Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sholingur Narasimha Thiru Kadigai

One who visits this temple and stays here for 24minutes is said to attain moksham
HiiiThe only Divya Desam with such special significance for Lord Anjaneya

Periya Malai
Lord Vishnu who undertook the Narasimha Avataaram at Ahobilam (Andhra Pradesh), once again displayed the Narasimha Avataaram to saptha rishis, who undertook penance at Sholingur. Hence, this is said to be the one of the most sacred of “Divya Desams on the Hill” in Tamil Nadu.
Located about 90kms west of Madras (and about 25kms from Arakkonam and 40kms from Tiruttani), atop a hill on a single stone is the Lord Narasimha Divya Desam in Sholingur, also called Chozha-Simha-Puram and Thiru Kadigai. This is also referred to as UtheeCheerangam(North Srirangam).

There are two temples of significance here- the Yoga Narasimha temple at Periya Malai (the big hill) and the Yoga Chathurbhuja Anjaneyar temple at Chinna Malai (the small hill).

1300 steps up the big hill
Guarding oneself against the hundreds of monkeys, one has to walk up 1305 steps to reach the Narasimha Sannidhi at the ‘Periya Malai’. East of this Sannidhi in another hill is the Yoga Anjaneya Sannidhi( one has to climb another about 406 steps to reach the Sannidhi atop the chinna malai ).

Atop the hill, in Thiru Kadigai, one finds the Moolavar deity and Amruthavalli Thaayar, while in the town below, one can have darshan of the Utsava Deity.

Utsava Deity seen in Sholingur Town

In downtown Sholingur, one finds the Aathi Kesavaperumal Koil built by the Chozha kings. The sacred water at this temple goes into the feet of the Lord Kesavan and from there directly on to the earth below!!! The Utsava deity of Bhakta Sithan(Bhaktavatsala Perumal) is seen here in downtown Sholingur.

The storySage Vishwamitra, who undertook penance here, was blessed with ‘Brahmma Rishi’ by Lord Narasimha, within 24 minutes (One Kadigai/ One ‘Naazhigai’). Following the foot steps of the great sage, Saptha Rishis too undertook penance here at Sholingur wanting a darshan of the Narasimha Avataaram and hoping to get the darshan within 24minutes!!
Hence, it is believed that one who stays here for 24 minutes will attain Moksham.

During his rule, the great Chozha king, Karikaala Chozhan, called this region Thiru Kadigai.

Anjaneya’s Moksham request
Yoga Anjaneya
At the end of the Rama Avataaram, Anjaneya wanted to join Raama in his abode at Vaikuntam. However, Rama had other thoughts and asked Anjaneya to go to Sholingur to protect the Rishis from Asuras. Rama provided Anjaney with Conch and Chakra.

Devoted as ever and always following Raama’s words, Anjaneya is said to have come here and demolished the asuras. Lord Narasimha appeared before Anjaneya and asked him to remain here, as Yoga Anjaneya, with the assurance that he would take Anjaneya into Vaikuntam during Kali Yugam.

There is a small opening on the wall of the Periya Malai Koil through which it is said that Yoga Anjaneya, from his place in Chinna Malai, has darshan of Lord Narasimha.

Abiding by the Lord’s wishes, Anjaneya is said to have remained here atop the small hill and is seen here with four hands( Chathurbhuja Anjaneyar) in a Yoga posture with Conch, Chakra, Japa Maalai and the fourth hand with a Japa Sankai( counting the Japam).

This is the only Divya Desam with such special prominence for Lord Anjaneya.

There is a Raama Sannidhi and Ranganatha ( tiny) Sannidhi inside the Yoga Anjaneya temple.

Dodda Acharya and the Sholingur-Kanchi connection

The Sholingur Narasimha Koil has been managed and taken care of by the descendents of Dodda Acharya for the last several centuries. Dodda Acharya was the grandson of MuthalaiAndaan and to him, it is said, goes the credit of creating this beautiful temple town of Sholingurk in the Arcot region of Tamil Nadu.

Dodda Acharya used to visit the Garuda Sevai of Varadaraja Perumal at Kanchipuram every year. However, once he could not make his annual trip to Kanchi as he fell ill. Saddened by this, he bathed at the temple tank at Sholingur, invoked the blessings of Varadar of Kanchi and sang 5 songs in praise of Lord Varadaraja Perumal.

So pleased was the Lord with his devotion that he is believed to have provided darshan to Sholingur Dodda Acharya from his Garuda Vaahanam.

