Palani

Palani Murugan

Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami, Palani

Palani Hill Temple and the Idol Lord Murugan is the deity of the Tamil Land. Palani (Thiru Avinankudi) is the third Padai Veedu. The temple at Palani is an ancient one, situated at an elevation of 1500 feet above sea level. It is a charming campus from where one can take a look at the Idumban Hill, the Kodaikanal Hills, 

the Western Ghats, the greenery of the paddy fields, rivers, tanks, Palani town and the colleges. On a lovely, clear and mist-free day, the Kurinci Andavar Temple is visible from here against the bright sun. In daytime, Palani is Hill Beautiful; at night, it is Hill Resplendent.

The deity of Palani is known as Dandayudhapani Swami, the Lord having the Staff in his Hand. The deity at the sanctum sanctorum is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals popularly calledNavabashana.The deity is in a standing position with a baton in his hand. He has the look of a person who has renounced all worldly pomp. He has just a loincloth besides the baton. He is a mute messenger of the great precept 'Renounce all to reach Me'. The icon is unique in the whole world. It was made by siddha Bhogar by combining nine poisonous substances (navabashana). Murugan signifies beauty and Lord Murugan of Kurinji land is the god of Beauty and Youth. 

 Palani has been mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature as "Podhini", which came to be called as Palani later. This temple is situated in Palani Town and a Taluk in Dindigul District. It is an ancient and very big temple getting a large income among all the temples in TamilNadu.

Height of the Hill Temple    150 M

Total no. of Steps   693

Palani Murugan Temple

Varuvaandi Tharuvaandi Malaiyaandi Song





Palani Murugan
Palani Temple Site
http://www.palanimurugantemple.org/
http://www.idumbantemple.tnhrce.in/

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Tiruchendur

Tiruchendur temple is known as Second Arupadai veedu of Lord Muruga. Lord Muruga won  the  battle  with the  Asura  Surapadma and  worshipped Lord Siva in this Sacred place. The temple is situated on the Seashore.  

The temple has a Rajagopuram with a height of 137 feet and breadth of 90 feet.
The  total  area of the temple and its surroundings is 1,26,507 Sq. feet


The seashore temple of Subrahmanyam at Tiruchendur is one of the delightful spots sanctified and venerated by every Hindu. As one of the first spiritual centres for the salvation of man, His shrine has been an attraction for Hindus for all ages. This sacred house of God is in the extreme southwest of the Indian peninsula. The rising sun bows in adoration of it each morning as he rises from the rippling expanse of the ocean, and spreads light and life over every living object. Bordered by the sea on the East and the North, the temple walls on these sides are washed by the foaming waves of the Gulf of Mannar. The date of the temple is hidden in the Puranic past. The nucleus of the structure however has been here for more than 2,000 years as the Tamil Classics inform us.


Lord Muruga's  association with Tiruchendur is highly significant. It is described in extenso in His epic, the Skanda Puranam. The young Muruga as the Devasen pati vanquishes evil in the form of Surapatuma. The Tamils have ever since been celebrating the event as an annual festival during Skanda Sashti. 
Tiruchentil means as it does, the House of Victory. It borders the sea and has all the natural charm of a hero's fortress. It is verily a haven of Peace and Bliss. The Tamils in this part of the peninsula have such an attraction for the place and its presiding Lord Arumuga Nayinar. 

An attempt is here made to give His bhaktas all over a close account of His shrine at Tiruchendur and with this additional desire of impressing that the Temple is one worthy of a pilgrimage in this life. The divine inspiration and His grace that the bhakta is sure to secure will more than recompense his labours.

