rajimurali

Ugrakumar receives the spear,the wheel and the chendu(weapon) Soundara Pandian desired that Kanthimathi,daughter of  Somasekaran of Manavoor should be married to Ugrakumar.That night the Lord appeared in the dream of Soma sekaran and asked him to take his daughter to Madurai and give her in marriage to Ugrakumar. Somasekaran wa mightily pleased when pandian arrived at Manavoor .He welcomed him graciously .The marriage took place  on an auspicious day as fixed  by the wise.The couple lived a virtuous life. One day,Soundara Pandian told Ugrakumar that Indra and Varuna are his enemies .And Meru was arrogant.He gave his son a wheel to shatter the head of Indra ,a Spear to dry up the seas and the chendu to beat the arrogance out of Meru .Then Ugrakumar was enthroned ;Soundara Pandian and Thadathagai then settled into the temple.

Ugrapandian's Birth (Thiruvilayadal-11) Thadathagai desired that she should have a son to carry on the Royal line .Lord shiva made murugan ,who appeared from his third eye ,to be born to Thadathagai.Accordingly ,she became pregnant and had a child born to her .On a Monday,falling on Thiruvathirai asterism. The child was named Ugrakumar .As he grew ,he distinguised himself in all the branches of learning with rare qualities and great prowess.He would one day bring the world under one rule,said the wise ones.Soundara Pandian wanted to get him married and then perform the coronation .On this he consulted his ministers.

Malayathuvasan recalled (Thiruvilayadal-10) Lord Shiva as Soundara Pandian and Thadathagai with Kanchanamalai arrived at the tank.The priest there said  it would be proper to bathe holding either the husband's hand ,the son's hand or the tail of a calf  .Immediately ,Soundara Pandian contemplated on Malayathuvasan who was with Indra ;he appeared before Kanchanamala.Happily she took his hand and dipped into the water ,when they both went up to Shiva-loga in a celestial  vehicle.   

Beckoning the Seven Seas (Sivan Thiruvilayadal-9) Lord Shiva ruled the land as Pandiyan.At that time Kanchanamalai invited Sage Gauthaman to learn from him which  austerity would release one from the misery of rebirth.He replied that ''Kaayigam'' austerity was the best others being ''Manadham'' and  ''Vasigam'' .Of these ,pilgrimage to holy places and bathing in purificatory holy waters  (theertha yathirai).Since it is difficult to bathe in so many rivers ,the seas which received all the waters would be proper for purification .As Thadathagai informed the Lord  of these,the Lord said''why one sea?,we will beckon all the seven seas''.As He intended,the seven seas arrived at a tank east of Madurai.

Food Vessel and Vaigai (Sivan Thiruvilayadal -8) The Lord then fought of Anna Poorani;instantly four food vessels full of curd rice appeared .Gundothara was filled with food and bloated like a hillock.But was filled with thirst and drank up all the water from the water resources,like wells,lakes,rivers.Still his thirst was not quenched. Then the Lord made the Ganga from his crest flow into a river .Gundothara drank of it and was quenched of his thirst.Then the river assumed the name 'Vaigai' as the Lord commanded him in those words .Then as Lord Somasundara He ruled the world with Thadathagai.

The Feasting of Gundotharan (Thiruvilayadal-7) Even after the guests were feasted after the wedding ,so much of food remained unconsumed .Not even one thousandth was consumed .As Thadathagai mentioned this to the Lord,he smiled and created a fire in the stomach of Gundothara,who consumed not only the food,but also the vessels containing the food.Yet his hunger was not relieved .He consumed uncooked vegetables,milk etc.,. Now Thadathagai expressed her worried wonder at this to the Lord  Gundotharan despaired at the fire of hunger as if the fire that destroyed 'muppuram'had manifested in him.He was in great misery.

