SRI RAJAGOPALASWAMY, MANNARGUDI (TN)

Called Dakshina Dwaraka/Chambakaranya Kshetram. Here Krishna is shepherd boy with whip in hand and turban on head. There are bangles in his hand and he is adorned with ornaments worn by children. A cow and 2 calves are by His side.
#temples

Once, Rishi Gopila and Gopralaya did tapasya to please Sri Vishnu. Prabhu asked them to go to Dwarka to meet Krishna. By the time the two rishis reached Dwarika, Krishna had left Earth. So the two came to Mannargudi and prayed to Sri Vishnu to reveal his Krishna avtar.

Vishnu, then, appeared as Krishna before them.
The moolavar here has a dangling Kundalam in one ear and an earring in the other ear. It is said that once Krishna and Gopiyars had a bet as to who would bathe the quickest. In his eagerness to win, Krishna ran back in a hurry.

He wore his kundalam in one ear and Gopiyar’s ear ring in the other.

In the Mahabharata, Pulastya tells Bheeshma that anyone staying for a night at MannarKoil earns the merit of having gifted a 1000 cows.

Milk is the main naivedyam here. Dosa is the naivedyam in evening puja

SHIVA BHAKT CHANDESHWARA

Bhakt Chandeshwara is one among the 63 Nayanars.

He was born into a Brahmin family and was called Visarasarman. When he was a young boy, he found that cows remain uncared for. So he himself started tendering and caring for the cows.

While doing so, he would pour some milk on a lingam, which he made of sand. The news of this wastage of milk reached his father, Datta. He himself came to scold his son. Chandesha was deep in meditation in front of the sand lingam, and he did not see his father.
@DubeyYash1911

Enraged father kicked the sand lingam at which Chandesha’s meditation was interrupted. He struck his father’s leg with a staff. The staff turned into an axe and his father’s leg was severed. Shiva, then, appeared, restored the severed leg of Datta and made Chandesha his gana(गण).

In Shiva mandirs, Chandesha is shown seated, with an axe clasped in hand. Devotees snap their fingers or clap their hands to attract his attention.
As he is considered the guardian of the mandir belongings, devotees clap their hands to show that they are leaving empty-handed.

GANESHA’s LOVE FOR MODAK

Among all things offered to Ganesh, it is Modak that is his favourite.
So, here is a story on Ganesh and Modak.
Once, Shiva went to Rishi Atri and Ma Anasuya ashram. Shiva was very hungry but Anasuya insisted on feeding Ganesha first.
@RudraVS

Ganesha was served and he ate on and on. When Anasuya realised that nothing will be left, she served him a single piece of sweet. Ganesh ate it and let out a loud burp indicating that his tummy was now full.
This sweet was Modak. Since then devotees serve Modak to appease Ganesh.

In Maharashtra, Modaks are cooked as both steamed (Ukadiche Modak) or fried dumpling variants. They include grated coconut and jaggery with a hint of nutmeg.
Modak is also known as Kozhakattai in Tamil, Modhaka or Kadubu in Kannada, and Kudumu in Telugu.

SRI VADAKUNNATHAN, THRISSUR (KER)
#bharatmandir

One of the oldest and largest Shiva kshetram of Kerela and first among 108 Shiva Mandirs set up by Parashurama.

Adi Shankaracharya is said to have been born to Devi Aryamba and Shivaguru after years of prayer to Vadakunnathan.

It is believed that Shiva and Parvati came here at the request of Parashurama but disappeared suddenly.
Parashurama saw a radiant light emanating from a Lingam at the base of a huge banyan tree. This place is the Mula sthana where Shiva manifested himself in the form of a lingam

The daily Abhisheka of Shiva with Ghee covers the shivlingam making it invisible.
The ghee doesn't melt even in scorching summers. A portion of the ghee, after Abhisheka is given back to the devotees as it is believed to have miraculous power to kill all the diseases.

Famous Thrissur Pooram is conducted in the premises of Sri Vadakkunnathan.

