Thiru Nindravoor - Sri Bhatavatsala Perumal Temple

About the Temple:

This Divyadesam is situated in Tamil Nadu District. One mile away from Thinnanoor railway station which is on the railway lane between Chennai to Arakkonam. Bus facility available from Chennai - Poonamalle and Thiruvallore.

Sthlapuranam :

When Thirumangai Alwar came here to see and get the seva of the Perumal, he didnt notice him, as the Perumal was talking with Periya Pirattiyaar. Getting angry on him, Thirumangai Alwar just worshipped him without doing Mangalasasanam. From there he came to Thirukadal Malai (Mahabalipuram) he worshipped Kadalmalai perumal and did Mangalasasanam on Thirundraoor perumal Pattharavipperumal of Thirunindraoor.

The basic principle of worshipping the God is both Perumal and Thaayar has to be worshipped all along the way. No one should be left out. If Sriman Narayanan is the God who protects all the human of the world, then it is periya pirattiyar who recommends for the people to take of them to Sriman Narayanan.

Worshipping only Perumal and leaving Pirattiyaar is said to be the worship of Sooranaga (Sister of Ravana) and worshipping only Pirattiyaar and leaving Perumal is said to be the worship of Ravana. Both these worship are not 100% pure and it is basically due to jealous and anger.

But it is said that once Ravana wanted to get Siva Peruman's wife Parashakthi and then he wanted to get Sri Vishnu's wife Sita Piratti. But, in Rama Avathaar, Sri Ramar treated Vibeeshana as his brother there by making both Ravana and Soorpanaka as his brother and sister.

Both the love of Ravana on Parasakthi and the love of Soorpanaka on Rama is one of the way of love, they want to express.

This sthalam is under the control of Periya Jeeyar of Tirupathi - Tirumala.

Moolavar and Thaayar:

The Moolavar of this sthalam is Sri Bhatavatsala Perumal. Also known as "Bhatharavippermal". Moolavar in standing position facing east direction.
Prathyaksham for Varunan (the Rain God).

Thaayar

Sudhavalli Thaayar. Also called as "Ennai Petra Thaayar". She is found in a seperate Sannadhi.



Mangalasasanam:

Thiru Mangai Alwar - 2 Paasurams.
Total - 2 Paasurams.

Pushkarani:

Varuna Pushkarani. Viru theekshura river flows here.

Vimanam:

Sri Sreenivasa (Uthabala) Vimanam.

Vedapureesar Temple, Tiruverkadu

This temple is located about 20 Kms from Chennai. A branch road on the main Chennai - Poonamallee trunk road leads to the temple. An ornamental arch at the entrance of the branch road guides the visitors to the temple.Lord Shiva known as Vedhapureeswarar, Verkatteeswarar & Female deity known as Baalaambikai .

Thiruverkadu is nowadays more famous for Devi Karumaari Amman temple located there which attracts devotees in large numbers everyday. But the Vedhapureeswarar Temple, located about 1 Km from the Karumari Amman temple, is not known to many. From Thiruverkadu bus terminus, a well laid out concrete road named as Sivan Kovil Road leads you to the Paadal Petra Sivasthalam of Vedhapureeswarar Temple.The entrance gopuram is of medium height with 5 tiers. The main sanctum for Vedhapureeswarar is facing east. Behind the main Sivalingam of Vedhapureeswarar inside the sanctum, the wedding scene of Lord Shiva with Parvati is depicted. According to the legend, Lord Shiva is said to have blessed Sage Agasthiyar with a vision of His marriage with Parvati here. The idols of Agasthiyar and Sooriyan can be seen in the inner prakaram on the left side. The shrine for female deity Baalaambikai is on the left side of the main sanctum facing south. There are separate shrines for Chandikeswarar, Ganapathy, Dakshinamurthy, Brahma and Durgai. A seperate shrine for Saneeswaran can be seen in the south-west corner of the outer courtyard and can be reached by turning right immediately after entering the temple through the main gopuram.

Legend: This sthalam is also associated with Lord Murugan. Lord Murugan once took Brahma as a prisoner when Brahma could not explain the meaning for "Pranavam". Lord Shiva sent Nandi to Lord Murugan with a message to release Brahma but Murugan refused to do so. On coming to know of this, Lord Shiva personally came and convinced His son Murugan and released Brahma. Lord Shiva also punished His son Murugan for his disobedience and ordered him to go to Tiruverkadu and worship Lord Shiva there for some time. Velayutha Theertham in the temple is said to have been created by Lord Murugan to worship his father.