The Dance at  the silver chamber (Thiruvilayadal-6) The heavenly hosts,kings and sages were invited for the festive  feasts.Sage Pathanjali and Sage Vyakrapadhar requested the Lord to replay his dance at the golden chamber once again at the silver chamber at Madurai.They said it would be most proper to partake of the feast after witnessing his dance .The silver dance chamber manifested at Madurai and the Lord danced signifying his relation with his Devi.The Sages were in great ecstacy,and the Lord granted them many boons.

Wedding(Thiruvilayadal-5) When Kanchanamalai was worried about Thadathagai's marriage,she replied that the marriage will take place in due time.In the mean time ,she wanted to establish her prowess on the eight  directions of her land. she requested her mother not to worry about her marriage. She conquered many lands with her four fold army and went to Thirukailayam ,fought and defeated Nandhi another Sivaganams.Lord shiva himself confronted her at the moment one of her breast disappeared and she was over come with shyness and returned to Madurai.And as  the 'asariri' had prophesied earliar it was clear Lord Shiva himself was to be her husband ;and they were married with great jubilation for all.Brahma,Vishnu and host of celestial beings and sages attended the marriage .There was no end to the joy of the people of Madurai. Some wondered who was the gainer the Lord ,Thadathagai or the city.Brahma himself  performed the ceremony and the Lord gave app

Thadathagai Piratiyaar(Thiruvilayadal-4) Malayathuvasan Kanchanamalai couple were without any issue.They performed Putra Kameshti  Yagam.Goddess Uma as a three year old and three breasted girl appeared from the yaga and rested on the lap of Kanchanamalai.The King was worried about the physical peculiarity of the girl.But there was an 'asariri'(unbodied voice)announcing that one breast would disappear when she gets a husband . She was named Thadathagai as ordered by Lord Shiva .She learnt military arts and use of various weapons.On one auspicious day,he performed a coronation ceremony for her.She ruled justly and without blemish after her father passed away. As the land was ruled by a virgin(kanni)the Pandiyan land was called 'Kanni Nadu'.

The founding of Madurai-3(Thiruvilayadal-3) Dhanajayan ,a merchant living in Manavoor,the city of Kulasekara Pandian,one day worshipped Lord Chockalingam in Kadambavanam(Madurai). As he was worshipping there.He spoke of his vision to the Pandian,who was brooding over it.That night Lord Somasundarar appeared in his dream as a siddha and advied him to convert the forest into a city .The king gathered experts to construct a marvelous temple.While he performed the shanthi ceremony,Lord Somasundarar allowed the Manna from the crescent moon to mingle with ganga water in his crest to flow on.Because it was sweet (madhuram)the place acquired the name Madurai.Before he died ,Kulasekara Pandian crowned his son,Malayathuvasa Pandian.    

Lifting the curse off the white elephant-2(Thiruvilayadal-2) Sage Duruvasa once gifted a alotu to Indra who was going in a procession on his white elephant.The lotus was aquired by Duruvasa  by his Siva worship.It dropped from the head of Lord Shiva. Because of his arrogance of prosperity ,Indra casually received it with one hand and placed it on the elephant's head.It threw the lotus down and trampled on it. Duruvasa cursed him that his head would be shattered by a Pandiyan ,the elephant would become wild.They both begged to be forgiven and released from the curse.So he relented and reduced the force of the curse:that the elephant would be restored to normalcy after hundred years and that was meant for the head would be shifted to the roll of hair on the head. The white elephant came down to earth to Kadambavanam (Madurai)where it worshipped Lord  Somasundarar who granted it a boon.The elephant requested the Lord to accept it as the ninth elephant along

