There are not many hotels or eateries around here, therefore, you may want to carry food, snacks, and water.
4. There are several monkeys on the way, who are so sophisticated that even if you have a handbag and a snackbag together in your hand, they would just pull out the snackbag and walk away.
5. There are a large number of beggars who can be quite aggressive.

A monkey having a GOOD DAY at our expense :)

However, these are small challenges compared to the gloriousness of this temple.
The five Divya Desa deities and Nava Narasimhars at one place, a natural rock lion with a raised paw, Lakshmi and Garudalwar with lion faces received in blessing from the Lord and a most enchanting Alarmelmangai thaayar, stay in your eyes and heart as you move away.

Do visit if you happen to be around this part of the world!

Sara Narayana Perumal Temple, Thiruvadhigai

                                                 Saranarayana Perumal Koil in Thiruvadhigai.

Thiruvadhigai or Thiripuravadhigai as it was originally known is a village between Panruti and Cuddalore. It is believed that Lord Vishnu became the Saram (arrow) for Lord Shiva to burn down the Tiripurandhakas and hence is called Saranarayana Perumal.This is the place where Shiva worshipped him after burning down the Tiripurandakas and hence the place is called Tiripuravadhigai. 

Saranarayana perumal is found in Kalyana Thirukkolam with Sridevi thaayar (no Boodevi) as he married the daughter of Margandeya maharishi here . The goddess is called Hemambujavalli and the Utsavar is called Govinda Vinnagarappan.

Sri Sayana Narasimhar 

The most unique feature of Saranarayana Perumal Koil is that it is only here that we find Lord Narasimha in a sleeping posture as Sayana Narasimha with Goddess Lakshmi at his feet.Lord Mahavishnu is found as Ranganathar in several temples and we also find Lord Shiva in a sleeping posture in Suruttapalli but nowhere else can we see Lord Narasimha in a sleeping posture. 

How to reach here:

The temple is on the Panruti - Cuddalore road, about 3 kms away from the Panruti Bus Stand. There is some road development work going on so you might have to take a little roundabout route near the temple.

Temple Timings:

Morning: 7 am to 10 am

Evening: 5.30 pm to 8.15 pm

Contact Details of the Bhattacharyar: 94437 87186

Anthili - A tale of Garuda's devotion!

Anthili Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple

Anthili is a non-descript village about five kilometres from Tirukoilur and about 3 kms from Arakandanallur in Villupuram District in Tamilnadu. As we turn right at the Arakandanallur Police Station and take the dirt track that leads us to this temple on a small hillock, little do we expect what is in store for us. But once we are led to the temple, by a few young boys playing near the fields, the awesomeness of the whole place strikes us. So what is so unique about Anthili?


History of the temple:


King Hiranyakasipu, asks his young son Prahalada in anger "You keep chanting Narayana's name all the time, If you think he is God, then show me where he is". The little boy replies " He is omnipresent. He can be in a pillar or in a piece of grass ( அவர் தூணிலும் இருப்பார், துரும்பிலும் இருப்பார்). Blinded with rage, Hiranyakasipu strikes the pillar nearby, and Lo! the pillar breaks open, and Lord Vishnu in the form of Nara-simha appears and destroys Hiranyakasipu.

The Lord was in a hurry to take the avatar to honour the conviction of his little devotee and to put an end to Hiranyakasipu in a manner he had sought to be killed. Therefore, he appeared from the pillar when Prahalada told his father that he could be seen there. He did not wait to take his vehicle Garudalwar with him since the situation was so demanding.

However, this action hurt Garudalwar very much. He felt that he had failed in his devotion because of which the Lord had not taken him along in such an important avatar. He was angry with himself and thought that he would do penance to redeem himself of this shortfall in devotion.He came down to find a suitable place to start his penance. And what better place than the banks of the River Krishna Bhadra also called Dakshina Pinakini (Then Pennai River). 

When Lord Vishnu took the Vamana Avatara he measured the earth with one foot, and the skies with the second. While he did so, Lord Brahma washed the foot measuring the heavens, with water from his Kamandalu. This water is believed to flow as the Dakshina Pinakini and since it is the water that washed the foot of Mahavishnu it is believed to be as holy as the Ganges. Incidentally, the third foot was placed on the head of King Mahabali, who was none other than the grandson of Prahalada!

Garuda chose a spot on the banks of the river and started meditating. Days and weeks passed and the mighty bird who had flown as soon as he was born with two elephants caught under each foot, grew weak and lean, so much that he could barely move. But his concentration was undaunted. The heat from his chanting spread all over the three lokas. 

Unable to bear this, Brahma and the Devas approached Lord Vishnu to appear before his devotee and grant his boon. Lord Vishnu came down to the banks of Krishna Bhadra where Garuda was meditating, and appeared before him. Pleased with his devotion, he offered to grant him a boon.

