travelogues | india

SOUTH INDIA PILGRIMAGE

From 21 Dec ’01 to 2 Jan ’02, I went on an extensive trip of South Indian temples (most in Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala) with my parents and sister. We started from Hyderbad, went to Tirupati and all the way to Kanyakumari, the southern-most point of India covering many temple-towns in the journey. Both my parents had undergone major surgeries in Hyderabad just two weeks before.

Itinerary Day 1 Hyderabad – Day 2 Tirupati – Kalahasti – Tirupati – Tirumala – Tirupati Day 3 Tirupati – Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram Day 4 Mahabalipuram – Pondicherry – Chidambaram Day 5 Chidambaram – Vaidyaswaran – Mayiladudurai – Kumbhokonam – Thirunagesham – Thiruvinnagaram – Kumbhokonam Day 6 Kumbhokonam – Swamimalai – Thiruvalanchuzhi – Thanjavur – Tiruchirapalli Day 7 Tiruchirapalli – Thiruvanaikaaval – Srirangam – Tiruchirapalli Day 8 Tiruchirapalli – Madurai – Rameshwaram Day 9 Rameshwaram – Day 10 Kaniyakumari – Suchindram – Nagarkoil – Trivandrum Day 11 Trivandrum – Kovulum – Trivandrum – Kanyakumari – Day 12 Chennai – Day 13 Hyderabad

DAY 1: Fri 21 Dec ’01

HYDERABAD –

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Hyderabad (train)		Set off in a train from Hyderabad with Ma, Dad and Anita didi.	=> 592 km

DAY 2: Sat 22 Dec ’01

TIRUPATI – KALAHASTI – TIRUPATI – TIRUMALA – TIRUPATI

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Tirupati	Sri Govindrajaswami temple	We bought the sudarshan tickets for Sri Venkateshwara temple. Had time until evening.	=>1 hr
Srikalahasti	Kalahasti Vayulingam	Vayu Lingam – Shiva Lingam as the‘air’ element. Former Indian President R Venkatraman was in the temple when we visited.	=>1 hr
Tirupati		Came back to Tirupati and hurried to the Tirumala hills for queuing up.	=>1 hr
Tirumala	Sri Venkateshwar temple	Our sudarshan queue time was around 8:00 pm. We got to see the deity around midnight. The wait was worth it – the darshan was enthralling amidst chants of ‘Govinda Govinda’ . The ladoos we got later were the most delicious I’ve had till now.	=>1 hr
Tirupati		Rested early morning

DAY 3: Sun 23 Dec ’01

TIRUPATI – KANCHIPURAM – MAHABALIPURAM

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Tirupati		Took the bus to the ancient temple and saree town of Kanchipuram – once the capital of the Chola & the Pallava dynasties.	=> 3.5 hrs
Kanchipuram	Vishnu Kanchi (Chipkali mandir)	One of the 108 Temples & Celestial Abodes of Vishnu revered by the Tamil hymns of the Alwars of the 1st millennium CE
	Kanchipuram Silk Weaving Factory	The guide took us to a factory where weavers were weaving the famous Kancheepuram silk sarees.
	Kamakshi Amman Temple	The Tamil saying Kanchi Kamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi and Kaasi Visalakshi illustrates the importance of the Shakti shrine in this temple.
	Sakkiswarar Temple	It was built by the Cholas.
	Sri Ulagalandar(Vamana)Temple	This temple is dedicated to Trivikrama (Vamana), who is called Sri Ulagalandar, “the Lord who measured the world with his three steps.”
	Kailasanatha temple	It was build by Pallava king Rayasimha in late 7th century – the oldest temple in Kanchipuram.  I loved this temple’s architecture.
	Ekambareswar temple (Shiva Kanchi)	It was constructed in mid 9th century by the Pallavas. It has a 200 ft gopuram with more than 10 stories of intricate sculpture. There is a 3500 year old mango tree inside the courtyard.  Witnessed the royal-style evening aarti with oil lamps lighting the door – an enthralling experience.The huge linga is known as the Prithvi-linga (earth), one of the five element lingas of South India – the other four are Agni-linga (fire) at Thiruvannamalai, Appu-linga (water) at Jambukeswara, Vayu-linga (air) at Kalahasti, and Akasha-linga (ether) at Chidambaram.	=> 2 hrs
Mahabalipuram		Night halt at a hotel near the beach

