Indian Columbus

Subramanya Bharathi, who lived between the end of the 19th century CE and the beginning of 20th century CE, was one of India's greatest poets. He wrote many poems in Tamil, which inspired thousands of people to fight for India's independence. He wrote poems almost on all subjects; however, his patriotic poems, devotional poems, and poems on social reform became very popular among Tamils. Bharathi was a national leader who was actively involved in politics. He started writing poems when he was just seven years old. He knew a lot of languages, including English, French, Sanskrit, and Telugu. He also wrote a lot of stories. He used to sing his own songs. His speech in public meetings was always inspirational. He was also a journalist. Some of his followers refer to him as the incarnation of Goddess Saraswati due to his abundance of knowledge. Bharathi, born in a village near Tirunelveli in Southern Tamil Nadu, spent his last days in Triplicane,  Chennai . The government bought th...

Elliot's beach in the Besant Nagar area in  Chennai  is cleaner and better than the  Marina beach , the second-longest in the world. This is one of the favorite destinations for Chennaites, as it is located in Chennai's prime location. The stone memorial for the Dutch sailor Karl Schmidt, who lost his life while rescuing a drowning sailor, is a beautiful landmark on this beach. When you visit the beach, you can also visit the nearby Velankanni church, Ashta Lakshmi temple and Arupadai Murugan temple. Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.

Karumariamman temple in Thiruverkadu is one of the most famous temples of Mother Goddess located in and around Chennai city. Thiruverkadu village is very ancient, and there are references about the place in some old texts. There is no doubt about that. However, I feel that the Karumariamman temple might not be ancient. This might be around 100 years old, even though there are people who claim this temple has many legends and old stories. The principal deity of the temple is Karumariamman. There are more shrines enshrining other deities such as Ganesha, Verkanni Amman, Subramanya with Valli-Devasena, Srinivasa, Rama and Sapta Matas (seven divine mothers).  The temple's major attraction is the holy snake hole under the neem tree, which is being worshiped. This temple is famous for snake worship, as devotees believe that Karumariamman took the form of a snake.  Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I ...

My last two articles were about the temples of  Kamakshi Amman  and  Velleeswarar  in Mangadu. There is another temple in this suburb of  Chennai , which is as old as the other two temples (around 14th century CE), but remains lesser known. This article is about that temple. It is dedicated to Vaikuntha Perumal (Lord Vishnu). If you visit Mangadu, you can get the blessings of Shiva (Velleeswarar), Shakti (Kamakshi) and Vishnu (Vaikuntha Perumal) on the same day. The temple is small and located in a serene atmosphere. The sanctum enshrines Vaikuntha Perumal along with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. All three of them are in the sitting posture. Perumal is holding conch and discus in his upper arms. He is also seen sporting a ring, which is unusual. The sage Markandeya is found worshiping Vishnu.  As per the legend, Vishnu and his consorts came to Mangadu to get his sister Kamakshi married to Shiva. He held ring in his arm as he wanted to present his sis...

In my previous post, I wrote about the famous  Kamakshi Amman temple  of Mangadu near  Chennai . This post will introduce you to an ancient temple located just behind the Kamakshi Amman temple. The beautiful small ancient temple is dedicated to Lord Velleeswarar (Shiva).  As per the legend, Shukracharya worshipped this Shiva linga and hence the deity got this name. Velli means Shukra and Velleeswara means the Lord of Shukra. (There is another  Velleeswarar temple  in Chennai, about which I have already written.) The principal deity of the temple is Lord Shiva, named Velleeswarar. Interestingly, there is no Goddess found in the temple. However, Kamakshi's footprints are found near Nandi. As per a version, Kamakshi performed penance towards Shiva in this temple.  The ardha mandapa has the icons of Ganesha holding mango and Subramanya with his consorts sculpted in a single stone. Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhava and Durga are found as the Koshta (nich...

Located at a distance of around 20 kms from Chennai, Mangadu has an important temple dedicated to Kamakshi. This is a famous Shakti temple across the country. Legend As per the legend, once Shakti playfully closed the eyes of Lord Shiva. It caused the entire universe to get into deep darkness. Also, Shiva turned furious at her.  To pacify Shiva and get rid of her sin, Shakti came down to the holy site of Mangadu. She started performing severe penance by resting her left leg on the sacred fire known as Panchagni, with her right leg folded. She held japamala in her left arm raised above her head. This posture of the Goddess is called Tapas Kamakshi. Pleased by Kamakshi's penance, Shiva appeared to her. He married her in the nearby Kanchipuram. The excited Kamakshi left Mangadu without extinguishing Panchagni.  The fire caused unbearable heat in the region for a long time. During his visit to the holy place, Adi Shankara installed Ardhameru Chakra and thus doused the fire. ...

In this post, I will introduce you to a place in  Chennai , which is not known even to most of the Chennaiites. Thirukkallil, also known as Thirukkandalam, is a calm and unpolluted village located at around 40 kms from Chennai. You need to take the Periyapalayam route to reach this village from Chennai. This village is at a distance of approximately 10 kms from Periyapalayam. The village has an important temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is considered as the  18th among the Devara Paadal Petra Sthalams  (274 most important temples of Lord Shiva) located in the Tondai region. Highlights: Sambandhar  has revered the temple in his verses in Devaram. God  -  Thirukkaleeswarar or Shivanandeeswarar Goddess  -  Ananda Valli Sthala Vruksha  (Holy tree) - Alari (Oleander Plant) Teerth  (Holy water) -  Nandi Teerth Considered as one of the Devara Paadal Petra Sthalams Legend: The temple has a lot of legends associated with it. In the beg...