Tall, Dark and Handsome!

On the second saturday of every month, through the Aalayam Kanden Trust, we visit an ancient, lesser known temple, and donate ghee and oil for lamps. We also light lamps in all the shrines and in front of all the Goshta Devathas on that day. The details of the temple, and the time of the activity are informed well in advance through the Aalayam Kanden Facebook Page for the benefit of those who wish to participate and/or contribute. This month, for some reason, we were not able to decide on the temple. Several options were analysed, but no decision was arrived at. With just one week left , I started receiving phone calls from anxious friends. It was then that the Nemam Avundeeswarar temple came into my mind.

Eagerly, I started reading about it. Two articles, one written by renowned astrologer Shri AMR, and the other that appeared in Agasthya Vijayam, made me decide on the temple. We called the trustee Mr. Kumar to agree upon the time. What he said was music to our ears. He suggested, that we visit on Sunday instead of Saturday as Sunday was Pradhosham . So the date and time were quickly set, and we waited eagerly for Sunday afternoon.

We reached the temple around 3.45 pm. The Gurukkal was just opening the door as we arrived. He welcomed us warmly and introduced us to Mr. Kumar, trustee, and the man instrumental in making this temple rise from dust. As we waited for him to freshen up and meet with us, we walked around the temple admirng the various idols and their beauty. The Gurukkal took us into the temple. There was no electricity and with the help of an emergency lamp, he opened the door of the sanctum sanctorum.

My heart stopped at the sight of the magnificient Avundeeswara. Almost 4.5 feet tall, the long Baana on a square Avudaiyaar in the dimly lit Grabagraha, reminded me of Thirugnanasambandar's verse - " காதலாகி, கசிந்து, கண்ணீர் மல்கி" as my hands automatically rose above my head, and I felt goosebumps all over. He looked every bit the title of this post. 

The Gurukkal pointed out to the dampness on the walls around, to the height of the Lord. He said that the source from where the water was seeping through the walls was unknown, but it was through the year and did not raise beyond the height of the lingam.

He also mentioned about the Amudha Yogeeswara Bhairavar at the temple. He said that it has been witnessed that he guards the temple at night - such a living, strong presence! Worshipping this Bhairava on Saturdays rids one of problems faced due to Shani Dasa and also due to Seivinai (Mantrikam/Sorcery)

We went around the temple which was spotlessly clean and well maintained. Soon, Mr Kumar joined us and took as to the Meditation Hall that has been built recently. The hall had pictures of the 18 Siddhars placed on the wall, and ambience conducive for meditation. Mr. Kumar started talking about the history of the temple and how it was raised from shambles.

He recalled how until 1999 the whole temple had been covered by thick vegetation and there was no passage available even to get close to the temple. No one ventured close, fearing the giant sized bats and reptiles crawling around! Right from childhood, Kumar had the desire to get close and see how the temple looked like and when he along with some friends, finally managed to do so, this is how the temple looked like!

The cowherd did not understand why the cows were showering their milk on a sandhill and in a fit of anger, raised his whip and started beating the cows. It is believed that Lord Shiva rose from the sandhill and hugged the cows close whereby the whiplashes fell on him. Till today, the marks of a whip striking against him can be seen on the Murthi. As he protected the cows, he came to be known as Aavundeeswara. This temple is a preferred place of worship for those people whose name starts with the sylabble "Go" like Gopalakrishnan, Gomathy, Govindarajan, Govardhan etc.

Built in the 11th Century by Jayamkonda Chola (Rajadhiraja Chola I) this temple lost its glory over the years, only to be reconstructed again at the turn of the 21st Century. (1999 - 2010).

Apart from the ancient shrines of Ganesha, Muruga, Veerabadra, Bhairava, Brahma, Vishnu, Vishnu Durga and Chandikeshwara, new shrines for Navagraha and a separate shrine for Shani Bhagavan as well as Saptha Matrikas has been constructed. A notable feature of this temple is the existence of Jyeshta Devi.

By now, it was time for the Pradhosha Abhishekam to start. After worshipping the Nandi and witnessing the Abhishekam being performed, we moved into the Artha Mandapam. The temple is built in such a way that we enter from the South. go around the temple, worship the Nandi, then enter the main temple, after worshipping Goddess Amirthambigai, and then turn left to face the Lord, who is being worshipped by Nandi through a stone lattice.

Through the grace of the Almighty, I have been blessed to visit several temples over my life time. But the peace and tranquility and the vibration we experienced as we sat before the Lord was something special. Tears of joy automatically welled up in my eyes. There were a few local people who had come to witness the Pradhosha Abhishekam and as the priests started the abhishekam, to the rendering of Thevaram songs, in the dim light of the emergency lamp, it was as if we had been transported to another world. 

After the abhishekam was performed, we were able to light lamps at all the shrines in the temple and also give away ghee and oil for the rest of the month to Mr. Kumar.

After witnessing the procession of Lord Shiva and Parvathi on the Nandi Vahanam around the temple we started from the temple, with the satisfaction of an evening well spent!

When driving from Chennai, on the Chennai-Bangalore Highway, turn right at Thirumazhisai. Drive down the road towards Nemam. After crossing the Lotte Chocolate Factory, take the next left at the Ambedkar Statue. You can see the temple from there through the greenery along the way. After about a kilometre, turn left at the end of the stone wall, and it leads directly to the temple.