This is a write-up about our visit to Divyadesams and Abhimana Sthalams near Thiruvarur.

This is a write-up about our visit to Divyadesams and Abhimana Sthalams near Thiruvarur. On 21st May, three of us (myself, my mom and Ramadurai mama) left to Thiruvarur by Rameswaram Express. We reached Thiruvarur around 6 .00 AM and were received by our driver friend Mr. Rajendran. We left to Nagapattinam and it was nearly a 40 minutes drive from Thiruvarur. We started our day’s visit after refreshing ourselves at Ramadurai mama’s friend’s home. First we went to ThiruNaagai Divyadesam. Perumal’s thirunaamam is Sowndarrajan. Needless to say, Perumal looks so beautiful. Bhattar did a wonderful sevai for us. Thirumangai Azhwar calls this Perumal as “Naagai Azhagiyaar”.This is a big temple and seems to be well maintained. We then took the blessings of Thaayar and also visited the nearby Desikar and Krishnan temples. Bhattar was not available in these temples, but still we could get a glimpse of the Lord from the outer door. Then we had a good breakfast at mama’s friend’s place and left for Thirukannangudi. This divyadesam is in a very remote place and is difficult to reach if the driver is not well versed with the roads. Moolavar Thirunaamam is Lokanathan. Utsavar is Damodara Narayanan. This is one among the five Krishnaranya Kshetrams and is the 26th divyadesam. Thaayar’s thirunaamam is Lokanayaki. Bhattar was kind enough to give us a small booklet on the Sthala Puranam. After having a good darshan here, we left to Mannarkudi and reached there around 11:15 AM. This is a huge temple and one needs a lot of time to visit all the sannidhis. Since we had to reach Vaduvoor before 12:30 PM, we had only around 30 minutes to spend in this temple. Perumal’s thirunaamam is RajaGopalan and is seen with a cow and two calves. He gives sevai as ‘mannaar’. This Perumal looks extremely beautiful that one feels like never leaving Him. We then had a good sevai of Sengamalavalli Thaayar and left to Vaduvoor. Bhattar at this temple was waiting for us and gave us a very good sevai of Vaduvoor Ramar. One cannot forget the smile in Ramar’s thirumugam. We then left for the Veda paada saalai. Most of the paada salai students have gone to Bangalore for celebrating Srimad Andavan’s thirunakshatiram. We had a good lunch here along with the paada salai boys and also had some time to rest. Around 2:30 PM, we left to Thillai Vilagam Ramar temple. The road to Thillai Vilagam was not in good condition and Rajendran was very patient and careful in driving under such conditions. We reached the temple just before 5.00 PM and were waiting for the Bhattar to arrive. Mama was conversing with the temple staff about the needs of the temple. Moolavar Ramar is a Pancha loha murthy and looks so beautiful. Bhattar showed us the Rama charam and explained that Ramar used this Rama Charam only three times..( against Kakasuran, Vaali and Ravanan). He also said that in most of the Ramar temples, we will see only Artha Chandra Baanam. He then showed us the divine veins and marks on Ramar’s thirumeni and the kaapu which kousalya tied for Ramar’s protection . Anjaneya is not seen with folded hands ( as he is usually seen) but with a hand near his mouth as if waiting for Rama’s message to be conveyed to Bharatha. In all, we had a wonderful and peaceful sevai here. We were also fortunate to receive vadai prasadams. Then we left to Thirukannamangai divyadesam which is just a few kms away from Thiruvarur railway station. Had been to this divyadesam during our Kumbakonam visit and were fortunate to see this Perumal for the second time. Perumal here is BhakthaVatsalan. Bhattar explained that they do thirumanjanam only once a year during Jeshtabhisekham and for the rest of the year Perumal will give darshan with his kavachams. Utsavar’s thirunaamam is Battharaavi Perumal. In Sanskrit, it is BhakthaVatsalan. We had a good sevai of Thaayar(Abhisekha valli Nachiyaar) too..When we reached this temple, it was time for Artha jaama poojai and we were lucky to have sevai of Perumal and Thaayar before the temple was closed for the day. Rajendran then dropped us at Thiruvarur station and took leave from us. We had to spend close to 2 hrs at the station before our train arrived and we reached Chennai around 9 AM , the next day morning . It was not very taxing as we thought it would be.. Unmindful of his age and the hot summer, mama takes us to places and when it comes to temples, he becomes very energetic and enthusiastic and one has to see it to believe it! It was a wonderful trip for all of us covering 3 divyadesams and 3 Abhimana sthalams in a day’s time. Thanks to mama in making this trip for us!