Allur Temple Trip - Part I (Trichy - Tamil Nadu) | My Travelogue - Indian Travel Blogger, Heritage enthusiast & UNESCO hunter!

Allur Temple Trip - Part I (Trichy - Tamil Nadu)

One fine day, at Srirangam, we planned to venture to the temple at Tiruvanaikka aka Tiruvanaikkaval. However suddenly we came to know there are a couple of early Chola temples in the locality. So opted to go there first and if time permits, Thiruvanaikkaval can be visited in the evening.

Remember my earlier post on Thiruchendurai??? Well, the village of Allur is located very close to this temple. This village has 2 temples of Lord Shiva - one relatively bigger and the other is very little.

The bigger temple is called Panchanadheeswarar Temple. The Lord Shiva here is called Panchanadheeswarar aka Iyarappar. His consort here is Dharma Samvardhini aka Aram Valartha Nayaki.

Within the Ardha Mandapa were the sculptures of Kshetra Devi, Udhanga Maharishi, Santhana Krishnan and Vinayaka. The dwarapalaka (door keeper sculptures) here were named Dindi and Mundi. Remember, I was telling you earlier about earlier era Dwarapalas which only 2 hands, without vampire teeth with a hint of smile!

As I took the circumambulation, on the south facing wall, on a Goshtam (elevated platform) was a form of Lord Shiva with a bowl in one hand, that I suspect to be Kala Bhairavar without a dog (the dog may have broken).

Beyond that, within a much more elaborate shrine like goshtam, was a gorgeous Dakshinamurthy. No, not as gorgeous as in Srinivasanallur, but definitely awesome. This one is less elaborate than Srinivasanallur. The Lord is seated on a platform which is very very simple. The tree behind him is again simple and small but carries all details including, snake, rudraksha beads, handbag etc.

In the west facing wall, within a goshtam, where there should have been a Vishnu's sculpture, right now, stands a modern painting of Vishnu! On the opposing wall were the shrines of Niruththa Vinayaka an Valli Devasena Subrahmanya!

In the north facing wall, was again a modern painting of Goddes Durga. On this side is a shrine of Chandikesa as well!

Another important feature in the circumambulation passage was the beautiful row of yaali at the adhishtanam (lower section - foundation of the temple). At some edges are little elephants whose trunk coincide with the trunk of a male yaali!

Just below the yaali row is the inscriptions. A section of the inscription says 'Rajaraja' specifying Rajaraja Cholan.

Coming back soon with another temple is the locality....

TO REACH THERE:

From Trichy: 17km via Woraiyur towards Jeeyapuram.

From Karur: 66km via Lalpettai, Kuliththalai, Tirupparaithurai

Ph. no. of the Temple Priest: +91 97151 51997

On Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/CgmSy

Dedicated to Prof.Swaminathan and co...

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