Murtis from the nearby mandirs are brought here in grand processions. They offer their tribute to Shiva and leave for their respective kshetrams.
@GunduHuDuGa

SRI DURGA DEVI, KUNJARU GIRI, NEAR UDUPI (KAR)
#bharatmandir

Popularly known by the names: Kunjarugiri, Durgabetta and Vimanagiri and installed by Sri Parashurama.
The high hills look like Kunjara (Elephant) for which the place is known as Kunjaragiri or Kunjarugiri.

It is said that after creating Kerala, Parashurama found a pearl in deep sea which he transformed into a nose ring and adorned it on the murti of Kunjaru Amma here. He also created four tirthas called Dhanus Thirtha, Gada Thirtha, Bana Thirtha n Parashu Thirtha around the hill.

Till day, it is believed that he is performing penance in the cave below the Durga Betta. The shrine of Parashurama is on top of the rock hill by the side of Gada Thirtha.
Sri Madhvacharya is believed to have visited the shrine every day during his childhood.
@padiyare

One day, when he was in the Kunjaru shrine, his mother called and he jumped straight to his house. To this day, his footprints can be seen on a particular rock.

This place is also called Vimanagiri as the Devas came by Vimana to offer floral tribute when the murti was installed

जीतने से पहले जीत और हारने से पहले हार कभी नहीं माननी चाहिए…

संध्या वंदन🙏🏻

VASANT PANCHMI: TODAY

Vasant Panchami is celebrated on fifth day of Shukla Paksha of Magh.
Mata Saraswati, the giver of knowledge, worshipped with yellow flowers, Gulal, water offerings, incense, lamp etc. Panchami is also celebrated as the birthday of Ma Saraswati.

Once, after creating the world, Brahma Ji was very happy and wanted to see his creation with his own eyes. So he set out on a journey. He was disappointed to see complete silence everywhere. Everyone on Earth appeared to be very lonely.
@SriRamya21 @GampaSD @SriramKannan77

He took some water in his Kamandal and sprinkled it in air. A Devi appeared with a harp in her hand. On Brahma Ji’s request, she struck the chords of her harp and music emanated.
Thus, Ma Saraswati was born who blessed the people with voice and filled Earth with music.

The ancient Mandir of Sri Sharda at Sringeri had sandalwood murti. Later, Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha and Sri Vidyaranya had a mandir built in Kerala style, with timber and tiled roof. Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha substituted the sandalwood murti with the present golden murti.

SOMVATI AMAVASYA: TODAY
VRAT STORY

Amavasya falling on Monday is Somvati Amavasya. It is said that if a man is suffering from a prolonged disease, his wife can fast on this day n circumambulate a peepal tree as a ritual, praying for his recovery and prolonged life.
@GunduHuDuGa

Once a Rishi told a brahmin that his daughter did not have the line of marriage in her hand. So she should try to please Sona, a washerwoman, of nearby village. If Sona applies Sindoor from her head on the head of the Brahmin’s daughter, her problem would be solved.

The girl started going to Sona’s house early morning and finish all household work before Sona got up. One day, Sona found out the truth and pleased by her humility, she applied sindoor on the girl’s head. That very moment, Sona’s husband died. That day was Somvati Amavasya.

Sona went to a peepal tree she worshipped daily. As she had nothing to offer, she picked some bricks and circumambulated around the tree praying for her husband’s life. By Shiva’s grace, his life was restored
Married women, thus, fast on this day for wellbeing of their husbands.

WHY IS CONCH/SHANKH NOT BLOWN IN BADRINATH DHAM

Though the conch always accompanies Sri Vishnu, still in Badrinath Dham, it is not blown.
It is said that once there was a great terror of Rakshasas in this region. So Brahma Rishi Agastya prayed to Bhagwati to end the menace.

Devi Kushmanda ended the Rakshasas but two of them, Aatapi and Vatapi escaped. Aatapi hid in the Mandakini river while Vatapi went into Badrinath Dham and hid inside a conch. Blowing a conch would have made Vatapi come out of the conch. Since then, the practice has continued.

It is also believed that once Ma Lakshmi was meditating in Badrinath Ji while Sri Vishnu killed Shankhachur Rakshasa. He avoided blowing the conch as a sign of victory so as not to disturb Ma Lakshmi. Ever since then, conch blowing was stopped in Badrinath Dham.

