Indian Columbus

Tirunelveli , the ancient city of South India, has the famous  Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple . In addition, there is a popular temple named Kurukkuthurai Murugan temple. Murugan temple is located in the area named Kurukkuthurai on the banks of the river Tamraparni.  Tamraparni River Tamraparni river is also called Jeeva Nadhi as it never dries up. This is perhaps the only river in Tamil Nadu state of India where you can find water for almost the entire year. You can find many devotees taking a bath in the river and proceeding to this beautiful Murugan temple located on the river's banks. The temple is so close to the river that it gets fully submerged during rainy days. This is a usual happening that occurs every year. Subramanya, flanked by Valli and Devasena, adorns the sanctum as the presiding deity. Besides, this temple also enshrines Shiva Linga (Nellaiappar), Kantimati, Ganesha, the metal icon of Subramanya, and other typical Gods and Goddesses of Shaivism (the ...

Tirunelveli  is an ancient city located in South India.  Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi Amman Temple , situated in the heart of the city, is one of the oldest and biggest cities in South India. I have already written multiple blog posts about this magnificent temple. In this article, I am documenting the temples located around Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple. Nellaiyappar Temple Sculpture Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple is located at the heart of the city, and there are four main roads named Car streets around the temple. In East Car street, slightly opposite the Kanthimathi Amman temple's entrance, there is a small temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. Saraswati is the Goddess of Education as per Hinduism. It is scarce to find a temple for Saraswati. As far as I know, only two temples, including this one, are currently present for Saraswati.  In a small lane near Amman Sannadhi Street - the street opposite Kanthimathi Amman entrance, there is a small but an...

Read:   Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi Temple Structure   Part 1 ,  Part 2 ,  Part 3 , Part 4 , and Part 5 . I have written five posts about the structure of the famous  Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple  in the ancient city of  Tirunelveli  in South India. This is the last post on the design, where I am writing about the main shrine of Nellaiyappar and the corridor surrounding the shrine. I would request you to go through my previous posts on the temple structure to better understand this post, as this is a continuation of those posts. I wrote about the famous music pillar hall in my previous post. After you cross the gallery, you can enter the main shrine of Nellaiyappar. Nellaiyappar is also called Venuvananathar in this temple. As we saw in the temple legend, the icon of Shiv linga in the main shrine has a cut on the left side. You can also find the images of Lord Ganesha and Murugan at the entrance of the main shrine. On the oth...

Read:   Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi Temple Structure   Part 1 ,  Part 2 , Part 3 , and Part 4 . Statue of Karna - Nellaiyappar Temple Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi temple  is located at the center of  Tirunelveli  city of South India and is considered one of the oldest and most prominent temples of South India. I have already written a few blog posts about the temple's structure. In this article, I am writing about the main shrine of Nellaiyappar and the corridor surrounding it. Nellaiyappar Temple Corridor Bheem - Nellaiyappar Temple As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, the entire temple of Nellaiyappar and Kanthimathi can be considered two separate temples - one for Kanthimathi and another for Nellaiyappar. Like the Kanthimathi temple, Nellaiyappar temple has the main entrance and a big temple tower. Once you enter the temple through this entrance, you can find the exciting feature of the temple - the beautiful sculptur...

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 ...

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 va...

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...