DAY 4: Mon 24 Dec ’01

MAHABALIPURAM – PONDICHERRY – CHIDAMBARAM

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Mahabalipuram	Shore temple at sunrise	Went early morning to the beach to view the majestic Shore temple at sunrise – I’d only read about these and had been wanting to see this beautiful temple couple. They’re among the most photographed monuments in India.
	Rathas	There are five monolithic temples, each created in different style. They are also know as Pancha Pandava Rathas, and four of the Rathas are supposed to have scooped out of a single rock formation.
	mandapams	The Mandapams or porticos are grand specimens of art. Scooped out of solid rock on a hillside, each mandapam depicts exclusive carvings rich in detail.
	Krishna Mandapam	A serene pastoral scene at the Krishna Mandapam shows Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan Mountain, to protect his kinsfolk from the wrath of the God Indra.
	Arjuna’s Penance	This skilfully carved rock is the largest bas – relief sculpture in the world. It gets its name from the figure of an ascetic believed to be Arjuna, doing penance to obtain a boon from Lord Shiva. However, the figure may be Bhagiratha who entreated Shiva to let the river Ganges flow over the earth.
	Vinayaka temple
	Mahisasurmardini Cave	It consists of 10 cave temples, with fine bas-reliefs on its panels of enduring beauty. On one side is Lord Vishnu in sleeping posture. On the other is a huge theatrical panel showing Goddess Durga’s fight with the demon Mahisasura.
	Varaha Cave	The Varaha Cave portrays two incarnations of Lord Vishnu, as Varaha & Vamana. Particularly noteworthy here are 4 panels of the famous Pallava doorkeepers, in a mood of contemplative reverie.Visited the Shore Temple once again (this time from close), before catching the bus to Pondicherry.	=> 2 hrs
Pondicherry	Aurobindo Ashram		=> 1.5 hrs
Chidambaram		Night halt

DAY 5: Tue 25 Dec ’01

CHIDAMBARAM – VAIDYASWARAN – MAYILADUDURAI – KUMBHOKONAM – THIRUNAGESHAM – THIRUVINNAGARAM – KUMBHOKONAM

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Chidambaram	Nataraja Temple	Temple dedicated to Nataraj (Shiva in Tandava pose), and one of the five element lingams (ether/sky lingam).  Witnessed the early morning aarti.	=> 40 mins
Vaidyaswaran	Vaidyaswaran Koil		=> 20 mins
Mayiladudurai	Mayurasamy Temple		=> 1 hr
Kumbhokonam			=> 9 kms
Thirunagesham	Thirunagesham Koil		=> 20 mins
Thiruvinnagaram	Oopliuppan Koil	One of the sacred 108 Vaishnava Divya Desams.	=> 30 mins
Kumbhakonam	Sri Ramasamy temple
	Kashi Vishwanath temple
	Kumbheshwarar	Night halt at Kumbhakonam

DAY 6: Wed 26 Dec ’01

KUMBHOKONAM – SWAMIMALAI – THIRUVALANCHUZHI – THANJAVUR – TIRUCHIRAPALLI

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Kumbhakonam			=> 9 kms
Swamimalai	Karthikeya temple	Swamimalai is 4th among the 6 padai veedu (sacred shrines) dedicated to Lord Muruga. He expounded the meaning of the Pranava mantra OM to his own Father Lord Shiva Himself.	=> 1 km
Thiruvalanchuzhi	Vinayaka temple	Sweta/Vellai (white) Vinayakar (Ganapati) is the center of worship here. Legend has it that the demigods fashioned this image out of the foam that was generated when the milky ocean was churned by them in their quest for nectar.Anita didi & I saw the deity being bathed with milk and then decorated.	=> 2 hrs
Thanjavur (Tanjore)	Brihadeshwara temple
	Thanjavur Palace
	Saraswati Mahal Library
	Art Gallery, Memorial		=> 54 kms 1.5 hrs
Tiruchirapalli (Trichy)		Night halt

