Sirukarumbur

Sundara Kamakshi temple - Sirukarumbur

When I posted a forward in our WhatsApp group about Sirukarumbur Sri Sundara Kamakshi temple a fortnight ago, just after our trip to Palani, Ranga promptly reacted saying, "porum let’s go a bit slow". Little did we know that we were destined to have a wonderful darshan on Chitra Pournami day with the Moon God also praying to the God and Goddess along with us!

It was only on Saturday afternoon that Sudha Karthik suggested that we visit the temple and recite Lalitha Sahasranamam in front of the Goddess.  Things moved at a great speed with the transport being organised and plans for carrying food from home for nilachoru.

Two vehicles carrying ten of us, some offerings to the God and Goddess and lot of eatables, started sharp at 4 pm.

With one session of recitation on the way, we reached the temple by 5.30 pm after a small coffee break.

Though the temple is getting more popular now, we did not expect it to be practically empty on an auspicious day such as this. This made us quite happy as the Gurukkal had all the time and patience to explain in detail about the temple.

Discovered in 1954 by Mahaperiyava, this very ancient temple had been covered by heaps of sand forming a small hill. It was built by the ancestors of Raja Raja Chozhan, said the Gurukkal but the temple being near Kanchi made us wonder if it could have been built by Pallavas who were well known for their expertise in sculpting. Whether it was built by the Pallavas or Cholas, it is a visual treat for people interested in temple sculpture.

As we entered, we could see the Gajaprishta Vimanam first and a beautiful sculpture of Dakshinamurthy.

We prayed at the Pillayar sannidhi which is the first one in the temple.

We then entered Lord Thiripuranthaka Easwarar sannidhi. A huge avudai and a slightly conical but huge Lingam sat majestically in the centre. The cylindrical Gajaprishta Vimanam made the sanctum look very spacious and we had a great darshan of the Lord. The Gurukkal showed us the Vyakrapadhar sculpture on the wall praying to the Lord on one side and a lady with Vyakrapadham on the other side.

Circumambulating the Lord's sannidhi, the first goshtamurthy was Pillayar as usual, followed by Dakshinamurthy. This Dakshinamurthy was unique showing us the glory his Adiyargal can reach. Yes, the 63 Nayanmargal are in the form of 63 Lingams on the head of this Lord!

And to show that Ambal is his half, he is seen with makara kuzhai on his right ear and thodu on his left ear!

Next was Mahavishnu followed by Brahma, followed by Durgai! Chandikeswarar seemed to be missing!

Right behind the sannidhi, in front of Mahavishnu, a vilva tree and neem tree are found standing together. This is very rare as usually we can see arasamaram and veppamaram together in many temples. Here the vilva tree is branching into three forks looking like a Tirushulam. Also, a small branch of the neem tree is interlinked with the vilva tree, which makes one feel that the Goddess (neem tree) has put an arm on the Lord's (vilva tree) shoulder!

There is also a huge lingam underneath these trees and a small tirusulam planted in the ground.

Parallel to the Lord's sannidhi, which is also not very common, is the Goddess's sannidhi.

The Gurukkal started showing us the more intricate carvings on the walls of Ambal sannidhi and we had a darshan of an owl on the gopuram. We felt quite happy as this is an auspicious sighting!

Ambal's sannidhi is made of green stone which is cool naturally. 

One visit is not enough to take in all the intricate sculptures on the walls.

A very cute baby Anjaneyar can be seen facing the direction of the Goddess, praying to her.

 A very rare sculpture of Valli and Devasena as one - called Gajavalli

 Kamadhenu and Karpaga vrisksham ready to give what we ask for

 The two sons of the Goddess standing on either side of the sanctum entrance

 Goddess Saraswathi and Lakshmi on either side on the sanctum

 

 Nava kannigai beautifully sculpted

     

                                                     Saptha matha can be seen here

                          A Sreechakram on the entrance ceiling and Gajalakshmi

                                                Pancha asanas of Goddess Mahalakshmi

Apart from these, many architectural treasures were unearthed in 2001! As the gopuram was already in place by then, these stones which must have been part of the gopuram earlier are just kept on the ground!

A baby in mother's womb crafted with clarity!

Mother and baby !

We entered the sannidhi after seeing all this. No words are enough to describe the Goddess standing magnificently in the centre! When the earlier Gurukkal asked Mahaperiayava why Goddess Kamakshi sitting in Kanchi is standing in Sirukarumbur, the all-knowing saint replied that here she is standing ready to grant our wishes the moment we ask, not even taking the extra time to get up from a sitting posture! One can see a Sreechakram in front of the Goddess. this was placed here by Mahaperiyava.

We could not take our eyes of the Goddess who appeared so benevolent! After a long time we came out to complete our recitation of Lalitha Sahasranamam before it became too dark.

As we completed the recitation, the Moon God rose up the Eastern sky to have a look at the God and Goddess.

We then got up to pray at my favourite God, Lord Muruga who was six faced sitting majestically on his peacock with Valli and Devivanai on either side!

This sannidhi is right most corner after Ambal sannidhi, with the God and Goddess flanked on either side by their sons!

Right opposite Ambal sannidhi is Anugraha Veerabhadrar. This is again not a very common posture of the Lord! He is standing there with a Sivalingam on his forehead. A very powerful God, ready to give anugraham to us! We could see the goat headed Dakshan standing at his feet.

Next to Anugraha Veerabhadrar is the Navagraha sannidhi. Though I did not check with the Gurukkal, I felt that the temple can do with some funding as even in small temples in Chennai the Navagrahas are clad in their respective coloured vastras whereas here they were bare with no alankarams!

Adjacent to Navagrahas is a small sannidhi for Kalabhairavar

Next was abhishekam at the Lord's sannidhi followed by abhishekam for Ambal. It really looked like the Goddess's eyes were opening as the abhisheka thiraviyam was poured over her!  We had a great opportunity of looking at the Goddess and the Moon God alternately during this time. After a great darshan of the abhishekam, we decided to have the food we had brought in the temple.

We then waited for the alankaram to be completed. Though we were a little worried that we could be delayed as it was taking a long time with only one Gurukkal completing the alankaram for both the God and the Goddess. we really thanked our stars that we did not leave without seeing this.

The Lingam was decked in a resplendent veshti, many garlands and the naagam. We prayed to the Lord and went to Ambal Sannidhi. In full alankaram, she looked even more benevolent. Clad in a bright nine yards saree, she was wearing a golden crown studded with precious stones, her forehead was decorated with manjal and kumkumam. Red stone mookuthi shone on one side of the nose and a nathu with many white stones on the other side. Her smile was enhanced by a very cute, dangling bullaku touching her upper lip! Many stone necklaces adorned her neck along with 5 different flower garlands in many colours! Her long braid with many jadai billais was resting below her knee! A small pair of golusu decorated the Universal Mother's feet along with a few champaka flowers.

The sreechakram was also decked with garlands and many lotuses.

As we stood there not able to take our eyes off the Goddess, the Gurukkal came in and placed a parrot made of dazzling stones on the right hand of the Goddess, making the Sundara Kamakshi look like Goddess Meenakshi!  This increased her beauty as she stood there like a bride, blessing us all!

Not having the heart to leave, we all prayed that the God and the Goddess, give us darshan again and left the temple to reach home by 11 pm.