Scientifically also, conch sound creates waves of a certain frequency which in turn creates turbulence in the ecological environment. It may cause snow storms in ice-covered Badrinath Dham. So blowing a conch is prohibited here.

AMBALAPUZHA SREE KRISHNA MANDIR (KER)

The mandir is directly associated to the Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Mandir. During the raids of Tipu Sultan in 1789, the murti of Sri Krishna from the Guruvayoor Mandir was brought to the Ambalappuzha Mandir for safe keeping.

Krishna once appeared as a Rishi here and challenged the ruling King to a game of Chess on the condition that the winner gets to choose any prize he wants. As prize, the Rishi wanted a grain of rice, with the condition that each square would double the grain of rice.
@SriRamya21

The king agreed to his terms. Soon the king lost n as he started putting the grains, he realized the huge amount of grains he would have to give. Krishna took pity on him n revealed his true form. He asked the king to provide paal payasam to him each day till the debt was repaid.

Even today, Palpayasa Nedyam/ Payasam (a sweet pudding prepared of rice and milk), is served here. It is believed that Sri Guruvayoorappan reaches here daily at the time of Palpayasa Nedyam to have it.
@vedvyazz @GampaSD @IndiaTales7

SRI RANGANATHASWAMY-SRIRANGAM

It is said that Ikshwaku, the ancestor of Sri Rama worshipped the murti of Sri Vishnu. When Dashratha conducted yajna to beget sons, all Kings were invited. Raja Dharmavarman from South also came. He was struck by the beauty of the murti.
@GampaSD

Dashrath was not willing to part with the murti. So Dharmavarman had to return without the murti.
Much later, the coronation of Sri Ram as Raja, was attended by Vibhishana. He also wanted this murti and Sri Ram agreed to give it to him but told him not to keep it anywhere.

On way back, Vibhishana stopped for evening pooja. He saw a child (who was Ganesh) n asked him to hold the murti. The child kept the murti down after sometime. Vishnu then appeared and told sad Vibhishana that he would stay there but would always have his eyes resting on Lanka.

So Prabhu lies in Srirangam, with his head on the Western Side and eyes seeing the south. The entrance to the Mandir is also from the south and the sanctum also faces the southern direction.
Pleased Dharmavarman built a mandir around it which got buried under sand in due course.

After years, a Chola prince went hunting and heard a parrot say a sloka in chaste sanskrit about a Mandir being buried underneath
He undertook excavations which revealed the murti. The prince henceforth came to be called Kili Cholan as he acted according to parrot’s directions.

TIRUPATI LADDU

Also called SriVari laddu. It is offered as Naivedhyam to Sri Venkateswara and prepared within the mandir kitchen (laddu potu) by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

It has Geographical indication tag so only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams can make and sell it.

The Laddu was invented during the reign of the Pallava dynasty. It is even mentioned in inscriptions dating back to the 1480s when it was known as “manoharam”. Originally, it was served in a loose, chunky form. Its present ball form came in 1940s.

About one tonne of besan flour, 10 tonnes of sugar, 700 kg of cashew nuts, 150 kg of cardamom, 300 to 500 litres of ghee, 500 kg of sugar candy and 540 kg of raisins are used daily to make the prasad.
An average of 1.5 lac laddu are prepared daily.
(Cr:lifebeyondnumbers. com)

SURYA NARAYAN SWAMY, ARSAVALLI, SRIKAKULAM (AP)
#bharatmandir

One of the oldest Surya kshetra in India.
It is a Panchayatana shrine (with Suryanarayana, Shiva-Parvati, Vishnu, Ganesh and Indra) Believed to have curative powers. It’s original name was Harshavalli (Abode of Joy)

Once, Indra went to meet Shiva. He tried to force his entry at a time when Mahadev was with Devi Parvati. Nandi who was standing as dwarapalaka, kicked Indra. This left Indra wounded and senseless.
Indra,then, had a dream that worshipping Surya would cure his wounds.