A special event at Kanchi every year

In memory of this event, every year on the third morning of Brahmotsavam at Kanchi, the temple door is closed for a few minutes and Lord Varadaraja Perumal, in his Garuda Vaahanam, says ‘ I am now going to give darshan to DoddaAcharya of Sholingur.

The Lord waits at the entrance of the temple, faces the direction of Sholingur and provides darshan to Dodda Acharya. This is called the Dodda Acharya Sevai in Kanchipuram.

There is a separate sannidhi for Dodda Acharya at the Sholingur temple.

Budhan liberated from Agastya’s curse
Budhan, who played a prank on Sage Agastya and was subject to a curse by the angry sage, performed service to saptha rishis at Thiru Kadigai and is said to have been liberated from his curse.

Azhvaar Praise-Thirumangai refers to the Lord as ‘ Thakkan’

Yoga Narasimhar
NammAzhvaar, PeyAzhvaaar and Thirumangai Azhvaar have sung praises of the Kadigai Lord Narasimha in four verses.

“ Mikkaanai Maraiyaai Virintha Vilakkai, Ennul Pukkaanai Pughazh Ser
Polingra Pon Malaiyai, Thakkaanai Kadigai Thadan Kunrin
Misai Iruntha Akkaara Kaniyai, Adainthu, Uyinthu Poneney”- Thirumangai….

Thirumangai in the above Paasuram refers to the Sholingur Lord a ‘Thakkan’ to mean that the Lord is the right one to fulfil all the wishes of devotees.

Prarthana Sthalam

Varadarajan with Perundevi Thayar
This is a Prarthana Sthalam. Belief is that the Lord cures devotees, who bathe here and walk up the two hills, from all kinds of diseases and is said to give them peace of mind. Lord Narasimha is also said to fulfil all the wishes of the devotees.

Every Friday at 7am in the morning, there is a Prarthana Utsavam for Amruthavalli Thaayar with special Abhishekam for the Thaayar and Perumal. On Sunday at 7am, there is special Abhishekam for Lord Anjaneya.


Festivals

Chitrai Brahmotsavam
Maasi Dodda Acharya Utsavam
Vaikasi Narasimha Jayanthi
Puratasi Navarathri Utsavam
Margazhi Adhyaana Utsavam and
Panguni Thiru Kalyana Utsavam

On the same day as the Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal Garuda Sevai, there is Garuda Sevai at Bhakta Sithan temple as well as the Varadaraja Perumal Koil in Sholingur.

Annual trip of Thaayar down the hill

Amruthavalli Thaayar
Amruthavalli Thaayar makes her annual trip to down town Sholingur in Puratasi and stays here with Bhakatvatsala Perumal for two month( Puratasi and Aipasi). On the first day of karthigai, she makes her trip back to the top of the hill.

Quick Facts

Moolavar : Akkara Kani Yoga Narasimha East Facing Sitting posture
Thaayar : Amruthavalli Thaayar (separate sannidhi)
Utasavar : Bhaktavatsala(Bhakta Sithan) Perumal - below in the town of Sholingur
Paasurams : PeyAzhvaar, Thirumangai Azhvaar, NammAzhvaar
Temple Timing : 8am-5pm

Contact : Dodda Acharya Descendant Singarachari - Kutti Kannan (son of AKC Periya Bangar Swami) @ 04172 262770 or 94442 74589

Address : 39 Sannidhi Street, Sholingur 631 102

Others contacts : Mohan Bhattar@ 04172 295999 or Kumar Bhattar @ 99443 30705

How to reach Sholingur

From Madras, one can take the following trains:

1. Early morning Kovai Express or Brindavan Express to Arakkonam and a 29km bus trip from Arakkonam to Sholingur (will take about 45minutes to 1 hour) - Good wide Arakkonam- Walajah SH 61.
Or
2. Sapthigiri Express (625am departure) to Tiruttani(arrival at 730am). There are a number of buses from Tiruttani to Sholingur (40kms).
Or
3. Take Chennai- Bangalore Express (departure at 1.20pm) and get down at Sholingur Station( 240pm arrival). A number of Share autos from the North of the station will take you to Sholingur temple in 30 minutes( a distance of 16kms)

There are also direct buses from Madras to Sholingur but it is better to take the train-bus option.

Auto will charge Rs.10/- from Arakonam/Walajah highway to the foot of the Periya Malai. One can take another auto for Rs.10-15/- from the foot of the Periya Malai to the foot of the Chinna Malai.