DAY 7: Thu 27 Dec ’01

TIRUCHIRAPALLI – THIRUVANAIKAAVAL – SRIRANGAM – TIRUCHIRAPALLI

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Tiruchirapalli	Rock Fort Temple		=> 20 mins
Thiruvanaikaaval	Neer Lingam		=> 20 mins
Srirangam	Sri Ranganathasamy temple, etc.		=>30 mins
Tiruchirapalli		Night halt

DAY 8: Fri 28 Dec ’01

TIRUCHIRAPALLI – MADURAI – RAMESHWARAM

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Tiruchirapalli			=> 128 kms 3.5 hrs
Madurai	Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple	Madurai (city of nectar) is the oldest city of Tamil Nadu. The Meenakshi (sister of Lord Vishnu, who gave her in marriage to Lord Shiva) temple has 2 main shrines, no less than 12 Gopuras, a tank and innumerable Mandapas. At every turn is superb sculpture, magnificent architecture.I fell ill in Madurai due to food poisoning. Was infused with glucose for 2 hours in a clinic. Was giddy in the Meenakshi temple.	=> 172 kms 4 hrs
Rameshwaram		We couldn’t get any hotels, so spent the night in the verandah of a kind sadhu, the contact of a colleague from Innova.

DAY 9: Sat 29 Dec ’01

RAMESHWARAM –

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Rameshwaram	Ramanathasamy temple
	Agneeteertham
	Lakshmana tirth
	Ram tirth
	Sita Kund
	Vibhishan Mandir
	Dhanushkodi (Lanka view)
	Ram Jharokha (Gandamadhan Parvat)
	Ramanathasamy temple
	Shankara Math	Spent the night in the bus to Kanyakumari	=> 314 kms 9 hrs

DAY 10: Sun 30 Dec ’01

KANIYAKUMARI – SUCHINDRAM – NAGARKOIL – TRIVANDRUM

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Kaniyakumari	Sunrise at Triveni Sangam
	Kamraj memorial
	Gandhi memorial
	Kumari Amman temple
	Sri Padaparai
	Vivekananda Rock Memorial		=> 30 mins
Suchindram	Thanumalayan temple	Suchindram has a temple dedicated to a deity who is the representation of the combined forces of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. It has a beautiful gopuram, musical pillars and a tall statue of Hanuman.There was a huge crowd gathered for an annual procession outside the temple. I missed hearing the music of the pillars though.	=> 20 mins
Nagarkoil		Went to Nagarkoil to take a connecting bus to Trivandrum	=> 1.5 hrs
Trivandrum		Night halt

DAY 11: Mon 31 Dec ’01

TRIVANDRUM – KOVULUM – TRIVANDRUM – KANYAKUMARI –

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Trivandrum	Padmanabhasamy Temple		=> 20 kms
Kovulum	Marine Aquarium
	Beach		=> 20 kms
Trivandrum	Velur Lagoon Tourist Village		=> 87 kms 3 hrs
Kanyakumari		Spent the night in the train	=> 15 hrs

DAY 12: Tue 01 Jan ’02

CHENNAI –

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Chennai	AsthLakshmi temple	Spent the new year going around Chennai. The auto rickshaw driver was rude though, as is typically said of Chennai.
	Kapileshwar temple	Situated in the Mylapore area of Chennai, this temple was constructed in the 13th century.
	Marina beach	Visited Marina beach, the second longest beach in the world (4.5 kms). Spent the night in the train	=> 14 hrs

DAY 13: Wed 02 Jan ’02

HYDERABAD

Location	Sites	Remarks	Dist/Time
Hyderabad		Back after accomplishing an impossible trip