Indra found this murti of Surya at Arsavalli where he prayed and got relief. Here, Surya is with his consorts-Usha, Chaaya and Padmini. The base has Mathara and Pingala as dwarapalakas. At the top, Rishis Sanak and Sanandana are holding an umbrella.
@GunduHuDuGa

The shrine is built such that the sun’s rays are focussed on the feet of the murti twice a year in March and September for a few minutes in the early hours of the day even when 5 entrance gates are closed.
The main festival celebrated here is Ratha Saptami.

VAIKUNTHA/MOKSHADA/MUKKOTI EKADASHI: TODAY

11th day of the Shukla Paksha tithi of the Margasirsa month.
On this day, the door to Vaikuntha remains open.
Vishnu Purana says that fasting on this Ekadashi is equivalent to fasting on the remaining 23 Ekadashis.
@vedvyazz

Padma Purana says that a long fight took place between Asura Mura and Sri Vishnu.
To take rest, Sri Vishnu went inside a cave.
Mura, then, attacked Vishnu while he was sleeping but Devi emerged from his chest and vanquished Mura.
Vishnu gave the name of Ekadashi to the Devi.

Fasting on Ekadashi grants moksha. People refrain from eating rice on this day as it is believed that Asura Mura dwells in rice grains. This signifies that entertaining negative tendencies could hamper one's progress towards awareness or consciousness.

On this day, in Sri Ranganathaswamy Mandir Srirangam, Utsavar Namperumal is in an armor of diamonds (rathnaangi) and brought to the 1000-Pillared Hall through the northern gate called Paramapada Vasal, the gate to Vaikuntha. This gate is opened only on Vaikuntha Ekadashi day.

Tirumala has a special entrance called Vaikuntha Dwaram. The dwaram is opened only on Vaikuntha Ekadashi and it is believed that any person who passes through this `Vaikuntha Dwaram' on this particular day attains Moksha.

सब जन्म मुझ ही से पाते हैं,
फिर लौट मुझ ही में आते हैं…

REASONS FOR OFFERING WATER TO SHIVLINGA

Wherever a Shivlinga is worshipped, all negative energies are destroyed. Shiva takes away the negative just as he took Halahal (हलाहल) during Samudra Manthan.

Thus, hot energies continuously flow through a Shivlinga and pouring water over the Shivlinga gives calming effect.

Also, Aagya Chakra lies in our forehead. Here, two important Nadis (नाड़ी)- Ida (ईड़ा) and Pingala meet. This is the main seat of Shiva.

Offering water on Shivlinga is actually offering water on Aagya Chakra.

The positive movement of energy leads to purification of thinking.

MAKAR SANKRANTI: REASONS TO REJOICE

Why do we celebrate the movement of sun in capricorn (उत्तरायण सूर्य)?
When sun is moving towards south, we get limited sunlight and harsh weather. So the movement of sun towards north is a time to rejoice, to rejuvenate, to welcome spring.

Unlike other festivals, which are based on the traditional Indian Calendar, set according to Lunar positions, sankranti is a solar event. Thus, while the dates of all festivals keep changing every year, the date of Makar Sankranti is always the same – 14th January.

It is said that Yama blessed the sesame seed (तिल). So they are regarded as the symbols of immortality. The seed was supposed to have originated when drops of sweat trickled from Vishnu and fell on earth.
Sankranti is incomplete without til and gur(jaggery).

In Maharashtra, they say "Til gud ghya ani goad goad bola" meaning, people should be as sweet with words as til n gur.
Til seeds n oil have the ability to absorb and emit Sattva frequencies more than any other oil. By distributing til and gur, there is an exchange of saattvikta.

KAMADA EKADASHI: TODAY

Also called Chaitra Shukla Ekadashi which is celebrated after Navratri and Ramanavami.

Kamada signifies a grant of desires.

It is believed that observing vrat on this day fulfils worldly desires, cleanses the consciousness and nullifies curses.

