Kumbakonam

The state of Tamil Nadu houses a multiple of towns and cities, which have flourished here by leaps and bounds. Kumbakonam is quite a significant one. It is a residential locale, which has its location in the district of Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu state of Indian continent. Being the capital city of Chola Dynasty the name of Kumbakonam has also find place in the annuls of Indian history. Cauveery River flows through the region and thus enhances the beauty of this locale.

The etymological significance of Kumbakonam is quite significant. Legend says that it is a locale where Kumbha , which signifies pot in English was place . It is that pot where at the time of famous deluge Lord Brahma placed the seed of creation there. Therefore it is the very place from where first instance of life had originated.

Geographical location of Kumbakonam is equally important. It rises approximately at 10.97° N 79.38° E. It also rises to a height of 24 meters or 78 feet above the mean sea level. . Kumbakonam lies 96 km east of Tiruchirappalli, 273 km south of Chennai, and also near about 40 km north-east of Thanjavur. Two important rivers namely the Kaveri River on the north and Arasalar River on the south form the boundaries of Kumbakonam. No discussion about Kumbakonam can be continued fro a long time without catching hold of its demographical updates. Thus quite a handful of demographers have organized surveys here so that they could succeed in depicting certain demographical aspects of Kumbakonam. Due mentioning may be made of the Census report that has been brought out in the year 2001.

According to this report the total population of Kumbakonam has been enumerated to be 140,021. Most naturally the status of males and females of Kumbakonam have been integrated in this report. Interestingly it is known that the percentage of male and female populace is in equal proportion. In other words male populace constitutes 50 %, while the population of females is also the same. Not only that information about children who are residing in Kumbakonam also can be deduced. Thus children who are below six years of age constitute 10 % of the total population.

Experts have rightly accepted that knowledge about the literacy condition of Kumbakonam helps one to understand its growth and development. In other words literacy condition acts as a yardstick of gauging Kumbakonam`s progress. Thus 78 % is the average literacy rate of Kumbakonam constitutes 78 %, which is even higher than that of India. 59.5 % is India`s average literacy rate. This high literacy rate establishes the fact that development has occurred in Kumbakonam. Out of it , male literacy is as high as 86 % and points out the propensity of males of Kumbakonam towards education. Female literacy rate also is no less in significant and thus comprises of 70 %. Children who fall into the age group of less than six years comprises of 10 % of the population.

Myriads of tourists find Kumbakonam an ideal place to visit since it is the locale of a number of temples, which have been built with due care and attention. Temples like Kumbeswarar , Sarangapani temples are the landmarks of Kumbakonam . Few other temples include of Sri Abhimugheswarar, Kasi Vishwanathar, Nageswaran, and Ramaswamy. Most admirable temple of Kumbakonam is the one that has been dedicated to Brahma. In fact such temples are scarcely been found. Apart from theses major temple few more insignificant temples also have been constructed in Kumbakonam. Apart from these series of temple there are few more places that have drawn the admiration of tourists to a great extent. The Mahamaham tank is also a premieer attraction of tourists.

Festivals also are part and parcel of the people of Kumbakonam. Mahamaham festival, which is feted once in every twelve years, is a real time of celebration and merrymaking .

To facilitate accessibility Kimbakonam is well connected via roads , airports and also rails. Airport at Tiruchirapalli is situtes at a distance of 95 km away from Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam Railway Station also lies in close proximity. Also if one wishes one can even reach places like Thanjavur, Chennai and Madurai by roadways.

Kumbakonam is one of the oldest towns of South India. There are numerous ancient temples in the town and also the famous Maha Makham Tank. Besides, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Brahma which is very unique and rare in India. It is considered one of the 7 important holy cities of India. It is at a distance of 38 km from Thanjavur.

There are many temples in Kumbakonam dedicated to Lord Shiva also, of which the temple of Adi Kumbeswarar is considered very sacred. This is situated in the heart of the town facing the east and occupies an area of 1, 89,000 sq. feet. The main gopuram is 128 feet in height and contains many figures of rare and exquisite beauty. There are four prakarams to the temple in which rows of houses, shops, and many shrines dedicated to Vinayaka, Subrahmanya, Bhikshatana, Sapta Kannikas, Lakshmi, etc. may be found. The sthala-vriksha is Kanni tree and this can be seen in the third prakaram. In the same prakaram there is a shrine for Vinayaka who is locally known as Adi Vinayaka. The legend goes to show that this Vinayaka came to this place even before Lord Shiva and hence the name Adi Vinayaka.