Rope car has now been launched for devotees to go to periya malai. Timings 830am to 530pm with a break between 1pm and 2pm. Charges : Rs. 100 per head ( March 2024) 

Big Hill

45 comments:

Unknown said...

Superb story

I did not know the significance of Anjaneyar and Chinna Malai although I have visited the temples

Very detailed info on how to reach there

Thanks Prabhu

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Prabhu.S said...

Madam,

Thank you for reading and the comments.

Regards
Prabhu

Saravanan. said...

Thanks for your information, it very helpful.

Prabhu.S said...

Sir,

Thanks for reading and the comments.

Prabhu

SriDevi said...

Hi,

Is it possible to tell when is kumbabishekam fixed for Sholingur temple?

Prabhu.S said...

Madam,

The Kumbabhishekam date has not been fixed yet.

Prabhu

nhs said...

OHM SRI LAKSHMI NARASIMMA SWAMI NAMAHA. I EAGERLY AWAITED FOR KUMBABISHEKAM. IN EVERY SUCCESS OF MY LIFE SRI NARASIMMA SWAMI IN FRONT OF ME. FROM THE PAST ONE AND HALF YEAR I DID NOT SEE THE MOOLAVAR DUE TO KUMBABISHEKHAM, TOTALLY I FED UP. ALL MY BUSINESS IS FALLING DOWN AND I AM DEEPLY STRUGGLED IN FINANCE POSITION. EVERY DAY I CRY AND PRAY LAKSHMI NARASIMMASWAMY.

Prabhu.S said...

All will be well:)

Prabhu

Anonymous said...

OM NAMO NARAYANAYA SIDDHAM!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR DETAILED INFORMATION. IT'S REALLY GREAT.

EVERYDAY, I VISIT SHOLINGUR TEMPLES BY HEART AND GET BLESSINGS OF LORD NARASIMHA, THAYAR AND SIRUYA THIRUVADIGAL.

JAY M. IYER
Australia

Prabhu.S said...

Sir,

Thank You for reading and the comment.

Hope you will be able to visit the temple when you come to India next.

Prabhu

Unknown said...

Hi All,

Both Temples are nice to Visit... All our Wishes will be full filled after visiting the temple.

God Prasadam will be excellent.

Lot of Monkeys,
Big Pound,
Climbing steps will be awesome.

Narasimha
Bangalore

Prabhu.S said...

Thank You for your comments

Prabhu

dev said...

when is kumbabishekam in sholingur temple?

PRabhu S said...

date has not been fixed yet...

Prabhu

Anonymous said...

We are eargerly waiting for the completion of the Kumbhabhishekam and installation of the winch. As our mother could not visit for the past so many years due to her leg problems, she wants to have darshan at the earliest.

Anonymous said...

When is the Kumbabishekam??

Unknown said...

Hello all,
At present there are lot of renovations happening and the main temple is closed. So, Can any one tell me when would be the main diety temple will be opened?

Prabhu.S said...

Last heard, date had not been fixed.

anitha said...

Adiyan ramanujadasi

One of my favourite divya desam..believe me or not i received my MBA results in positive after i came down seeing perumal.it was one of my wonderfull moment in my life.and just waiting for the kumbabishekam.
and people one more request.the kumbabishekam is been delayed due to insufficient gold to make vimanan and gopuram for narasimmah (appa)...instead writing and feeling bad for not able to see perumal.as a devotee you can just organise some gold for perumal.this is the chance where you are going to donate someting to perumal.later where he is the one who is going to give everything which is needed for you people.

thanks
anitha balan
adiyan

anitha said...

and mr.prabhu

i can see your replies for all the comments..why dont you take steps for this.try to tell people.what is the reason for delay-kumbabishegam.hope you must be knowing that......please do whatever you can........


anitha
adiyan

PRabhu S said...

Madam,

Thank You for both your comments.

Will try and add (the necessary inputs) to the story in a few days time after the approval from the temple authorities.

Thanks again
Prabhu

nhs said...

happy news to all narasimma bakthas. kumbabishekam will be held on 10th september 2010.

narayanan said...

Hi The app kumbabishegam date is Sep 10th 2010

Baskar said...

hi i have been visiting this temple for Margazhi Adhyaana Utsavam 5th weak every year from the born date.. its awasome temple.. and last 2yr i went to hill, and i saw only uthcharvar, so i am aslo happy that Kumbabhishekam date has fixed..

