Kovilkulam Tennazhagar Temple

By -
Site Name: Tennazhagar Temple
Site Type: Hindu temple
Location:  Kovilkulam, near Ambasamudram town, Tamil Nadu state, India
Highlights: A beautiful temple in a remote village which needs attention and maintenance
Nearest Railway Station: Ambasamudram
Nearest Airport: Madurai
How to reach: Well connected by road from Ambasamudram; public transport is not dependable
Hotel: No good hotels nearby; better to stay in Ambasamudram - even there only limited options are available
Restaurants: No good restaurants nearby; it is better to go to Ambasamudram - even there only limited options are available

Kovilkulam is a small village located adjacent to Ambasamudram town near Tirunelveli city in South India. The village has a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu named as Tennazhagar temple.

Highlights:
  • God - Tennazhagar aka Vinnagar Perumal
  • Goddess - Sundaravalli and Soundaravalli
  • Teerth (Holy water) - Markandeya Teerth

Legend:

It is believed that Lord Vishnu gave darshan to the sage Markandeya in this site.

There was a staunch Vishnu devotee who lived in this village. In his dream, he was ordered by the God to visit Kallazhagar in Madurai. As the devotee brought the idol from the place where Kallazhagar temple is located and installed in this village, this deity was named as Tennazhagar.


Temple Layout:

The current structure of the temple appears to be 300-400 years old. 

The temple has no tower. It has flag staff, bali peetha and Garuda facing the main shrine.

The temple as well as the main shrine faces the east direction.

 It has sanctum sanctorum, ardha mandapa, maha mandapa and also a front side mandapa (mukha mandap) with pillars. The corridor that connects the main shrine and the temple entrance has many pillars with the lion sculptures on the top.

The sanctum sanctorum has the tall beautiful idol of Tennazhagar along with his consorts Sundaravalli and Soundaravalli on his either sides. The Lord has four arms and carries conch and discus in his upper arms. It should be noted that all these three deities are made up of a lime mixture called Karai (stucco images and not stone images). Markandeya sage is also seen inside the sanctum. 

The utsava deities Soundararaja Perumal and his consorts are currently not located in this temple. Due to lack of security in this temple, they were shifted to a temple in the nearby Ambasamudram town.

The idols of Nammalvar, Tirumangai Alwar, Udayavar, Vishwaksena and Naga are also found in this temple.

This temple needs maintenance and attention. When you get an opportunity to go to southern Tamil Nadu, try to visit this temple.

Happy travelling.












View Larger Map
Location: Kovilkulam, Tamil Nadu 627413, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine
Read more

Putlur Angala Parameswari Temple - Chennai

By -
Image
Angala Parameswari Temple in Putlur, near  Chennai  city of South India, is a unique temple. The Goddess is in the form of a pregnant woman in this temple. The icon of Angala Parameswari is believed to be self-manifested, called swayambhu.  As per the legend, a village head tortured a poor for borrowed money. The poor was forced to plough an infertile land. While ploughing the ground full of rocks, the villager noticed that blood was oozing out from a particular place. There, he discovered the image of the Goddess. It is a snake hole (putru in Tamil - where snakes live) in the form of a woman in a sleeping posture with her mouth kept open, and her bulged stomach like a pregnant woman. The villagers built a temple with this putru and named the Goddess Angala Parameswari. Hence, they started calling the village Putlur the town with the divine Putru.  Putlur Angala Parameswari temple is basically a village temple. It is visited by thousands of people. Primarily it will be tough to en
Read more

A 17th century Dargah with healing power - Mount Road Dargah, Chennai, India

By -
Image
Mount Road or Anna Salai is one of the most happening places in  Chennai . There are two famous Islamic shrines on Mount Road – one is  Thousands Light mosque . The other one is Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (Rahmatullah Alaihi), also known as Mount Road Dargah. It is the most popular Dargah across the city. It draws devotees of all faiths and all walks of life. Especially every Thursday, a large number of devotees gather to the Dargah. A lot of city-based celebrities regularly visit the site. This Dargah is the shrine of a Muslim Saint named Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi. He was also known as Rahmatullah Alaihi. Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi arrived from Baghdad in the middle of the 17th Century CE. He made Chennai his home and lived here. It is believed that he had healing powers. During his time, he had so many devotees regularly visiting him. After his demise, his family buried him next to his house, which is the current Dargah. You can easily lo
Read more