Indian Columbus

Read:   Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi Temple Structure   Part 1 ,  Part 2 , and Part 3 . Tirunelveli  is an ancient town located in the southern part of India. It has one of the oldest and most significant temples of South India -  Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple . Even though the temple of Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple is a single temple, they can be considered two separate temples due to their structural style. In three of my previous posts, I wrote the structure of the Kanthimathi temple and the portion of the temple connecting both temples. In this article, I am writing about the design of the Nellaiyappar temple. The sculpture of Vali - Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar Temple Once you visit the Kanthimathi temple and enter the Nellaiyappar temple via the Sangili Mandapa, you can see the shrine of Dakshinamurti. This is basically the outer corridor (prakara) of the Nellaiyappar shrine. If you turn towards your left and move forward, you can find small shrines o

Read:  Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi Temple Structure   Part 1 and Part 2 Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple , an ancient temple located in  Tirunelveli  city of South India, is one of the most prominent temples of South India. I have been writing about the architecture and iconography of the temple in the past two posts. This article is the third part. As I have already mentioned, the temple is divided into two main sections - Kanthimathi temple and Nellaiyappar temple. I have written about the structure of the Kanthimathi temple. I continue to write about the portion that connects Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temples. Nellaiyappar Temple - Monkey statue In my previous posts, I wrote about the Karumari tank and the Pottramarai tank. Near the Karumari tank, there is a prominent shrine for Subramanya. Lord Subramanya is present with his consorts Valli and Devasena.  Near the Pottramarai tank, there are many small shrines for Shiv Linga and various snake icons. There

Read: Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi Temple Structure -  Part 1 Tirunelveli , an ancient South Indian city, has the famous  Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple . In my previous blog posts, I had written about the legend of the Nellaiyappar temple and its layout and structure. This blog post is a continuation of those posts, where I will write more about the temple's architecture and iconography. As I have already mentioned, the temple of Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi was originally two temples and was linked later. Let me talk about the structure of the Kanthimathi Amman temple in this article. Nellaiyappar Temple - Sculpture The entrance of Kanthimathi Amman Temple is adorned with a beautiful Raja Gopuram (tower). The tower was built in the year of 1626 CE. There are two small shrines of Lord Ganesha and Lord Murugan on either side of the tower entrance. Upon entering the tower, we find "Unjal Mandapam", a hall where religious discourses happen. There is op

In my previous post, I wrote about the legend and history of  the Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple  of  Tirunelveli . (Tirunelveli is a city located in the Tamil Nadu state of India). In this post, I will continue to write about the temple structure, architecture, and sculptures of the temple. Again, I cannot cover everything in a single blog post. Hence, I plan to write a series of articles on this subject alone. Kanthimathi Amman Temple Tower As stated already, Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple is the main temple of Tirunelveli. Located at the heart of the city, it is one of the 27r important Shiva temples (Paadal Petra Sthalams). Lord Shiva is named Nellaiyappar in this shrine. Venuvananathar, Veimutha Nathar, Nelveli Nathar, and Chalivaadeesar are his other names. The principal Goddess of the temple is Kanthimathi. She is also called Vadivudai Amman and Tiru Kamakkottamudaiya Nachiar. Originally, Nellaiyappar temple and Kanthimathi temples were built as two separate tem

Tirunelveli  is one of the ancient cities of Tamil Nadu, the southern state of India. As per the records, it can be dated back to 500 BCE. The most important pilgrim site and tourist site of Tirunelveli city is Nellaiyappar Kanthimathi temple. Similar to the city, the temple is also a great site. It is difficult and will be too long if I try to write everything about this temple in one blog post. Hence, I am writing only about the legend and history of the great temple of Nellaiyappar Kanthimathi in this article. I will write more articles in this blog covering the temple structure and other aspects. The temple of Sri Nellaiappar and Sri Kanthimathi Ambal is situated at the heart of Tirunelveli city. It is a Shiva temple. Lord Shiva is named Nellaiappar in this temple, and his consort is called Kanthimathi. Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi temple is one of the '274 Paadal Petra Sthalams' (one of the 274 most important temples of Lord Shiva). Tirugnana Sambandhar, the great deity of

Tirunelveli - I am not sure whether I am talented enough to write about this great city. Let me try my level best.  Tirunelveli is an ancient city located in the Southern part of Tamil Nadu state of India. This historic city is famous for a lot of things. The Kanthimathi - Nellaiyappar temple, located at the center of Tirunelveli city, is one of the oldest and biggest temples in Tamil Nadu. Near Tirunelveli, the city of waterfalls - Courtallam is located. We generally find one or two waterfalls in any other city; however, this town has full of waterfalls wherever we turn our faces. Tirunelveli is famous for its sweet Halwa. No other Halwa can match its taste. Nellaiyappar Temple Tirunelveli is located on the banks of the river Tamraparni. The specialty of the river is such that it is perhaps the only river in Tamil Nadu which never dries up; you can always find water flowing in this river. Tamil language, spoken in Tirunelveli, is considered the most charming accent of the Tamil l

Padmanabhapuram Palace , which is located near Nagercoil and  Trivandrum , is one of the most famous palaces in South India. Tourists who visit Southern Tamil Nadu or Kerala do not miss Padmanabhapuram palace. However, hardly anyone is aware of the beautiful ancient temple located nearby.  Ramaswamy temple is the one which is found next to Padmanabhapuram Palace. The temple is big; however, no other shrine or icon is found besides the presiding deity in the main shrine. This temple should be as old as the Padmanabhapuram Palace.  The main shrine has a big icon of Lord Rama. He is found along with Sita and Lakshmana on either side. There is a small Utsava idol (metal icon) of Lord Hanuman. Hanuman's icon is depicted beautifully; he has kept his mouth closed with his right hand showing that he is humble in front of Rama. The circumambulatory path around the shrine (prakara) has many mural paintings depicting Ramayana's story. When you get a chance to visit Padmanabhapuram palace,