There are many teerthams in Kumbakonam, of which the Mahamakham tank is well. The tank covers an area of 20 acres and is surrounded on all sides by picturesque manda-pams. There is a belief that it contains a number of other teerthams in the form of wells. The Mahamakham tank is also known as Anuratha Teertham, Kanni Teertham, Papanasa Teertham, etc. The legend states that Lord Rama, Chandi, Sulochana and many others attained salvation by taking a dip in the tank. This has been surrounded on all sides by 16 beautiful mandapams which are stated to have been built in the year 1542.

To the north of the Mahamakham tank there is a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva under the name Kasi Viswanatha. It is said that Lord Kasi Viswanatha, at the instance of the Nava Kannikas, i.e., nine virgins namely Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Saraswati, Kaveri, Kumari, Payoshni and Sarayu, came down to Kumbakonam and stayed with them. Temples for all the Nava Kannikas have been built here. Women worship the Nava Kannikas to get cured of sterility. Lord Rama on his way to Lanka to fight with Ravana came here and worshipped Lord Kasi Viswanatha.

The temple or Lord Kumbeswara contains some wonderful pieces of sculpture and architecture. On a single block of stone in the Navaratri Mandapam all the 27 stars and 12 Rasis (signs) have been carved out. The image of Lord Subrahmanya, enshrined in a part of the temple, is a rare specimen. He has six heads but only six hands holding different kinds of weapons. There are 2 Nagaswarams (pipes) made of stone.

There is a temple for Vinayaka on the bank of the temple tank. A legend associated with the temple has given Vinayaka the name Karumbayiran Vinayaka (Karumbu means sugarcane and Ayiram means one thousand). Some of the other well known temples of Kumbakonam are Sarangapani Temple, Sri Nageswara Temple, Sri Chakrapani Temple, Sri Kalyanasundareswarar temple and a lot more.

Sri Sarangapani Temple: Among the sacred 108 Tirupatis, this temple is given the third place next to Srirangam and Tirupati. The shrine is in the form of a chariot. A tank in panoramic settings, known as Hema Pushkarni, separates this shrine and Sri Adi Kumbeswara temple. There is a beautiful 12-storied gopuram, considered one of the largest in the South India. By the side of the temple is the Golden Lotus Tank, also known as Lakshmi Theertham. Goddess Lakshmi performed penance here and Vishnu came down as Aravamudhan and married her. Sri Sarangapani, Aravamudhan and Komalavalli are the presiding deities.

There are two entrances to the sanctum. One is kept open throughout the Uttarayan period and the other during the Dakshinayan period.

Sri Nageswara Temple: It is one of the most ancient temples in Kumbakonam. Adi Sesha and Lord Surya had worshipped Sri Nageswara here. When Adi Sesha was groaning under the weight of the world he came to Kuvinvanam (the present Nageswara temple) and did penance. Impressed Shiva and Parvati appeared before Adi Sesha and blessed him with enough strength. Another attraction here is the well in the temple known as Naga Theertham.

The temple is the master creation of early Chola Art and Architecture. The Sun`s rays fall on the Lingam in the central shrine through an opening in the eastern tower for three days in a year - on the 11th, 12th and 13th days in the month of Chaitra (April-May).

Sri Chakrapani Temple: The images of Sri Chakrapani with eight arms and Sudarsanavalli Thayar with a gracious visage are inspiring. Brahma, Lord Surya and Lord Agni are depicted as worshipping the Lord.

According to a legend, Surya once competed with Vishnu to decide who was brighter. Vishnu appeared in the form of a Chakra and put down the pride of Surya. Lord Chakrapani, like Shiva, has a third eye on His forehead.

Other temples in the town include Kasi Viswanatha, Someswara Temple, Somanatha, Gautameswara and Vedaranya Perumal temples.

Darasuram is located at a distance of 4 km from Kumbakonam. The Shiva temple here is dedicated to Airavateswara. Legend has it that Airavata, the white elephant of Indra, and Yama, the God of Death, had worshipped Lord Shiva here. There is a tank called Yama Theertham.

Sri Kalyanasundareswarar temple is an ancient Shiva shrine. The Lingam is made of a shining metal which changes colour five times a day. The images of Shiva and Parvati on Rishaba with Vishnu and Brahma are worshipped in the sanctum. Masi Magham (Feb-March) is a major festival. Nallur has another temple dedicated to Sri Adi Kesava Perumal.

Hence, it can be inferred that Kumbakonam has got so many temples of Lord Shiva and Vishnu and numerous mutts and religious institutions to inculcate Bhakti in the masses and elevate their souls and minds from all vices and worldly pursuits towards spiritual advancement.