Masilamani Eswarar Temple, tirumullaivayil

Masilamani Eswarar Temple,Located in tirumullaivayal (ambatthur) near chennai.Lord Shiva known as Masilamani Eswarar & Female deity known as Kodiyidaiamman .

This temple is 2 Kms from Ambattur, the industrial hub of Chennai city and is well connected by town buses. There is also a suburban railway station known as Tirumullaivayil on the Chennai Central - Arakonam section of Southern Railway and the temple is 1.5 Km from the railway station.


Sundarar has composed hymns on the God of this temple. Sundarar when he lost his eye sight at Tiruvottriyur, came to Tiruvadamullaivayil and composed a Pathigam consisting of 11 songs. This temple is more than 1200 years old. The king Thondaiman, who ruled Thondai Naadu with Kancheepuram as the capital, was once defeated at the war by his enemies Kurumbars. The king, dejected by the defeat, was returning from the battle field on his elephant. When the elephant's legs got entangled with mullai creeper on the ground, the king cut the mullai creeper with his sword to free the elephant's legs. To his surprise he found blood coming out from underneath the mullai creeper. When he cleared them, he found a Sivalingam. After prayers to the God, the God sent Nandi along with him to fight his enemies once again. The king won the war, and in appreciation of God's help in conquering his enemies, he constructed the temple at Thiruvadamullaivayil.

Because Nandi went to war along with the king, the Nandi in this temple is facing east instead of facing the God as seen normally in other Shiva temples. There is a grand tower on the southern entrance to the temple. It is considered very special to pray the female deity Kodiyidaiamman here in full moon days. In this temple, there is no seperate shrine for Navagrahas, the nine planets. Sage Vasishtar has visited this temple and did penance and got Kamadhenu.

Thiruninravur

Thiruninravur is a village in Thiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu. It is situated at around 32KM from Chennai.

It is famous for Bakthavatsala Perumal Temple which is one of the 108 Divyadesams. Hridayaleeswarar Temple constructed 1500 years ago dedicated to Shiva is also located at Thiruninravur. Both built during the Pallava era. Another temple named "Eri Katha Ramar" which is also quite famous in thiruninravur.

Many devotees from Chennai, Tiruvallur, Thiruvotriyur visit the Bakthavatsala Perumal Temple on Vaikunta Ekadasi and the Hridayaleeswarar Temple during prathosham days. Both the temples are very old, and are well maintained.

Its a wonderful destination for people who would like to visit both Shiva and Vishnu temples at the same place. The place is well connected by both bus and rail from Chennai.



Thiruninravur is also a central hub for all neighbouring villages and towns within a vicinity of 10 km radius on all sides. Residents of Sivanvoyal, Aranvoyal, Pakkam, Palavedu, Thottikalai, Karlapakkam etc need to alight at Thiruninravur (junction) to access other places

The Outer Ring Road which is being laid in order to connect Maduravoyal to Manali is being routed via Thiruninravur (from Poonamalee, Shriram College of Engineering through Nadukuttakai among other places.

Buses connecting Thiruninravur:

71E --> Thiruninravur to Parrys T16 --> Avadi to Tiruvallur via. Thiruninravur. M71E, 65C --> Ambattur Ind. Estate to Thiruninravur. 572> Ambattur Estate - Thiruvallur. 54A --> Poonamallee to Thiruninravur.

Trains:

Trains bound to Tiruvallur, Arakkonam, Kadambathur, Tiruvalangadu, Tirutani and Tirupathi starting from Chennai will halt at Thiruninravur.

Also it has several schools and colleges which attracts a lot of students from the city. The most popular is the Jaya group of institutions which offers Higher Secondary, Graduate and Engineering courses.

Avadi

Avadi is situated at a distance of 24 km from chennai. On the road leading to Tirupathi and to the west of Chennai. It is served by a good network of buses which pass through, originating from Chennai. It is also served by the Avadi railway station situated on the Chennai-Arakonam broad gaugeline. It has got an air force station in that area.

