A Visit to Kailasam (Kanchi Kailasam, that is)

Preface

With the North-East monsoon saying goodbye to Chennai, winter, the mildest summer season in this part of the world, has set in early. The travel bug in me started pricking my nerves so hard that I began to plan for a long ride to feed the bug. Luckily, there was an excuse to make a decently long trip to Kanchipuram. There was a marriage function to attend, and what better way to travel from home to the marriage hall than on a two-wheeler.

As we (my wife and I) had to start early in the morning, we decided it would not be a clever thing to take the daughter with us. So, we cajoled and promised her that if she opted to stay at her grandma’s, the RoP (return on patience) would be worth its weight in dolls and chocolates. She readily accepted our offer, and we started at 6:30 in the morning. I put on my helmet and my wife her balaclava (I insisted she also wear a helmet, but like a good wife she didn’t heed my advice).

We decided to take a rustic route, so the Bangalore highway (part of the golden quadrilateral) lost the battle to the Thambaram-Padappai-Wallajahbad-Kanchi route. It would be a 60km ride, but we decided we would ride at a pedestrian 40kmph so that we could enjoy the ride.

Morning traffic was sparse; the land was shrouded in mist up to the point where it met the horizon; and there was a nip in the air. Poetic, isn’t it. Riding a motorbike with protective gear on a winter morning is like enjoying an early morning slumber under a cozy quilt with the fan (or A/C) whirring at full speed. The road was decent and it cut the mostly barren and semi-arid lands. We could see drastic changes in the topography of the place since the time when we had gone through the same road last year. (The area is being industrialized at a hectic pace. It may be a good thing, for there is no agriculture activity happening anyway.) There were a few good lush green stretches, though.

Reached Kanchi in an hour and a half, attended the marriage, filled up our respective tummies, and went straight to the Kailasanathar temple.

Kailasanathar

God bless the Pallavas. God bless Rajasimhan a.k.a. Narasimhavarman II. The Pallavas made the Thamizhs proud with their everlasting masterpieces on stone. If Simhavishnu, Mahendravarman I, and Narasimhavarman I are credited for the awe-inspiring sculptures of Kadal Mallai (Maamallapuram), then Rajasimhan must be eulogized for the great Kailasanathar temple at Kanchi. (If I am correct, he is also attributed to the Shore Temple at Maamallapuram.)

The Kailasanathar temple or Rajasimheswaram is a beauty to behold. This was my second trip. I had visited this wonderful temple a year ago, but had to rush up, as it was getting too dark to appreciate the sculptures. That’s when I had decided I should visit this temple again in daytime. This time, we were there at 09:30 in the morning and spent a good hour and a half.

Rajasimheswaram is not a typical Dravidian-style temple you see everywhere in Thamizh Nadu. It predates most of the big and famous temples. Built in the 7^th century, it resembles the Shore Temple; only it is four to five times bigger (my guesstimate!). A vast open space with beautifully manicured lawns welcomes you as you enter the temple premises. The bull (Nandhi) is huge and it stands in the open as if to tell you that it has withstood all the five elements of nature. There are quite a few rathas (actually they are small shrines one witnesses within the corridor of a typical temple) that line up the outer corridor.

Enter the temple and you are awestruck by the grace and poise of the vimanam. As with those times, the outer tower (gopuram) is smaller than the inner tower (vimanam) over the sanctum sanctorum. Legend has it that the great Rajaraja Chozhan was inspired by this temple and went on to build the Brihadheeswara temple (Periya Koil) at Thanjavur.

Kailasanathar, in the form of the lingam, is humongous and gorgeous. The lingam is made of granite and is hexdecagon-shaped (16 sides). If you want to circumambulate the sanctum sanctorum, you will have to crawl through a big hole on one side that symbolizes death, walk through the narrow corridor, and crawl back to the sanctum through another L-shaped hole that symbolizes rebirth.