Airavateshvar Temple in Kumbakonam : Airavateshwar Temple was built by Virarajendra chola I in the eleventh century. It was completed by Rajaraja II in the twelfth century. It has been built in a Dravidian architecture. This temple is considered as one of the greatest Chola temples. Lord Shiva is known as Airateshvara as he is worshipped by Airavata, the white elephant of Lord Indra.

This temple has its legends. Airavata was suffering from the curse of Sage Durvasa. The curse was change in his body colour. However when he bathed in the river of this temple his colour was restored. The wall paintings that have been done near the entrance, depict musicians and dancing-girls thereby being able to create an atmosphere of relaxed elation. The bases of these pillars are Yalis. These depict the stories various stories of Shiva.

On both sides galloping horses can be seen suggesting the structure of a chariot. In the front there are beautiful panels that depict Shiva fighting the demons of the Three Cities; Shiva Kalantak and Shiva fighting Kam and Shiva as Virbhadra ruining the sacrifice of his father-in-law Daksha. The Main gateway has finely chiseled images. The variation in architecture is noteworthy. Most images in the niches are composed of basalt. In the ceilings there are sculptures depicting dancing scenes.

The dvarpal of the cella are terrifying, it has four arms, tusks and lion-emblems. On the left side of the entrance there is an image of Lord Kartikeya with six heads. Inside there is an image of Ardh-narishvar with three faces and eight arms; a Nag-raj with four arms; sage Agastya, the saint who instructed Shiva; a dancing Shiva Bhairav, Shiva as Sharabh, killing Narsinha; a standing Ganesh; Shiva as Dakshina Murti and as Lingodbhav; Brahma; Durga with eight arms; a seated Devi; Shiva Tripurantak and Shiva Gajantak; Shiva Bhairav with six arms and his dog; Shiva as Mahesh Marti, with three heads and four arms. These are all made of basalt. God`s images are flanked by wise men.

This temple has exquisite stone carvings. It is believed that this temple was built with "permanent entertainment" in mind. The vimana is 24 m (80 ft) high; the south side of the front mandapam is in the form of a chariot with large stone wheels drawn by horses. To the east of the inner court lies a group of well-carved buildings, one of which is the Balipita. In the south-west corner is a mandapam that has four shrines. There are large stone slabs sculptured with images of the sapthamathas or seven celestial nymphs.

Several inscriptions have been found in this temple. One of these speaks of the renovation of the shrines by Kulottunga III. The north wall consists of 108 sections of inscriptions, each containing the name and description and image of the Saivacharya. Another inscription records that an image was brought from Kalyani.

Apart from inside the town of Kumbakonam, there are lots of temples around the town. The important ones are the Oppiliyappan Koil, Thirunageswaram Temple, Thiruvidaimarudur temple and others.

Oppiliyappan Koil : This Vishnu shrine is hardly a km from Thirunageswaram. Many perform their vows here, which they made to perform at Thirumalai. Here, the idol is same as the one at Thirumalai. One specialty here is that salt is not added in the daily food offered to this deity in deference to His spouse`s ignorance of cooking. There is an image of Vedanta Desika in this temple. Inside the temple complex, there is also a tank. One never gets the feeling inside the temple that Prasadam has been prepared without salt but on coming out one can find out the difference.

Thirunageswaram Temple : This temple represents another masterpiece of the Chola art. In the 10th century A.D, Aditya Chola built this temple. It is called Bhaskara (Sun) Kshetram. The places contain Vinayaka, Ardhanariswara and a maiden, all splendour in stone.

Thiruvidaimarudur temple : This temple is situated 10 kms north of Kumbakonam with an impressive gopuram. The presiding deity here is a huge Mahalingam. It is believed from time immemorial that if those afflicted with evil spirits circumambulate the Aswamedha Prakaram, gets cured. The sculpture of Brahmahatthi, a Brahmin murdered by a king waiting to take revenge can be seen on the eastern tower. It is said that the king entered the temple to escape from the sin of killing a Brahmin. He was asked to go out through another gate as he was a Siva Baktha.

One can find a northern style of architecture of the shrine of Mookambika here. The library near this temple has Saiva Siddhanta and Agama palm-leaf manuscripts. There is a Theertham called Singha Thirtham inside the temple. The eastern and western gateways of the temple are the Pattinathar stone image and Bhadragiriyar stone image. Thai Poosam festival held January-February is very famous here.

Thirubhuvanam temple :  This temple is situated 8 km from Kumbakonam. Kulottunga III built this Chola temple in the 13th century A.D. It is a colossal stone edifice raised as a memorial of the victory of his North Indian campaign. The entire temple including the gopuram has stone relief, of the legends of Siva. The unique feature here is the Sarabha Murthi bronze idol. It is a fusion of human, bird and beast supposed to have been incarnated by Lord Siva. He took this avatar to release the Devas from the non-stop fury of Narasimha, the avatar of a human lion of Vishnu after he killed the demon Hiranya. Two beautiful sculptures of Sridevi and Bhudevi, the consorts of Vishnu can be seen near the sanctum here.

