Namakkal Fort and Anjaneyar & Narasimhar Temples (Tamil Nadu)

Last Saturday, I made up my mind to go to Namakkal. It would be to visit the Namakkal Fort, Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple and Sri Namagiri Thayar Samedha Sri Narasimhar Temple. The biggest issue with temple tours always is the timings. Temples always close during noon (Nadai Moodudhal). So the trip has to start early in the morning and get over by noon before say 1 pm.
I pulled myself out of the bed at 6 am. Got ready and since my cook ditched me, had to get my breakfast from the hotel. A typical South Indian breakfast of 4 idlies and I was off to Namakkal by around 8. It was a beautiful day and the climate was great and was slightly drizzling.

Namakkal Fort

Sri Namagiri Thayar Samedha Sri Narasimha Swamy Temple Namakkal

I reached Namakkal at 9 and first in the list was Ranganathar Koil. Asking the locals how to go about, I started walking the directed lane. While I was walking the Namakkal fort was so well visible and I was filled with awe. Its visibility itself makes it one of the important Namakkal tourist spots. Half the way, was Narasimhar Koil. But my mom had told me, Ranganathar Koil, being a very small temple, closes early. I asked the vendors outside the temple, to direct me to the Ranganathar Koil and I was told it opens also late. Well, then let me start with Namakkal Narasimhar Temple.

Its located in the western side of the hill. The Vishnu in Narasimhar Koil is Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar and the devi here is Sri Namagiri Lakshmi. Vishnu here is in his fourth incarnation of Narasimhar – The lion, I which he comes out of the pillar and kills Hiranya Kasibhu with his claws during an evening, to defy all the powers of Hiranya and protect his devotee Prahaladha. It is said that the anger of Narasimhar after killing Hiranya Kasibhu was calmed down by Lakshmi in Namakkal. Narasimhaswamy Temple's history dates back to 8th C when Adhiyaman Gunaseelan built it.
This temple is a cave temple, i.e, the garbha graham (sancutum sanctorum) is created by digging into the cave 10 feet deep. The rest of the temple including the Ardha Mandabam, Maha mandabam, Namagiri Thayar’s sanctum sanctorum and entrance is located outside the cave. There is no Vimanam at the entrance.

Sri Namagiri Thayar Samedha Sri Narasimha Swamy Temple Namakkal

Sri Namagiri Thayar Samedha Sri Narasimha Swamy Temple, Namakkal

Namakkal Fort and Ranganathar Temple

Within the sanctum sanctorum, the Narasimhar is seated in the Virasanam with one leg folded and another leg placed on the ground. He has 4 arms. The palm of the front right hand is in the blessing posture. It has a purple tint. It’s said that it’s the tint of the blood of Hiranya Kasibhu. The two arms behind had Sangu (Conch shell) and Chakkaram (Wheel). On either sides are Suryan(Sun) and Chandran(Moon) waving the Samaram(Fan). Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma are on either sides trying to cool His temper. Since all 3 Gods are here, this is considered a Trimurthy Stalam. Lakshmi is not on his lap as usual but in the pendant on His heart.
On the right is the Ongi Ulagalanda Perumal. This is not a stand-alone sculpture, but a bas relief. There is Vamanan – The short one (Vishnu’s fifth incarnation), beside with Mahabali Chakravarthy and Sukrachariyaar. Sukrachariyaar is seen to be giving instructions to Mahabali. After Mahabali grants all wishes, the reforms himself as the Ulagalandha Perumal. Namusi is seen almost in inverted ‘U’ shape after been thrown to the sky by Perumal. Jambavan (a holy bear) is seen beside Namusi. There is a horse to the right as well.
Further to the right is the Varaha Avatharam (the wild-boar incarnation). All the four vedams (scriptures) are seen atop His nose. One of His legs is seen only till the knee and another till the ankle. Adhisheshan (His snake) and Niladevi are seen below trying to search His feet, for a Paadha Darisanam.
To the left is Abhaya Narasimhar – helper, with all other gods praying Vishnu to stop the evil deeds of Hiranya Kasibhu and to kill him. To further left is the Ugra Narasimhar - angry, in the process of killing Hiranya Kasibhu. Outside the Garbha Graha are the shrines of Ramanujar, Krishnar, Ramar etc. Namagiri Thayar’s sanctum sanctorum is located to the left and...
... to opposite if the Sthala Vruksham with several prayer thottil (cradles) tied up. There is a Gopuram atop Namagiri Thayar’s shrine. There are several inscriptions everywhere on the floor and walls in ancient Tamil. After having a great Darshan and a friendly Gurukkal who stopped his devotees for some time to explain me every sculpture and bas relief in detail, I just crossed the road to meet Hanuman, the leader of all the superheroes!!!

Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple

The Hanuman here is 18.5’ tall. This Anjaneyar/Hanuman was essentially open to all without any walls. During ancient days, with single storied buildings all around, this was a very tall structure and could be seen from a very long distance and even neighboring villages. But now recently, with several high rise buildings beside, this is not seen from long. Further a compound wall has been constructed around this but without ceiling and open to see Narasimhar and worshiping Him. 
It is believed that a Saligramam brought by Hanuman, which he kept here for a moment to perform his daily prayers, got fixed and grew into this hill. This temple is the most famous Namakkal temple.
Well, it is a practice to leave the footwear outside the temple. And in bigger temples with huge crowd, there are these free footwear counter which take care of our footwear and a token is given as a proof. Something like a locker room. I found these 3 girls at the footwear counter. The daughters of the lady working there. I found them too irresistible to capture in my frame. This is the result. :)

Children of Namakkal village

Namakkal Fort & Ranganathar Temple

From there, I reached the Ranganathar Temple. The Ranganathar Koil is located to the eastern side of the fort. 
This is at an altitude from the ground level. After climbing up by 100 steps, I reached the temple. Within the Ardha Mandabam, I had to climb up by some 10 steps to reach the Garbha Graha to see the huge Vishnu in Anantha Sayanam (Sleeping posture). This too is dug 10 feet inside the hill. This temple was built by Vijaya Narasimha Pallavan. His sculpture is below Ranganathar.
The Adhiseshan (snake) here has lion face. This is very unusual and is called Kaarkotakam. This is to specify his greatness as the king of all snakes. There are several bas relief’s behind Vishnu’s sculpture including Brahma (on the lotus emanating from Vishnu’s belly button), Naradha, Madhukadaibhar, Suryan, Chandran etc. On the right, is the bas relief of Sankara Narayanar (Right half – Shiva; Left half – Vishnu). On the left is the Ongi Ulagalandha Perumal as in Narasimhar Koil. Outside to the left is the Garbha Graha of Laksmi. It has a Gopuram.
Further to the right and left of the temple are small ponds at that altitude. That was surprising for me. I asked the Gurukkal if the pond was having ‘ootru neer’ for which he said it was the rain water which flows from the hill and gets collected her. These ponds were around 7 -8 feet deep and within the ponds were several snails. Above those ponds were huge honeycombs. I really loved them. 

Namakkal Fort

Namakkal Fort

View from Namakkal Fort

Then started off from there and tried to find the base of the route to climb up to the Namakkal fort. With the stunning climate and bellowing clouds above the fort, the walk was perfect. This was built by RamaNayak, a Nayak ruler. It was great trip towards the fort. As usual as the altitude rises, the wind, without any restriction blows fiercer and faster. 
And the whole town and the mountains looked great from that altitude. There atop were the students of a nearby college on a picnic and I had a great time chit chatting with them. Did you already spot me among them?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t venture into the fort as it was closed for public viewing at present due to renovation going on inside. All these temples and the fort are protected by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and are Places of National Importance.
After spending some time there above, I came down and walked to the busstand. On the way is the Kamalalaya Kulam – the holy tank of Sri Mahalakshmi’s Tapovanam (Garden).
Namakkal is the place where Mathematical Genius Ramanujan lived. He believed that the Namakkal Goddess Namagiri Thayar gave the solutions for my Maths problems. It was past 1 pm by then and I started my backward journey and reached home with the blessings of Narasimhar, Ranganathar and Anjaneyar.

Namakkal Kamalalaya Kulam

Namakkal Fort & Temples Pinterest Namakkal Fort & Temples Pinterest


From Trichy: 85 km
From Salem: 50 km
From Erode: 58 km via Thiruchengode
From Karur: 47 km

Namakkal buses connect all these places with frequent service.
Most Namakkal trains are express trains that halt for a minute or 2 here. Also there are a few Namakkal passenger trains.
All the temples are located around the hill and the hill is very near the Bus Stand.

Bhushavali

An ardent traveler by passion. Being an ex - Art History Teacher, my area of interest especially lies in Nature and Heritage. Visited 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of June 2022. I've been listed among the Top 7 Women Travel Bloggers of India, Top 50 in UK. I have been interviewed in a couple of TV Shows, Radio Channels and Events as well. Read more about me and read the testimonials of different brands

29 comments:

  1. Its a very nice place :)
    and the way you narrated is jus great da :)

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  2. Good descriptive post & nice photographs.

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  3. Great to know about a new place. I had never heard of this fort before. Any idea when the fort gates will open for public.