What could Garuda ask for? Overjoyed that his Lord accepted and appreciated his devotion, he asked Him to appear in the form of Narasimha and requested to carry him on his back. The Lord obliged and an extremely delighted Garuda carried his Lord in the form of Narasimha on his back around the place. He also requested that they should bless devotees in the same form so that they are freed of all their worries and were granted the boons they desired and the Lord happily agreed.

The hillock shaped like Garuda carrying Lord Narasimha on his back

Now look closely at the picture. You will be able to see the hillock shaped like the mighty bird with wings spread out ready for take off! The small temple atop it houses Sri Lakshmi Narasimha in the same form and size as he appeared before Garudalwar! Isn't this amazing!

It is also interesting that the back of the hillock looks like a sleeping lion. The two sides give two insights to this story.

Visit of Sri Vyasaraja:

Being aware of the importance of this place, Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu ( Sri Raghavendra Swamy in his previous birth) visited this place and spent some time here. To mark his visit, he has installed an idol of Sri Anjaneya Swamy. Sri Vyasaraja has installed over 729 hanumans at  places he visited. At all these place, he drew the image of Hanuman on a stone using Angaram and the impression became a sculpture. 

Hanuman installed by Sri Vyasaraja Theetharu

Sri Narasimha Achar:

The history of Anthili does not just speak of the devotion of Garudalwar but also of another  devotee, Sri Narasimha Achar.

Narasimha Achar lived in the lane across the temple. He was a vedic scholar and an ardent devotee of the temple. After bathing at the Krishna Bhadra near the temple, he performed his poojas here and walked all the way upto Manampoondi, to worship at the Moola Brindavana of Sri Raghoothama Theertharu every day. 

Sri Raghothama Theertharu's life and times are as magnificient as Sri Raghavendra Swamy's. What I write here is just a glimpse of the grace that he bestows on many of his devotees till date. We will discuss this in detail in another post.

Not a day passed in Narasimha achar's life without worshipping his guru Raghothama Theertharu. Such was his love and devotion for his guru. Years passed and Narasimha achar grew old. He became weaker and weaker and at one stage, it became extremely difficult for him to think of walking from Anthili to Manampoondi.

He could not bear to live a day without worshipping his Guru. Therefore, he prayed to him to end his life. Raghothama Swamy appeared in his dream and consoled him. He said what if you cannot come to see me, I will turn towards you in my brindavanam. He appeared in the dream of the Bhattars , and instructed them to start performing the daily poojas to the eastern side of the brindavanam.

 If you happen to visit this magnificient brindavanam in Manampoondi, you will see that the brindavanam faces the West, while poojas are being performed in the East. Just like Sri Krishna turned in Udipi for the benefit of Kanakadasa, Sri Raghotama swamy had turned for the benefit of Narasimha Achar's desire !!

A small thulasi maadam has been constructed on the huge rock on which Narasimha Achar sat and prayed and probably taught his students. I was not sure if it was his brindavanam, since usually brindavanams are constructed for sanyasis and Sri Narasimhachar was not one.

Srikanth Bhattar of the temple, confirms that it is only a thulasi madam probably signifying the spot where Narasimha achar performed his daily poojas.

The huge rock and the thulasi madam at the bank of the river

This temple is about 1600 years old. It is one of the Nava Narasimha Kshetrams of Tamilnadu and is easily accessible.

How to get here:

By Air : Nearest airport is Chennai.

By train: Nearest station - Villupuram Junction and then take a taxi or bus to reach here. There are frequent buses from Villupuram to Tirukoilur and several share autos available from Tirukoilur to Anthili.

By road: Tirukoilur is about 194 kms from Chennai and about 40 km from Villupuram and 33 kms from Tiruvannamalai. Arakandanallur is about 2 kms from Tirukoilur. At the Arakandanallur Police station, turn right and proceed for about 3 kms among fields to reach the temple.

Temple timings and contact details:

As it is a village temple, please check near by for availability of the bhattar and keys to the temple.

Visit to Tirukoilur temples:

One can visit several places of importance and interest while visiting tirukoilur:

1. Sri Trivikramaswamy Temple, Tirukoilur ( One of the 108 Divya Desams and the birthplace of the naalayira divyaprabandham)

2. Sri Veerataneswarar temple, Tirukoilur (One of the Ashta Veerata Sthalams, Samadhi of Meikandaar Nayanar)

3. Kabilar Kundru ( A monument built at the place where Kabilar fasted to death)

4. Sri Raghotama Swamy Moola Brindavanam, Manampoondi

5. Sri Gnanananda Thabovanam ( Tirukoilur)

6. Sri Krishna Premi Swamiji Ashram (Paranur)

7. Sri Athulyanadeswara Temple, Arakandanallur (Athulya Nadheswara Temple on Aalayam Kanden)

8. Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple, Anthili

9. Sri Lakshmi Narayana Temple, Veeracholapuram

I have just mentioned a few important places here. If one plans well, the bliss of visiting these and several other temples can be had. 

If you happen to be in this part of the world, do make it a point to visit this magnificient temple!