Suriyanar Koil or Sun Temple : This temple is 22 kms far from Kumbakonam. It was built by Kulottungan I. There is a fifty feet gopuram, which stands here and passes through it the image of a horse and the chariot of Surya. This is one of the Navagraha sthalams. The devotees come here daily to propitiate Sun God, the chief of the planets according to Indian Astrology. Here, Ratha Sapthami (January- February) is celebrated as a festival day. On this day, the Sun changes course.

Ammangudi : This is situated farther off to Surianar Koil on the northeast. Here, the famous Ashta Bhuja Durga temple is situated. Krishnan Raman, Chief Minister to the Chola Emperor Rajaraja I was born here. The idol represents an impressive specimen of Chola art and Goddess Durga is seen killing the demon from her lion mount.

Thiruppurambiam : This place is situated about 13 kms to the north of Kumbakonam. It was a fierce battlefield in the 9th century, which decided the bright future of the Cholas.

Chola king Aditya built a temple in sweet remembrance of the turn of tide in his favour and named it Aditeswaram. Here, the presiding deity is known as Sakshinatheswarar and the companion of the deity bears the beautiful name Kuraivila Azhagi (means beauty unsurpassed). Rajaraja I built the sanctum for the Devi. Beautiful sculptures of Parivara Devatas can be seen on the sanctum wall. Here, Lord Ganesa is given honey ablutions on the Vinayaka Chathurthi day and all the honey passed on him is absorbed by him.

Swamimalai : Swamimalai is situated 6 kms west of Kumbakonam on the banks of the river Cauvery. Lord Muruga has made this place as one of his six abodes. The term `malai` means hill but this place had no hill so an artificial hill is built and the deity is enshrined on the top. One needs to walk through 60 steps to reach the shrine above. Each step represents a year of the Tamil Year-series which has a cycle of 60 years. An elephant stands in front of the idol of the deity instead of the usual peacock, the mount of Lord Muruga. Here, the deity is known as Swaminatha as he explained the meaning of Pranava Mantra to His father Lord Siva. This is the only shrine where Lord Muruga is seen with his spouse Devayani.

Darasuram temple : This temple is situated 4 kms on the southwest of Kumbakonam. This famous temple is dedicated to Iravatheeswara renowned for its sculptural wonder. Rajaraja II built this temple. Rajarajeswaram was the original name, which was later corrupted as Darasuram. Here, the shrine is a square panchadhala vimanam, and the mandapam is raised with its basement walls carved with beautiful sculptures. The 63 Saivaite saints and the episodes in their lives are depicted in the reliefs. Mahishasura, the buffalo demon is shown in full human form in the north wall of the temple, which cannot be seen anywhere else.

The second floor cell contains Umamaheswara with king Rajendra II. The barriers of steps reaching the mandapam too are fashioned with elaborate sculptures. The pillars of the northeast mandapam contain sculptures in Natya poses and the ceiling with dancers. The Balipeetam facing the temple is an elaborate structure with a flight of 9 steps. Each of these steps produces a musical note when struck. The Dwarapalakas of the temple were brought from the western Chalukya capital Kalyanapuri as trophy of victory.

Pazhayarai : This is the old Chola capital, situated about 7 kms from Kumbakonam. Rajarajan II built a temple here for Somanadiswarar. Earlier, there was a palace where the Chola kings resided. It was known by the name `Cholan Maligai` but no trace of it can be found now. One can see here the life-size image of Durga, the beautifully carved chariot-like mandapam drawn by galloping horses, Ardhanariswara (half Parvathi, half Siva form), and Narasimha.

Kizha-Pazhayarai : It is said that saint Appar, one of the 63 Nayanmars of the Siva cult observed a hunger strike here to establish it as a Siva temple. There was a Kailasanathar sculpture on the eastern side of Pazhayarai. Here, the sculpture of Ravana can be seen lifting Mount Kailas, the dwelling of Siva. But he got trapped under its weight when Lord Siva presses it down with the thumb of his right foot. This is a remarkable sculpture here.

Pattiswaram temple : This temple is 8 kms away from Kumbakonam. Dhenupuriswarar is the presiding deity here. There are five gopurams on the right side of this temple. One can see a life-like statue of the great scholar and Minister Govinda Dikshithar of the Thanjavur Naick kings in this temple. Here, the important idol is the Kattaivasal Durga at the entrance of the northern gopuram. Vishnu Durgai is very famous here and pilgrims visit here every day.