Thiruvanjiyam ~ Sri Vanjinathar / Where Death fear vanish
The devotees who are new to this temple, should keep in mind, the following procedure that how could worship the deities, in order to get the full benefit.
1. The very first, we could reach the place, where the sacred Ganga, which has been called as Gupta Ganga, and we could take bath in the theertha. Nowadays, due to the water scarcity, we could however, manage to take bath in the water, which has been bored from the ground. 2. After having taken bath, we could worship the lord Vinayagar, on the bank itself, who has been called as Gangai karai vinayagar. 3. We could worship the lord Yama Dharma raja, who is said to be the god of death, in Hindu mythology. Here one could light up the pot lamps, according to their age. 4. We could worship the lord vinayagar, who has been called as Abayangara Vinayagar. 5. At last, we could worship the presiding deities of both god, and goddess. 6. For having performed the ayush homam, one could pay in advance, before one month, the sum of rupees 3000/- to the temple office, in order to avoid, the unnecessary interference of third party.
There have been a lot of temples in south India, for the gods and goddesses, of Hindu pantheon. But, very rarely; one could identify the special shrine for lord Yama tharma raja, who is the god of death, in Hindu mythology. Here in Thiru Vanjiyam, the god of death, lord Yamatharma raja has enshrined majestically, in an individual shrine. Not only has he enshrined individually, but also with his celestial accountant of death, who is none other than, lord chitragupthar.
There has been the legend, that Yamadharma raja, the god of death, had approached an apt place for him, in the earth. But he had been denied almost by all the gods and goddesses. Finally, he approached lord Shiva at Thiruvarur, and had been advised to request him at Thiruvanjiyam, where lord Shiva has been residing in the name of Sri Vanjinathar. There he had been granted to enshrine in an individual shrine, provided with a condition that, if anybody happened to die in His jurisdiction, those lives would have been freed, from the pangs of agony, and sufferings preceding death. Lord Yamadharma raja had been given the status of kshethra balagar, that everybody, who visit this temple, should first worship lord Yama, and then only should enter the sanctum of god and goddess. In this temple, he enshrined at the south side of the main entrance, in sitting posture, facing towards south in direction. Nearby him, lord chitragupthar, has seen at standing posture.
Here in this temple, the presiding deity has been in the form of Suyambu Linga, that is, consecrated by none, but originated naturally. Again, the presiding deity has been said to be the oldest, among the 64 suyambu formations in this world. This temple has been said to be existed, even before the deluge, associated with the goddess, Gnana sakthi. It's been well stated in the Agneya purana. The presiding deity, faces towards west in direction, so that, the son god is worshiping lord Shiva, by his rays. It's very strange to see that two Nandi(s) are found, one behind one, facing towards lord Vanjinathar, in the sanctum sanctorum, who is said to be the sitting mount of lord Shiva.
Lord Bairavar, who is one of the 64 manifestations of lord Shiva has also been given the same status, which of that has been given to lord Yama. He enshrines in a separate shrine in the inner corridor. He is seen in yoga posture without his transcendental carrier, the dog, which is a very rare feature. Another unique feature, here in this temple, has been the shadow planets, in Hindu mythology, the Ragu, and kethu. They have been curved out in one composite sculpture, next to the shrine of lord Bairavar. As seen in the temple at Thiru nageshwaram, here also, when this idol has been abluted with milk, we could able to see the color changing of milk, has taken place, as it seems to be blue. This temple has been one of the 5 mangalam temples, in which the goddess is being called as mangalambigai. Here, she is gracing in standing posture.
Kind information to YouTube:-
1. All photos are original, taken with Nikon SLR D3100.
2. Place of photo session - Sri Vanjiyam Temple at Nanilam, Thiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu, India.
3. Date of photo session - 25-05-2014.
4. Conversion of photos into Movie clip - By MemoriesOnTV3.
5. Output file - Mpg video file.
6. HD conversion - From Mpg to F4v.
7. Conversion of text into speech - By NaturalReader.
8. Background music - YouTube's free audio library from which Clouds.mp3.
9. All contents are cent percent original.
Kind regards
Selvaganapathy S