Hello beings of this beautiful planet. Thanks for stopping by!
What started on a whim was nearing its fruition. Shivohie & I were elated and also tired. Visiting 13 temples in 5 days of a road trip was no mean feat. In addition to the Pancha Bhoota temples, we had the good fortune of visiting many other temples in the vicinity, all the while working on the move, attending calls at work, meeting deadlines, and so on.
The last Panch Bhoota temple on our list was the Arulmigu Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanai Kovil, representing the Water element. The sanctum here is underground with a stream immersing the Shiva Lingam.
Honestly speaking, the garb greh was so dark that I couldn’t witness the immersion of the Shiva Lingam clearly.
No matter whether you take a 10 INR ticket or 50, the queue (s) culminate into one queue at the end. You need to stoop your head really low at the entrance before straightening yourself inside the garb greh/ sanctum sanctorum.
According to legend, Goddess Parvathi took the form of Akilandeswari and prayed in the Jambu forest. She made a Shiva Lingam from the water of the River Kaveri and worshipped it under the sacred Venn Naaval tree. Pleased with her devotion, Lord Shiva appeared before her and blessed her with the wisdom of Siva Gnana.
There is the noon-time Pooja where priests dress as Goddess Akilandeswari, which we couldn’t witness, since we visited the temple in the morning hours. This ritual follows the locals’ belief that Goddess Akilandeswari (as Parvati) worships Shiva herself around noon. So what the priest does is a symbolic representation.
Speaking of symbols, water represents our emotions and feelings. We are 72 to 80% water; we are emotional people, so to speak. We are pretty much consumed by positive emotions like joy, love, hope, confidence, compassion, forgiveness, gratitude and negative emotions like anger, fear, insecurity, jealousy, shame, guilt and frustration, all through the day. Managing these emotions, before they start managing us, is important.
Dressed in Blue at Jambukeswarar Temple
Throughout the trip, we set intentions. As we walked into the Jambukeswarar Temple, our intentions were set. Everything begins with an intent. Without an intent, there cannot be a follow-on action.
Both of us asked for guidance and assistance to walk the middle path of balanced emotions, not overtly dependent (emotionally speaking), or detached. Neither too cold with our feelings, nor too hot in our temperament.
Human beings tend to oscillate between two extremes until a day arrives when they learn to walk the middle path of balance. And that’s what we intend to achieve, or at least strive towards.
With the last temple on the panchayat Bhoota list under our belt, we head back to Chennai to board the flight to our respective destinations, with the hope of achieving something extraordinary like this every year. A noble bucketlist to have. What do you think? 😇
Travelling inward, wandering outward.
With travel stories that go deeper than what meets the eye
Priyaa
P.S
We had enough time on hand to visit a few more temples in and around Trichy.
The Brahmapureeswarar Temple in Thirupattur, was about 1 hour drive from Trichy, is a rare shrine to Lord Brahma. Another famous Brahma temple is located in Pushkar, Rajasthan. As per the legend, Lord Shiva had to cut Brahma’s 5th head as a mark of breaking the latter’s pride and ego. Brahma is believed to have been relieved of his curse at the Brahmapureeswarar Temple, making this temple very special. Brahma is the creator, hence the devotees flock to the temple with the hope that Brahma will bless them with new beginnings.
Our personal favourite was the Vekkali Amman Temple. Sitting with one folded leg, under the open sky, the Devi is a sight to behold and the energy to be experienced. The open ceiling is not by design. No effort to construct a roof over Vekkali Amman was successful. Though she is a form of Kali, what we felt was immense love in her presence. We found the priest here humble, kind and soft-spoken. One can buy a yellow paper from the ticket counter and write their prayers on it and finally offer it to the Amman. These prayer letters are given back to the devotee, who can later tie them up at a common place allocated for this purpose.