Thiruchendur Murugan Temple



Thiruchendur Murugan - T.M.S.Songs




Thiruchanduril kadalorthil Padal



Thiruchendur Temple - Murugan Temple

Six Abodes of Lord Muruga Tamilnadu



Thiruchendur Murgan Temple 360 view


Tiruchendur
Tiruchendur Murgan
Chendur Murugan

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Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Shree Padmanabhaswamy temple
The Richest Temple in India

Shree Padmanabhaswamy temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in Thiruvananthapuram, India. The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the royal family of Travancore. 
The temple is one of 108 Divya Desams.
The temple,constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture by Viswakarma sthapathis


Sree Padmanabhaswamy

The marvelous idol of Sree Padmanabhaswamy is seen reclined on the mighty five hooded serpent Anantha.
The Idol is made up of a highly complex amalgam termed Katusarkarayogam and contains within it 12008
Salagramas collected from the bed of the River Gandaki in Nepal. It is believed that Salagramas represent Lord Vishnu.

Twelve Salagramas when worshipped together gain the potency of a Mahakshetram(Great Temple).
Thus the mighty Ananthasayana Moorthy here gains the greatness and sanctity of a thousand Mahakshetrams.


Gold Treasure Found in Temple

More than crores of treasure which included antique gold ornaments, diamonds and other precious stones, golden crown, golden bow, golden vessels, and other precious stones were found in the secret chambers of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 

The seven member panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India who were drawing up a list of assets of the ancient Lord Vishnu Temple were mesmerized by the sight of the huge treasure grove in front of them. 

The Sree Ananda Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trivandrum will be much more than Rs 200000 crores when calculating the price including the antiquity of the treasure found. Some of the list of gold inventory found in the temple include golden crowns, 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period, gold in the shape of rice trinkets weighing one tonne, 18 ft long golden necklace weighing 2.5 kg, gold ropes, sack full of diamonds, thousands of pieces of antique jewellery studded with diamonds and emeralds, and golden vessels.

Chamber B yet to be Opened and Valued....

Wonders of India - Sri Padmanabhswamy Temple

 

 Program on Thiruvananthapuram Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Story by Doordarshan

 

 History of Sree Padmanabha Swami temple Treasure-part1


MAHADEVA TEMPLE, KAZHAKOOTTAM Thiruvananthapuram Siva Temple
Sree Mahadeva Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is believed to be dated back to the 14th century.

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Tiruvannamalai

Tiruvannamalai is a pilgrimage Temple town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Thiruvannamalai is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalangal representing the fire element along with Chidambaram, Sri Kalahasti, Thiruvanaikoil and Kanchipuram representing space, wind, water and earth respectively.

Every full moon night, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Shiva by circumambulating the Annamalai hill barefoot.
The circumambulation covers a distance of about 14 km.

Annamalaiyar Temple

The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built between the 9th and the 10th centuries by the Chola kings of the Tamil empire. The temple is famous for its Massive Gopurams. This has been determined from an inscription in the structure that was made during the reign of Chola kings who ruled in the ninth century A.D

The 11 tiered East Rajagopuram towers to a height of 217 feet, while the fortified walls pierced with 4 gopura entrances offer a formidable look to this vast temple complex . The Pei Gopuram, Tirumanjana Gopuram and Ammanaiammal gopuram are the other three. 

The 1000 pillared hall and the temple tank were built by Krishna Deva Rayarar of Vijayanagar.
Each of the prakarams(outer courtyard) has a huge Nandi and several towers.



Tiruvannamalai Temple Documentary


Links

Thiruvannamalai in wikipedia

Thiruvannamalai, Virtual Tour

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Western Ghats

The World Heritage Committee inscribed today Western Ghats on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Western Ghats: Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. Moderating the tropical climate of the region, it presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system in the planet.

The site also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism. It is recognized as one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity. The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.

The major attraction of the Western Ghats is the Ana Mudi ( 2,695 metres (8,842ft) is) which is the highest peak in India.

Western Ghats - Rain forests of India

The Silent Valley National Park in Kerala is considered by many to be the last tracts of virgin tropical evergreen forest in India.