Baskar said...

hi i have been visiting this temple for Margazhi Adhyaana Utsavam 5th weak every year from the born date.. its awasome temple.. and last 2yr i went to hill, and i saw only uthcharvar, so i am aslo happy that Kumbabhishekam date has fixed..

Anonymous said...

Is the Mahakumbabishekam of the temple confirmed?? why the temple has not given anything about it in its site. Please let me know. I want to have dharshan of Alagiya singan in the sanctum sanctorum.
I have a painful news from reliable people that large sums of money donated for perumal kainkaryam and ponvimanam has been corrupted by temple authorities including the paddachariyars.. Lord alone knows whats happening and thats why the renovation has taken so long.Despite collection of lot of gold for vimanam they collected large sums telling gold is scarce to complete the work. Please let me know if 10th september is the exact date I want to have dharshan of Narashimhar thayaar and Anjaneyar Moolavar

Anonymous said...

Is the Mahakumbabishekam going to be done on Sep 10 2010? Please tell correctly and confimly, and provide more information about Mahakumbabishekam , on that day what are the poojas going to be done in both the hills (chinna malai & Periya mallai) with timings. Please let me know as soon as possible, so that i need to plan for that day..

Thanks in advance

PRabhu S said...

Yes, confirmed 7am.

Prabhu

ambika said...

Is the Mahakumbabishekam on Sep 10th, Mor 7.00 am to 8.30 pm.

PRabhu S said...

Its 7am-830am

nhs said...

time is confirmed. morning 7.00 to 8.30. expecting large crowd. just now i spoke to sholingur temple executive officer. local tv channel will telecast the kumbabishekam. all hindus are please welcome with family. this is our family function.

abhimanyu said...

hi prabhu,
tnx a lot for giving us gr8 story abt the shrine. I wish to get a nice darshan on kumbabhishekam day.

PRabhu S said...

Madam,

Many thanks for reading and for the kind words.

Prabhu

guruji gopalavallidasan said...

Radhekrishna . . .Great description in simple english . . .Just now i have posted your article about YOGA ANJANEYA of SHOLINGUR to my facebook.I have published the photo of YOGA ANJANEYA from your site to FB.LORD ANJANEYA will bless you forever. . .On this auspicious HANUMADH JAYANTHI i am very happy to send u this . . .
http://www.facebook.com/people/Guruji-Gopalavallidas/100000500057010

PRabhu S said...

Thank You for your kind words.

Regarding Face book, Sir, request you not to pick not to pick up photo or content from here.

If relevant, you may provide this blog's link but please do not pick up the content or any of the photos from this site for Face book or elsewhere.

Thank You
Prabhu

Unknown said...

Hello All,
Can I know is there any winch? I want to take my parents to periya malai and chinna malai.

PRabhu S said...

No not yet, though talks have been on to get one going.

Prabhu

Anonymous said...

Hi
Could you please tell me whether any bus route where car can go to Periya Malai. I need to take my Grandma here. She cant climb steps.

Please let me know.

Also if I plan to go this weekend, will it be possible to get Moolavar's darshan. People are telling like as Vaikunda Yekadesi is nearing, we cant get Moolavar's darshan. They 'll do "yennai kaapu" to moolavar. So only Urcha moorthi can be seen.

Please let me know is it true

Many Thanks

Prabhu.S said...

Moolavar Darshan will be possible through this month.

No buses to Periya Malai.

However, she can be carried on the Doli - Charges a Rs.700-1000.

Prabhu

Unknown said...

Really helpful information. its really helpful for devotees who want visits temple.

Anonymous said...

Dear Prabhu
Thought would take few information/help from you on the below.

We are planning to start from chennai on 7/12/2013 early and reach foot hills at around 6.30 AM.

1. Which is the best time to avoid crowd especially this month
2. We also should be able to get darshan of all gods and Goddess.
3. Drive via kaveripakkam is better or Walajah is better?

Thanks and regards
Ramesh

PRabhu S said...

1. Chennai- Tiruvallur-Tiruttani route would be good to take

( Taking B'lore NH from a traffic and speed point of view is also fine though it could be a few kms longer)

2. The time you have suggested is fine. You can be up by 7amish / 730amish

3. Please also visit the Anjaneya Sannidhi in the near by hill after you have had darshan of Narasimhar.

Prabhu

Srinivasan said...

Chennai - Arakkonam by train, Arakkonam - Sholingur by bus is the most convenient mode of travel.

Unknown said...

Dear Shri Prabhu,

All your information are very much useful. I am planning to go to Sholigur on 28.10.16.
Regards,
Mukundan R, Hyderabad