Once, an Apsara Lalita and Gandharva Lalit served in the court of Bhagipur king Pundarika. One day due to the absence of his beloved Lalita, Gandharva Lalit could not perform well in the court and Pundarik got annoyed. He cursed Lalit to transform into an ugly demon
@GunduHuDuGa

Lalita also went after Lalit in sorrow. Years passed and she reached Vindhyachal mountain where she came across Rishi Shringi. He advised her to observe the fast of Kamada Ekadashi.
Lalita observed the vrat with dedication and by Vishnu’s grace, Lalit regained his original form.

RATHA SAPTAMI: TODAY

Ratha/Arogya Saptami is dedicated to Bhagwan Surya who was born to Rishi Kashyapa and Aditi on the Saptami Tithi of Magha Shukla Paksha. So Ratha Saptami is also known as Surya Jayanti.
Today, we worship Surya for sustaining life on Earth.
@RatanSharda55

The symbolic representation of Ratha Saptami shows Surya turning his Ratha drawn by seven horses, with Arun as the charioteer, towards the northern hemisphere, in a north-easterly direction. The seven horses here represent the seven colours of the rainbow or 7 days of the week.

The chariot has 12 wheels, which represents the 12 signs (each of 30 degrees) of the Zodiac (360 degrees) and constituting a full year, named Samvatsara.
It is believed that taking a bath during Arunodaya or sunrise in a sacred river on this day can help to get rid from sins.

As per a katha, once a noble king who had no heir prayed to Prabhu and was blessed with a son. However, after his son fell terminally ill, a Rishi advised him to perform the Ratha Saptami puja. After Ratha Saptami puja, his son's health was restored and he went on to become King.

KATHA OF SREE PADMANABHASWAMY (Ker)

Once, there was a great Vishnu bhakt, Vilwamangalam Swamiyar. One day, Vishnu appeared before him as a child. The Muni took an instant liking to the child and asked him to stay with him. The child agreed but with a condition.

He said he would vanish if he was disrespected.
One day, as Muni was sleeping, the child put the shaligram (that Muni worshipped) in his mouth. The Muni was angry n scolded him. In an instant, the child disappeared telling him to search for him in Ananthankaadu
@SriramKannan77

The Muni ran after him n reached a wooded spot where he thought he saw the child disappear into a huge Ilappa tree. The tree fell to the ground and transformed into the form of Vishnu with head at Thiruvallam (5 km from East Fort where Sree PadmanabhaSwamy Mandir is located).

The feet were at ‘Trippapur’ (8 km away towards North). In total bliss, he requested Prabhu to condense/shrink himself so he could behold the form. It was he who started the custom of presenting Vishnu with raw mango in coconut shell. This continues even today.
@Maha_periyava_

The then Maharaja of Travancore ordered that a Mandir be constructed over this image. Later,
Marthanda Varma, one of the most noted Travancore kings did a major renovation and introduced the festivals Murajapam (chanting of prayers) and Bhadra Deepam.
@ramapriya1989 @pardhu_leo

IRINGOLE BHAGAWATHY MANDIR, ERNAKULAM (Ker)

The cruel King Kamsa killed Devaki’s new-borns one by one. As he tried to kill the 8th one, the baby rose up and beams emanating from her body fell on earth. The place where the beam fell was called 'Irunnol' that later became Iringol.

The trees n undergrowth are never removed as it is said that Devas descended on Earth to pray to Devi and became trees and plants in the grove
Another belief is that Rishi Trinabindu did tapasya in these forests. He was disturbed by child Hanuman so much that Rishi cursed him.

The curse was that Hanuman would forget his infinite strength. Vayudev, Hanuman’s father, came to the forest when he heard the curse.
All trees started shaking except the one on which Hanuman sat. That tree is believed to be here and worshipped as ‘Valiya Ilavu’
@Ashwinsampathk

On Vayudev’s request, the Rishi said that Hanuman will be reminded of his powers by Jambavan when Sri Vishnu would take birth as Ram. He also blessed Hanuman that so long as Ram’s name stays in the universe, Hanuman will stay a 'Chiranjeevi'.
@GampaSD

In the Mandir, the Devi changes from Saraswati in the morning to Vanadurga in the afternoon and later in the evening becomes Bhadrakali. Unlike other mandirs, here only female elephants participate in the mandir festival.
(Credit: @VinodNGK and various sites)