Avadi has become a township since 1 March 1996. It has now become a centre of Industrial activities as around it function Ordnance factory, tank factory and the army vehicle depot, - all belonging to the Government of India, The Shaw Wallace Company and the Southern Cables Corporation, manufacturing cables of different types. The Tube Investment of India, having a factory producing varieties of engineering goods, a nit manufacturing steel tubes and several other industries under private management situate here. The headquarters of the Special armed Police of the Tamil Nadu Government is located here. The Kendriya Vidyalaya, panchayat nion higher secondary schools, the government higher secondary school, a few higher secondary schools, run by private management, and a library maintained by the Local Library Authority are the institutions which faction here. A Police Station, Telephone exchange and township office are the other offices that function from here. The Highways Department maintains a travelers bungalow.

Ambattur

Ambattur is an industrial Cente and township which is 16 km. to the west of Chennai city and situated in the Chennai - Avadi Trunk Road. It has railway station, bearing the same name on the Chennai - Arakkonam broadgauge line. Frequent bus service, both town and mofussil, help the people in transportation.

This ancient village, being very near to Chennai city with rail and road facilities is in an advantageous location. This is the biggest small scale industrial estate not only in Tiruvallur district but in the whole of South Asia. It is spread over an area of 1221 acres of land with 1370 industries functioning there. Though an attempt to start an industrial estate was made in year 1961, it had its functioning commissioned in the year 1964, by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Several factors such as suitability of the soil communication facilities, availability of raw materials and a large volume of ground water suitable for industrial and domestic purposes, etc., were responsible for seeking this place for the setting up of this industrial Estate, an extent of 1000 acres adjoining the estate was acquired by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board for housing purposes. For more details such as the activities and achievements of - Industrial estate, please refer to the chapter on Industries.

There are two temples here, one of Sri Vinnaraya Perumal and another for Lord Siva. The latter is very old and dilapidated. Temples for Lord Muruga and for the local deity Kannatamman can be seen here. The Mounaswami Matam, which has a temple for Sri Bhuvaneswari Amman inside, attracts a large number of the devotees of Mounaswami.

Once a major panchayat, Ambathur was made a township in the 1960's. It has now attained the status of selection grade Municipality. Sri Ramasamy Mudaliar's High School, two panchayat union elementary schools, one girls high school, A.M.M. Charities hospital, veterinary hospital, veterinary dispensary, a Madhar Sangam, a maternity centre, a carpentry union, a police station, etc., are located here. Consequent on the developments of industries, several housing colonies have sprung up. Around the industrial estate, several industrial units have grown up, to swell the number of industries here. The T.I. Cycles of India Limited are running a factory manufacturing bicycles. The factory produces about 13,00,000 bicycles every year. The capital investment of the company is Rs.16 crores. The Dunlop Rubber Company has established a factory for the production of motor and giant tyres, cycle tyres, retreading compounds, etc.

Vaacheeswarar Temple, Tirupaasur

This temple is located 7 Kms from Tiruvellore railway station which is on the Chennai Central - Arakonam section of the Southern Railway. It is 4 Kms from Veera Raghava Perumal temple in Tiruvellore which is one of the 108 Divya Desam shrines of God Vishnu.


Situated roughly 50 Kms from Chennai, the Shiva temple at Tirupaasur has gopurams on the east and the south side entrances. Once we enter the main gopuram, there is a spacious courtyard on all the 4 sides. The inner prakaram houses the shrines for the main deity, female deity and Lord Subramanya. The main shrine for Vaacheeswarar and the female deity Thangaathali Amman, are facing east. At the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum, tall stone images of Dwarapalakas can be seen. On the left side of the main sanctum sanctorum, Vinayakar Sabha is situated wherein stone idols of God Ganesha in various sizes can be seen. On the outer walls of the sanctum sanctorum, stone images of Dakshinamurthy on the south side, Annamalayar on the west side and that of God Brahma on the north side can be seen. The inner prakaram of the sanctum sanctorum houses the stone images of Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar and Sundarar.


Karikal Valavan, the Chola King is said to be associated with this temple. According to the legend, this sthalam was a bamboo forest and the Chola King Karikal Valavan while passing through this forest found a Sivalingam under the banboo trees and constructed this temple for Lord Shiva. Inscriptions from the Chola period are found inside this temple.