Vikramasingapuram Shivantiappar Temple

By -
Site Name:  Shivantiappar Temple
Site Type: Hindu Temple
Location:  Vikramasingapuram village, near Papanasam, near Ambasamudram town, near Tirunelveli city, Tamil Nadu state, India
Highlights:  A huge temple of Lord Shiva located near the beautiful Podhigai hills/Papanasam
Nearest Railway Station: Ambasamudram
Nearest Airport: Tirunelveli
How to reach: Well connected by road from Tirunelveli
Hotel: Few options in Ambasamduram and Papanasam; more options in the nearby city Tirunelveli
Restaurants: Only few options in Ambasamudram and Papanasam

Ambasamudram is a picturesque town located on the banks of the beautiful Tamraparni river and on the foothills of the Western Ghats. The nearest city of Ambasamudram is Tirunelveli. It is located in Tamil Nadu state in South India.The town has a lot of scenic spots and temples. Papanasam is a smaller town located near Ambasamudram which offers a lot more scenic spots, dams and wonderful waterfalls. Vikramasingapuram is a small village located near Papanasam. It has a big temple dedicated to Lord Shiva called as Shivantiappar temple. This temple is quite popular in this region. Let us explore about this site in this article.

Highlights:
·                      A majestic temple covering a large area with so many big idols
·                     God – Shivantiappar
·                     Goddess – Vazhi Adimai Konda Nayaki
·                     Sthala Vruksham (holy tree) – Vilva tree
·                     Holy Water – Kadana river

Temple Layout:

Exterior area:

The temple is around 400 years old. As it was constructed by Shivantiappa Naicker who ruled this region, the deity was named as Shivantiappar. The massive temple has five-tier tower (Raja gopuram) and is facing the eastern direction. There is a tall flag staff and bali peeth located near the Nandi Mandapa. The Nandi mandapa is strikingly beautiful with sculpted pillars and the statues of women holding oil lamps.

Near bali peeth, there are two sub-shrines dedicated to Sthala Vinayaka and Shamukha.

The temple has two prakras. Similar to other temples in this region, bali peetha is located between the main shrine and Nandi. It is unusual and found like this only in this region.

Main Shrines:

The sanctum sanctorum has a moderately big sized Shiva Linga named as Shivantiappar. The shrine faces the eastern direction. Right next to his shrine, the main shrine of Goddess Vazhi Adimai Konda Nayaki bearing a beautiful Tamil name, is located. It faces the southern direction.

The inner prakara around the main shrines has the following sub shrines:

  • Dakshinamurti
  • Chandikeshwara
  • Prakara Vinayaka
  • Shanmukha sitting on peacock with his consorts Valli and Devasena facing each other – rare and beautiful idols


Maha Mandapa:

Unlike other typical temples, the maha mandapa of this temple is really a maha (big) mandapa (hall) with a lot of artistically beautiful pillars and idols.

The metal (utsava) idols found in this mandapa include:
  • Nataraja – Sivakami
  • Nalvar
  • Veerabagu
  • Somaskanda
  • Uma
  • Sapta Matas
  • Veerabhadra
  • Subramanya-Valli-Devasena
  • Shiva devotees



The stone idols found in this mandapa include:

  • Surya
  • Chandra
  • Veerabhadra
  • Bhairava
  • Adhikara Nandi
  • Ganesha
  • Shaneeswara


Outside the maha mandapa, there is another exterior mandapa. There is a Ganesha idol found there.

Other Shrines:

  • Nalvar – Karaikkal Ammaiyar, Sekkizhar, Mangaiyarkkarasi
  • Ganesha
  • Siva Subramanya
  • Navagraha


Happy travelling.
Location: Vickramasingapuram, Tamil Nadu, 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

Little known Nimishamba Temple of Chennai

By -
Image
Site Name:  Nimishamba Temple Site Type:  Hindu Temple Location:   Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India Highlights:   A rare temple of Nimishamba in Chennai city Nearest Railway Station:   Chennai - well connected from the cities/towns all over India Nearest Airport:   Chennai has both national and international airports How to reach:   Easily reachable by road as this is centrally located in the city Hotel:  Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai Restaurants:  All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city Chennai is considered as the gateway to South India. The capital city of Tamil Nadu state of India has hundreds of tourist sites which include museum, British period monuments, temples, beach, etc. Let us explore a little known temple called Nimishamba temple located in Chennai. Nimishamba is anothe
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