The inner corridor and the outer walls of the sanctum sanctorum cast their magic spell on you as you circumambulate after praying to the presiding deity. Every nook and corner is replete with wonderful sculptures. Hail thee Rajasimha; hail thee architects who sculpted the masterpieces. Somaskandhamoorthy, Narasimhar, Simhavahini… all are exquisitely sculpted. Even an atheist would be moved by their sheer grace. A few Puranic sculptures are also found: Arjunan locking horn with Shiva over a wild boar; Lingodhbhavar standing majestically, wielding all sorts of godly weapons; Shiva subjugating Ravana who thinks he can move Mt. Kailash.

We left the place carrying back the memories of the times.

All photos are listed here.

Travel tips:

• From Thambaram, Kailasanathar temple is 65km; from Chennai, it will be 80 or 85km if you take the Thambaram route.
• You can take a break at Padappai or Wallajabad. Padappai doesn’t have decent hotels (my view only), but Wallajabad has.
• On entering Kanchi, go past the Varadharaja Perumal koil (say a quick hello or if possible include it in your travel itinerary) in Little Kanchi. When you have traveled a km or two into the town, turn left at the junction where you can see Adyar Ananda Bhavan and Saravana Bhavan, and go straight. The road turns right at the Kachabeswarar temple and leads to the Ekambareswarar temple (you can very well see the towering tower of Ekambareswarar). Go straight instead of turning right at the Kachabeswarar temple. Within 500 meters, the town sort of vanishes and the rustic charm of a village welcomes. Go another 500 meters to reach the Kailasanathar temple.
• Did I mention that the outer corridor of the Kailasanathar temple has beautiful lawns? There are a few trees that provide shade. You can marvel at the side view of the magnificent Gopuram from here.
• Try the death-rebirth holes. You may think twice before going through the holes, as they are really narrow; but you will feel rejuvenated when you come out.

Thirukkachur

Ohm Namo Bhagavathe Rudraya. It was a fascinating journey. The journey toward the lord. I heard about Thirukkachur a while ago in a podcast: Vaaram Oru Aalayam. Nataraj podcasts wonderfully about the temples (mostly lesser known) in Tamilnadu. I was intrigued by the Maruntheeswarar temple at Thirukkachur detailed in one of his podcasts.

On 22 June, I visited Thirukkachur.

It was an auspicious day, at least for me. It was my janma-nakshathram day, and I wanted to visit a temple. There are a few other blogs on Thirukkachur, which portray the village and its temples more vividly. This one is my experience.

The journey was wonderful. The weather was perfect. The evening sun shimmered through the canopy of trees in GST. Traffic was less. I normally like bike rides. So, riding 25 km (one way), with my wife, was bliss. Reached Singa Permal Koil (SP Koil, for short) and took a right turn. Once you cross the level crossing, the scene changes completely. From a busy suburb of a sprawling city you are into a rustic village. The smell of greenery, the sight of the paddy fields, the wriggling village road — you are right in the middle of heaven. The road is really good, though a bit narrow compared to the GST road. Thirukkachur is only 2 km from SP Koil.

As we reached the village, we saw a signboard listing the temples of the twon and their direction. We wanted to go to the Marunteeswarar temple, as we learnt from a blog that it is a small hillock, and it was already 5 in the evening. You just need to take left from the signboard and go another km. You will not realize that you are in a hillock. It is but a small hillock and the temple is in a dilapidated condition. The sanctum sanctorum was locked. A blog I read is right. You need to inform the gurukkal of your visit, so that he can be there. The temple was open, neverthless, and I was more than delighted to try my hands at the digicam. (A few shots of this temple and the Kachabeswarar temple are listed in the end.) I was a bit disappointed that I was not fortunate enough to have the dharisanam of my lord. Now I wanted to visit the other temple, hoping that it would be open.

You come back to the signboard and go straight and turn left.

