The YouTube video below covers the legal battle that T.R. Ramesh , the NGO crusader for freeing Hindu Temples in Tamil Nadu from the clutches of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Commission, has been taking to the Courts recently. The battle is about whether the surplus funds of the Temples can be expropriated by the HR&CEContinue reading “Savukku Sankar interview with T. R.Ramesh: “The BJP cares little for Hindu temples!””
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THE END of a memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-15) : CONCLUDED
This is the last and 15th instalment in this series of essays on my 3-day pilgrimage to 6 Divya Desam temples in and around the town of Mayiladuthurai in Tanjore and to the Tharangambadi-taluka village of Vilanagar where the grand Mahasamprokshanam of a c.900-year old temple of Sridevi Perundevi Thayar sametha Sri Varadaraja Perumal wasContinue reading “THE END of a memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-15) : CONCLUDED”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-14)
The Pancharatra Agama stresses surrender to God (atma-nikshepa), humility, unwavering faith, and the recognition of Vishnu as the sole protector. These attitudes are woven into the prayers and ritual intentions throughout the Samprokshanam. Vastra Samarpana (Offering Clothes): Fresh garments or cloth are offered to the deity. Alankara (Adornment): The deity is adorned with ornaments, flowers, and sandal paste. Gandha,Continue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-14)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-13)
Having been close witness to a few of the preliminary ritualistic sessions at the Vilanagar temple Samprokshanam during the first couple of days, I was able to gain some broad and clear understanding of what the various rites involved signified but then only in a very broad sense. Samprokshanam under the Pancharatra Agama is howeverContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-13)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-12)
The Mahasamprokshanam ritual (also known as Kumbhabhishekam or Samprokshanam), holds significant historical importance in Hindu temple tradition. Its primary purpose is to “homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deity” — essentially, it is a reconsecration ceremony that recharges and revitalizes the spiritual energy of the temple and its deities. Historically, this ritualContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-12)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-11)
A “kovil samprokshanam” is a very uniquely Hindu religious concept and grand ritual indeed. Although in the the past, I had witnessed (from only afar though) an event of a samprokshanam being conducted at a temple, I confess that like so many thousands of ordinary pilgrims or temple-goers in the country, I too was woefullyContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Vilanagar Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Part-11)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Thalacchanga Nanmathiyam Temple (Part-10)
The Naanmadhiya Perumal Temple (also called Thalachanga Nanmathiyam) is a Hindu temple situated in the village of Thalaichangadu, near Akkur in Mayiladuthurai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshippedContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Thalacchanga Nanmathiyam Temple (Part-10)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Thalacchanga Nanmathiyam Temple (Part-9)
May 1, 2025: Early in the morning I prepared to travel from Mayavaram to attend the grand “kovil mahasamprokshanam” of Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Vilanagar. But then first, I wanted to complete my planned pilgrimage to the 6th and final “divya desam” viz. Thalacchanga Nanmathiyam Perumal Kovil in the tiny, virtually un-locatable village ofContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Thalacchanga Nanmathiyam Temple (Part-9)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Tirukannapuram (Part-7)
Early next day from my base-camp at Mayiladuthurai, my pilgrimage continued on to the holy temple town of Tirukannapuram. This visit of mine to this sacred Divya Desam was of very special significance to me personally, since it was precisely where the 5th and very last destination in a customary pilgrimage known in Sri VaishnavaContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Tirukannapuram (Part-7)”
A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Therezhundhur Kambar Medu (Part-5)
Half a kilometre to the southern side of the Therezhundhur Temple, is the memorial to the great Tamil poet Kamban. It is called Kambar Medu . This spot, I was told by a local villageman there who was kind enough to give us a tour of the memorial, was once full of shabby encroachments andContinue reading “A memorable “yaathra’ : Six “divya-desams” and one “maha-samprokshanam” – Therezhundhur Kambar Medu (Part-5)”