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  4. Hi Sow,
    Thanks dear... :)

    @The Retired One,
    Thank you.. :)
    Being a 8th Century fort, I am not in a position to convey your comment to the fort's buiders... :)

    @Ramakrishnan Sir,
    Thank you.. :)

    @Rajesh,
    I'll let you know if i come to know... But its gonna take some time... About half the process is done...

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  5. That was a fascinating tour and history of the buildings. Very interesting.

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  6. Hey Janie,
    Welcome to my travelogue... And thanks for dropping in and commenting...
    Do drop in often... :)

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  7. Hi:)

    Greetings:)

    Let me first of all congratulate you for your adventuress spirit. Your initiative and enterprise to wake up in the morning and get going is admirable.

    Your description and narration of your visit is truly enjoyable and informative. The photos are fantastic and you have a great skill in photography.

    I enjoyed the tour and the interesting places you captured.

    Have lovely day, my friend:)
    Joseph

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  8. What a great post and what a wonderful place I would love to visit! The huge rock is really impressive!

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  9. @Joseph,
    Thank you for the wishes and compliments... :)
    Encouragements like these, keep me going... :)
    Thanks a lot... :)

    @JM,
    Hi JM, Thanks a lot for dropping in and commenting.. :)
    Welcome to my Blog world...
    Do drop in often... :)

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  10. The best part of the entire posting is the photograph of the three kids. lovely ones.

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  11. @Nags,
    I was waiting for a comment about that shot... Thank you dear... :)

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  12. I like your photos and descriptions.I appreciate your efforts.

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  13. Hi Mojo,
    Welcome to my blog and thanks for dropping in and commenting...
    And could expect u as a regular visitor here on..? :)

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  14. Mitr: What a neat place to visit and the photos certainly show off your neat area of the world.

    Thanks for you comment on my site.

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  15. Hi Fishing Guy,
    Welcome to my blog and thanks for dropping in and commenting... :)
    Do drop in often... :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. A lovely and so interesting place to visit. Have you noticed that I have added your blog on my "Blog List"? Namaste!

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  17. @Phivos,
    Thanks again for the comment... Glad you liked the place...
    Yes. I've seen that you've added me in your blog list and I've added you too in my blog list... :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi, You've got a really nice travel blog. I've gone through a few posts and I must say the information seems to be very helpful. The pictures are beautiful and they add to the curiosity about reading your posts.... Thanks for visiting my blog Pixellicious Photos and commenting on it! :-)

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  19. Hi Kcalpesh,
    Thanks for dropping by and Welcome to My Travelogue... :) Thanks a lot for your comments for following... :)

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  20. Though I lived closeby until my college, I didn't know so much details about this place. Thanks for sharing.

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  21. hai its realy very nice to the place.before 12 yrs we were there on my schooldays and unable to go thare after mrg.ur photograhs really made me to go back and remembered those lovely days.
    really thanks a lot

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  22. Hi Maddy,
    Thanks for dropping in and Welcome to my blog... :)
    Its my pleasure to share my ramblings... :)
    Do drop in often, would love your visits and comments... :)

    Hi Suganya,
    Glad to see a native of Namakkal. Its a wonderful place. I'm glad you liked my blog and felt nostaligic... :)
    Do drop in often. Would love to see your comments often... :)

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  23. Loved this piece on Namakkal Fort and Temple. Lakshmi Narasimhar is my house deity and I love to visit wherever he is. Your description of the story of Lord Narasimhar is good, photos are fab, wish I can make time to go there soon. I passed through Namakkal some 15 years ago, never knew about this aspect of the Fort and Temple. Reading your blog is indeed enjoyable and educational.

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  24. Hi Capt,
    Thank you... Glad u liked to read my blog and its enjoyable and educational too for u.. So happy to know that... :)

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  25. Wow! This is such an old monument, and beautiful!!

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  26. Hi Bhavesh,
    Welcome to my blog.. And thanks for coming and commenting.. :)
    Do drop in often. Would love your frequent visits and comments.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I am yet to visit this place and the information provided by you would be helpful. Incidentally, the inscription photographed by you is in Telugu. I could read the letters without making any sense out of that. It was really unfortunate that you could not go inside the fort. I have heard a lot about Namakkal and I wish I too could go there some day.

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  28. Hi Subramanian,
    Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment... Do drop in often.. Would love your visits and comments and followups.. :)
    Nice to know that you could read that. Actually 'Pazhamthamizh' or ancient Tamizh is like this only. The new Tamizh, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu are deravatives of Ancient Tamizh. So characters in such epitaphs could be similar to all these 4 languagues... :)

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