Now what am I seeing. There is a fairly huge temple, with a big mandapam, a tank, a dilapidated chariot, and vast space in front of it. I am delighted. I didn’t expect the temple to be this huge, as the Marunteeswarar temple is medium-sized, if not very small. There are a lot of bulls roaming around, and the entire scene reminds me of my village Nattarasankottai. There is a Chettinad charm in this village. Maybe, the temple is similar to the numerous temples that dot the Chetti Nadu. Though the main deity is called Kachabeswarar (Kachaba is tortoise in Sanskrit, and Vishnu in Koorma avatar sought the blessings of Shiva to withstand the might of the Mandara malai while the Parkkadal was churned. For more info on this legend read this blog http://www.dharsanam.blogspot.com/2008/03/thirukkachur-sri-kachabeswarar.html. The name of the temple as written in the outer corridor is Thiagarajar temple. There is a separate shrine for Thiagarajar, much like Thiruvotriyur, and this Somaskandar (Thiagarajar) is the Urchava moorthy. The first thing that captures your eyes or rather ears is the chime of the small bells on the flagstaff. The tongue of each bell is Pepal-leaf shaped, and in the soothing southerly wind, it emits sunadham that embraces the whole temple, including you.

The gurukkal was a man of few letters, err… words. Maybe, he was provoked by our digicam, as my wife was blissfully snapping all she could see. He made us complete the dharisanam quickly and locked the small grill gate of the sanctorum and went out. The moolavar is a small lingam. I chanted a few verses from the Rudram. Next we went to the ambal’s (Anjanakshi) shrine. The ambal is, as usual, bigger than the lord. When we visited the Thiagarajaar sannidhi, there was a power cut, and immediately the corridor of the shrine was shrouded by menacing bats. We vacated promptly and started circumambulating the sprawling corridor. There is a sannidhi to Pillaiyar and Murugan on each side of the main sanctorum. The sculptures in the main vimanam are too good. Dakshinamoorthy with 4 pupils is a sight to behold, so is Vishnu with his consorts (see photos at the end of this blog). True to the legend of the village, there is a shrine for Virundhitteeswarar who fed Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. The moortham of Virundhitteeswarar is farily big.

There are a lot of scriptures that adorn the innermost corridor walls of the shrines of both swami and ambal. Most of the Web references I read state that they belong to Kulothunga Chozhan (I or II?). I could not see any reference in the gopuram (which remains half-built). Usually, the sthala puranam is carved in the inner walls of the gopuram. Here I could not see it. I wish I knew the ancient Thamizh script to decipher the writings on the walls. Hmm… I can only wish.

With our appetite satiated, we started our return journey. This time, we took the road that leads to Maraimalai Nagar (M’Nagar). In fact, Thirukkachur is within (or just outside) the municipal limits of M’Nagar. It is 4 km from Thirukkachur to M’Nagar, and the road is fine here too. Rustic, scenic, and all.  It had become dark when we reached GST and the traffic was, to put it mildly, chaotic. We reached home safely at the stroke of 8 in the evening.

Tips:

• Travel by bike. If you travel by bus, you will have to alight at M’Nagar or SP Koil and take an auto. IMO, two wheels transport you truly to the hinterland, aka, Thirukkachur. Total distance: from Tambaram (50 km-both ways). Add another 20 km if you travel from the city.
• If you travel by bike or any personal vehicle, take the second right at the Ford factory (as rightly pointed out in a blog). Don’t take the first (immediate) right. There is a level crossing at both the first and second rights, but take the second one, which takes you straight to the village (4 km). If you travel up to SP Koil, take the first right, as you enter the town; don’t go up to the SP Koil junction, though you can take a u-turn from there, too. Now cross the level crossing and travel for 2 km to reach the village.
• Don’t forget to take your camera. Don’t forget to capture the sun setting beneath the hills, as you travel toward M’Nagar.
• There are no decent eating joints (ok, hotels) at either M’Nagar or SP Koil (at least that was what we experienced. We felt ravenous in the evening, but we could not find a hotel after M’Nagar. Guduvancherry has a handful of bhavans. Krishna Bhavan is a nice one, though the rates are metropolitan.