Pateeswarar Temple Perur, Coimbatore

Pateeswarar Temple Perur (Pic from Dinamalar site)

Perur Patteswarar temple is located in Coimbatore at a distance of 12km from the Gandhipuram Bus stand. It is at a distance of six km from the modern industrial city of Coimbatore. 

Perur temple is also known as Dhenupuram as the legend of this temple is similar to that of Pateeswaraswamy temple Dharasuram and Dhenupureeswarar temple at Madambakkam. Legend (Shatlapuranam) says that this temple existed right from Kruthayuga and in all the other three yugas it was called in various other names. The Lord is worshipped by kamadhenu, Vyasa, Viswamitra, Yama, Mahavishnu and Brahma. Sages Gomuni and Pattimuni who are said to be Mahavishnu in sage form did penance and were blessed by Lord Nataraja and Sivakamasundari and thus Perur is also called as Melai Chidambaram. The lord and lordess of the temple are Patteeswarar and Maragadhavalli or Pachainayagi who grant the highest boon of ending the cycle of birth and death for every human. The footprint scar of kamadenu is visible on the head of the Shivalinga in this temple. The temple has two sthalavrukshams Piravapuli and Iravapanai. The seed of the tamarind from this tree does not sprout when sowed and the palm is more than a millenium old. The cow dung in the surrounding areas do not have worms in it. The Bairavar in this temple is seen without his consort the dog and is called as Gnana Bairavar. It is a belief that Worshiping this Bairava helps in curing heart diseases.

Kanakasabai is located in this temple and here Nataraja is in a different posture with his legs pointing downwards and with a twinkle in his eyes and mischievious smile which enthrills the devotees. Lord Shiva gave his Ananda Thandava darshan to Brahma, Vishnu, Kali and Sundarar.

Specialities of this temple:
    The Vimana of Mother Pachai Nayaki is square in shape.
    There is a seperate shine for Mother Manonmani.
    The shrine of Lord muruga is between the shrines of Swamy and Ambal in the somaskandha form.
    The Anjaneya in this temple is made of wood.

It is this lord who directed Sundaramurthi Nayanar to Chera king, Cheraman perumal to get funds to go to Kailash when he visited this temple. The temple is built close to Noyyal river. The temple is 2000 years old and is built by Karikal Cholan and then further constructions were done by Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar kings so we can see a mixture of architecture of all the styles in this temple. Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali Khan also patronised this temple and it improved the harmony of Hindus and Muslims. The Dheevatti Salaam conducted in the evenings every day is done as a respect to these rulers.

The famous festivals of this temple are Thiruvadirai, Panguni Uthiram. The temple is open from 6.00 am to 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm to 8.30 pm

Srisailam

Article by Mr. Shankara Narayanan


Srisailam , is one of the Jothirlinga stalam and is the abode of Mallikarjunaswamy. The accompanying deity is Bharamambal.

This place is located at 250 Kms south of Hyderabad, in the district of Kurnool on the southern banks River Krishna.

A very quite and peaceful place, with very little crowd.
The origins of this temple have been lost in antiquity. The Skanda Purana has a chapter called Srisaila Kandam dedicated to it, which points to the ancient origin. This is confirmed by the fact that saints of the past millennia have sung its praises. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and at that time he composed his Sivananda Lahiri.
Srisailam is referenced in the ancient Hindu Puranas, and the epic Mahabharata.
Shiva's sacred bull Nandi is said to have performed penance at the Mahakali temple till Shiva and Parvati appeared before him as Mallikarjuna and Brahmaramba. The temple is one of the 12 hallowed Jyotirlingas; Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga, while the Pandavas lodged the Panchapandava lingas in the temple courtyard.
Heroic legends from the Mahabharata and Ramayana are sculpted in stone on the temple walls and the Mahabharata epic refers to Srisailam as Sri Parvata — the blessed hill. You can hear the buzzing of a bee through a tiny hole in the Brahmaramba temple, where Parvati, in the form of a bee, slew the demon Mahisasura.
It gained prominence in the twelfth century due to the Sharana movement and Vachana Sahitya headed by Basavanna. According to legends one of the Srisailam caves is said to be the place where the most famous poet and social reformer Akka Mahadevi achieved salvation.

How to reach Srisailam.

The best way to go to Srisailam, is from Hyderabad.

Frequent busses are available from Hyderabad. the journey takes about 6 Hrs by delux bus and about 7 Hrs by Normal express Bus. The first  70 Kms is in plateau , and the remaining is in thick forests of Nallamala. This nallamala forest is the home of  a Tiger Sanctury.

Traffic thru nallamala forest is allowed from 6 Am to 7Pm.Travelling  after darkness is Not advised.

The best possible way to visit Srisailam and return back to Hyderabad, on the same day is by your won Vehicle.
If you leave Hyderabad , by early Morning say by 0600 hrs, you would reach Srisailam around 1030 Hrs( in a leisurely manner), You can have halts at Amangal, and Dindi.

On a normal day it would take less than one hour to have darshan.
 You can have lunch at Srisailam town itself, good No of restaurants are available, and you should start your return journey latest by 1500 Hrs. While returning , do drop in at the Museum and have a Glimpse of Sisailam Dam, an engineering marvel. You can comfortably reach Hyd by 2000 hrs.

While at Srisailam , be careful of cheats,- Do Not engage any one for any kind of services.
 Precautions- While travelling to Srisailam do not wear jewllery, or carry high amount of cash. Remember you are passing thru Nallamala forest which is the haven for Naxalites. Though they do not disturb civilians, there were cases of robbery have been reported.

Do carry plenty of water and Easily digestible food,.Make sure yuou have mosquito
repellents , it is better to apply prior to entering in to Nallamala Forest.


Should you wish to stay overnight , there is plenty of accommodation available at Srisailam, , The room rents vary from Rs 50 to 500, and depending on season. Some of the Charitable trust provide you excellent and clean accommodation , but you have abide by their rules and regulation like , no smoking , drinking etc.

Special Shiva Temples in India

There are 12 Jyothirlinga temples and 5 Panchabootha sthalams in India.

Jyothirlinga temples are those where Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of light (jyothi) and also in the Linga form. On the night of Aridra Nakshatra, lord Shiva transformed himself in the form of Jyothi linga.

The twelve Jyotirlinga Temples are:
1. Kedarnath Temple at Uttranchal
2. Viswanath Temple at Kasi (Varanasi)
3. Someshwara Temple at Somnath
4. Mahakaleshwar Temple at Ujjain
5. Omkareshwar Temple at Ujjain
6. Rameshwar Temple at Rameshwaram
7. Mallikarjuna Temple at Srisailam
8. Triambakeshwar Temple at Nashik
9. Bhimashankar Temple at Pune
10. Nageshwar Temple at Dwaraka
11. Baijnath Temple at Deoghar
12. Grishneshwar Temple at Ellora

Pancha Bootha Sthalams are temples of Lord Shiva, where he is worshiped in the form of the 5 aspects of the universe, earth, water, air, sky and fire.

The Panchabootha sthalams are:
1. Earth- Sri Ekambareshwarar Temple at Kanchipuram
2. Water - Sti Jambulingeshwar Temple at Thiruvanaikovil
3. Air - Sri Kalahastheeshwarar Temple at Kalahasthi
4. Sky - Sri Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram
5. Fire - Sri Arunachaleshwarar Temple at Thiruvannamalai