Divine Playfulness-1 (Thiruvilayadal-1) 1.Indra Obsolved of his Sin During the Kretha Yuga ,Devendran was engrossed in sensual delights of song,dance and dalliance with women in his paradise.Because of these engagements,he failed to respect the Devaguru (Vyazha bagawan).This neglect resulted in the Devaguru's departure from the place ;as a consequence the prosperity dwindled and famine threatened. Indra  could not find his Guru.He went to Brahma Deva who advised him to adopt Viswaroopan,son of the Asura Guru Thuvatta.Indra requested Viswaroopan to perform a sacrifice (Yaga)for his sake.What he uttered and what he willed inwardly were different.The utterence was voiced as ''Let the Devas prosper'',but inwardly his intended desire was Asuras to prosper and Devas to famish  .Indra sensed this through his divine intuition .So he clipped three of his (Viswaroopan's) heads which became the birds 'kadai' ,'kuruvi' , 'sichili' a

Ancient Legends of Miraculous Episodes and Divine Playfulness (Sree Meenakshi Temple) Introduction: Import: The purport of the ancient legendary tale of the miraculous episodes of the divine play(Thiru-vilayadal-puranam)is to show that Madurai,its kings,its people who worshipped Lord Somasundarar are divinely protected .Madurai was blessed with the sancity of place,holywater resources and Murthi-worthiness(Murthi-sthalam-theertham).As the favourite seat of the Lord,it is the scene of 64 miraculous episodes. Author: Sage Paranjothi is the author of these episodes.He composed them 350 years ago.He was the son of Meenakshi Sundara Desikar of Chola kingdom at Thirumaraikaadu,distinguished in both Sanskrit and Tamil at a very early age.His verses embodied the important ideas of Saiva scriptures ,Saiva siddhanta philosophy.Sangam Literature with graceful diction and substance and composition. A tradition says that Goddess Meenakshi appeared in his dream once and

Adi Veedhies (Sree Meenakshi Temple) By crossing the Muthu veerapa Mandapam and Meenakshi Naicker Mandapam.We can reach the south Adi Veethi(street). In the courtyard at the eastern end of the temple elephants and camels are kept.Proceeding west ,we find several office housed in small buildings.The temple library Thevaram school,Thiruppugal sabha,Temple  employees Association ,Deivaneri kazhagam,Panniruthirumurai mandram,Dhandapani Thiruppugal Sangam are all here. The Southern outer tower of the temple is the tallest of all its towers .It is 170 feet high it base 108 feet long and 67 feet broad .All the 1511 sculptural figures in this tower are very big.Panoramic view of the city can be seen rom the top of south tower. There are two gigantic forms of the yali on both the sides of this tower .The diameter of each eye of these creatures is itself 2.5 feet.From this we can guess the statue of the other parts. This tower was built in 1559 by Sevvanthimoorthy Che

Kambathadi Mandapam--2(Sree Meenakshi Temple) On the fifth,chakradharar (the Lord having wheel in his arm),Rishabaroodar (the lord riding the bull)Ardhanareeswarar (the Lord with a woman's form on half the body ie.,half image is masculine and the other half faminine,with appropriate naments for adorning each half ).Siva is represented having a male earring in the right lobe and a female earring in the left.The conception is that both purusha and prakriti are necessary for creation. Near to this pillar there is another depicting and image of Siva called Harihara Sankaranarayana.God's left half is Vishnu  and the right half Siva .Accordingly on the left side we see the conch,pearl necklace and other vaishnavite marks and the brilliant carvings of the features of Vishnu.On the right are the snake and other marks of  Siva .The moral is the oneness of both Hari and Hara and sunthesis between Vaishnavism and Saivism. The figures of Jalandra Anugrahar (God of Gr

Kambathadi Mandapam (Sree Meenakshi Temple) Perhaps the most beautiful places of architecture of Sree Meenakhi Temple are found in teh kambathadi mandapam in the outer prakaram in front of the idol of Lord Sundareswarar,Each one of these pieces is so fine that one cannot but appreciate it,The artistic heart will simply merge with these master pieces. The various features of God are graphically ,depicted on the eight black stone  pillars around the Nandhi mandapam ,Bali peedam (alter for offerings a Thiruvatchi frame of lamps)and the Golden flag post. Sree Meenakhi's wedding scene  is found on one of these pillar.The majestic appearance of the bridegroom (Lord Siva) the shyness and the sweet smile expressed in the eyes and lips of the bride (sree Meenakshi)and the manner in which Lord Vishnu give away the bride are very realistic. On all the four sides of each pillar we find admirable artistic work,on the pillar having the wedding scene the figures of L

