An Aesthete's Diary

Appakudathan temple which dates back 1000-2000 years is the 8th Divya Desam temple located in Koviladi village which is around 10 miles from Trichy. This temple is located along the banks of river Cauvery and is dedicated to Appakudathan/Appala Ranganathan (Vishnu) and his consort Indira Devi/Kamala valli (Lakshmi). Vishnu is seen in saiyana kolam (lying down posture) holding the appakudam (pot with appam) in his right hand and blessing the devotees with the left hand in apana hasta mudra. As per Hindu folklore, the king Ubhamanyu earned the rage of sage Durvasar and lost all his physical strength. To get rid of the curse, he was asked to feed one lakh people every day. One day, Lord Vishnu disguised himself as an old man, appeared before the king and asked for a meal. The king went on providing food to the old man who consumed all the food prepared for the people yet not fulfilled. The king was shocked and bewildered at this strange act. The old man then asked for...

Srirangam the first Divya Desam out of the 108 Divya Desam temples dates back to 100 BCE to 100 CE (around 1000 years old) , its located in an islet bounded by the twin rivers- Cauvery and Kollidam in Tiruchirapalli. This temple is dedicated to Ranganathar (Vishnu) and his consort Ranganayaki (Lakshmi). This temple is built in Dravidian architectural style. The temple is spread over 156 acres and has 21 magnificent gopurams of which the Rajagopuram is the second tallest Temple tower in the world rising to a height of 72 mts and has 13 tiers. This is the only temple to have 7 prakarams (Saptha Prakarams). The temple also has 50 sub shrines and 9 sacred pools. The 1000 pillar mandapam (Aayiram Kaal mandapam) is an example of huge planned theatre, currently it has only 953 pillars. The Sesharayar mandapam consists of monolithic pillars with sculptures of wild horses bearing riders on their backs, trampling their hoofs upon the heads of rampant tigers and seem only natural ...

This 1800 years old Parikkal Narasimhar temple is located in the Villupuram district.  This temple is situated between two rivers, the Thenpennai and Garuda. This is the only temple where Lord Narasimha and Mother Lakshmi are seen embracing each other, which depicts that he has shed his fury and graces the devotees with beneficence. One of the main attractions in the temple is the installation of two idols of Anjaneyar-  Veera Anjaneyar and Baktha Anjaneyar who grace the visitors together in this temple. Grains are spread by the devotees in front of them and its believed that writing their wishes in that is fulfilled.