Some best Songs Shot in Western Ghats



Senthazham Poovil ... Mullum Malarum Music - Illayaraja Singer - K J Jesudas



Olichirikkan Valli....Aranyakam Music - Reghunath Seth Singer - Chithra KS

Kaiya Pudi Song ... Mynaa Singers - Naresh Iyer, Sadhana Sargam Music - D.Imman

NDTV Show 7 Wonders Of India- Western Ghats

Silent Valley National Park


Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary


Periyar Tiger Reserve


Munnar

Forest Links

Ministry of Env & Forest

Kerala Forest

Tamil nadu Forest

Karnataka Forest

Maharastra Forest

AP Forest

Goa Forest

Gujarat Forest

Western Ghats Locations

Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary

Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary

Kulathupuzha Range

Palode Range

Periyar Tiger Reserve

Ranni Forest Division

Konni Forest Division

Achankovil Forest Division

Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary

Tirunelveli North Forest

Eravikulam National Park

Grass Hills National Park

Karian Shola National Park

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary

Mankulam Range

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

Mannavan Shola

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary

Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary

Silent Valley National Park

Pampadum Shola National Park

Mathikettan Shola National Park

Anamudi Shola National Park

New Amarambalam Reserved Forest

Mukurti National Park

Kalikavu Range

Attapadi Reserved Forest

Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary

Padinalknad Reserved Forest

Kerti Reserved Forest

Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary

Kudremukh National Park

Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary

Someshwara Reserved Forest

Agumbe Reserved Forest

Balahalli Reserved Forest

Kas Plateau

Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary

Chandoli National Park

Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary & National Park

The Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park

The Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary

The Mukurthi National Park

Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary

Anshi National Park

Bandipur National Park

Bannerghatta National Park

Kudremukha National Park

Nagarahole National Park

Arabithittu Wildlife Sanctuary

BRT Wildlife Sanctuary

Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

Mollem National Park

Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary

Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary

Madei Wildlife Sanctuary

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary

Gir National Park

Wild Ass Sanctuary

Gir Wild Life Sanctuary

Narayan Sarovar Santcuary

Ratanmahal Sanctuary

Shoolpaneshwar Sanctuary

Alaram Ambaji Sanctuary

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Kottiyoor

Kottiyoor is small village situated in Kannur district, in the Indian state of Kerala.

A very ancient Siva Temple situated here attracts lakhs of devotees every year. The Bavali river, Paalukaachi hill, all are tourists places in Kottiyoor..

The temple Utsav begins every year by May, Thousands of tender coconuts brought by hundreds of devotees from different parts of Malabar and submitted to Lord Shiva on a special day. The proper name of the temple here is Sri Kottiyoor Mahadeva Kshetram. Kottiyoor Also called in South India Kailash..

Kottiyoor -Yathra - AsiaNet

Kottiyoor temple Website

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Krishnapuram

A fascinating ‘Art and Sculpture’ Temple

Located 13 kms East of Tirunelveli on the Tiruchendur highway, the Krishnapuram temple is one that has not caught much of devotees’ attention despite boasting of one of the best ‘art and sculpture’ that can be seen in a temple in Tamil Nadu. The temple dates back to 9th Century AD and is said to have been built by Sadasiva Nayakar. Krishna Nayakar is said to have renovated the temple.

In the 16th Century AD and hence the name ‘Krishna’ puram.There are 42 sculptures, in all, at the temple, each of which just as stunning as the others. Krishnapuram's temple holds its own, as far as sculptural splendour.

Beautiful pieces of art:

Manmatha and Rathi opposite to each other.

Ramba’s Beauty One can well imagine her beauty from the depiction of Ramba at this temple.

A shining Karna with a big bow in hand and a princely mushtache.

Queen on King’s Shoulder, A king lifts his queen on his shoulder as he fights off his enemies.

Another remarkable piece of architecture is that of a king who undertakes a chase on a horse to get back his abducted prince.

Krishnapuram

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