Musical Pillars (Sree Meenakshi Temple) Beyond the north tower in the Adi  street ,there are five stone pillars.Each pillar has been carved out of a single stone. Each has little pillars ,chiselled exquisitely.Each of these little pillars ,produces characteristic sound which struck.Hence these are called Musical pillars ,such pillars are seen in the thousand pillar mandapam also. Near the pillars at the beginning of the east Adi street there is a Mandapam with sixteen pillars .The mandapam is called Tattu Chutur Mandapam.This was built in 1772 by Venkateswara Mudaliar.The feats of Saint Manickavasagar painted here. Crossing this Mandapam we come to the Swamy Sannathi at the eastern end of which stands East tower.This is the oldest of the big towers.It was built by Maravarma Sundara Pandyan (1216-36).Hence it is also called Sundara Pandyan Tower.It is 153 feet high with it base 111 feet,65 feet.There are 1011 sculptures in it. It is said that during reign

Thirukkalyan Mandapam(Sree Meenakshi Temple) we next come to the Thirukkalyan Mandapam (Marriage Hall).Here we see dais where the marriage ceremony of sree Meenakhi is performed every year during the chitra festival(April-May). This dais and the black  stone mandapam were built by Vijayaranga chockanathar.His figure has been engraved on the first pillar on the southern side ,facing north. On the southern and northern walls,the origin of the universe and the living beings is painted within big circles. There is a hall,97 feet by 47 feet providing space for the carvings and On the top portion of this hall there are wooden carvings and paintings .The pictures of  vynagaram venkatachalam chettiar and Nagappa chettiar who built this hall are also among them.The roof of this hall is covered with copper plates.

Bhairavar 108 potrigal Om bhairavaney potri Om baya naasaganey potri Om ashta roobaney potri Om ashtami thondraley potri Om ayan guruvey potri Om ara kavalaney potri Om agandhai azhipavaney potri Om adangaarin azhivey potri Om arputhaney potri Om asithaanga bhairavaney potri Om aanandha bhairavaney potri Om aalaya kaavalaney potri Om innal podipavaney potri Om idukaatum irupavaney potri Om ukra bhairavaney potri Om udukkai yendhiyavaney potri Om uthiram kudithavaney potri Om unmaththa bhairavaney potri Om urangaiyil kaapavaney potri Om Oozhatharulvoney potri Om ellai devaney potri Om elithil irangubavaney potri Om kabaala thaariye potri Om gangaala moorthiye potri Om karva banganey potri Om kalpandha bhairavaney potri Om gathaa yuthaney potri Om kanal veesum kannaney potri Om karumega nirathaney potri Om katvaanga thaariye potri Om kanavai kulaiponey potri Om karuna moorthiye potri Om kaala bhairavaney potri Om kaabaligar devaney potri

Mangayarkarasi Mandapam(Sree Meenakshi Temple) Going south from the Thousand Pillar Mandapam,we come to an open space  where we find newly built mandapam.Bricks,cement and iron rods have been used in constructing this mandapam. The statues of Mangayarkarasi,Kulachirayar,Koon pandyan and Gnana sambandhar find a place in this mandapam.The Linga form of Lord Siva has also been used in constructing this mandapam. This Mandapam has been named after the sainty queen who contributed a lot the growth of bothi tamil and the saivite religion.It is also a sample of the renovation of sree  Meenakshi temple during 1960-63. To the south of the Mangayarkarasi Mandapam is the servaikarar mandapam,built by the Maruthu Pandyas in 1975.On the left pillar,we see the figure of Elder Marudhu.