Pilgrimage to Srivaishnava 108 Divya Desams: Volume Five : Thondai Naadu Divya Desams

About the Book : Temples have always played an important role in the lives of Hindus in the country from times immemorial. Apart from providing spiritual solace, temples have also been repositories of art and architecture and been instrumental in community bonding. For the sake of identification and ease of worship, the formless God has been given many iconic forms, in fact thousands of them. A pilgrimage to these temples to worship these icons is a way of life for most Hindus. These iconic forms have been classified into various categories like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti etc which are spread across the length and breadth of the country. While we have many shrines with history and antiquity behind them, there are many temples which are of recent origin. Temples have always been patronized by the kings and rulers of various regions and also by the general public. Among the more popular iconic forms of God is Lord Vishnu or Narayana who is worshipped at innumerable Srivaishnava temples all over the country. These Srivaishnava temples include the 108 Divya Desams which are shrines worshipped and glorified by the great saints like Azhwars whose hymns have been compiled into the Divyaprabandham. While some of these temples are well known and located in large towns, there are many which are located in remote places and not easily accessible. Interestingly, a vast majority of these shrines are located in South India with a few scattered across North and Western India. The reason for initiating this series is to give a first-hand account of the author’s visits to these shrines in a travelogue format with plenty of pictures so that our youngsters are drawn towards these temples. These 108 temples are located in several clusters and accordingly, I propose to cover all these temples in this series in 7 volumes. Volume One which was released earlier covered the Divya Desam shrine of Thiru Singavel Kundram at Ahobilam in Vada Naadu. Volumes Two and Three which were the next to be released covered the 40 Divya Desam shrines in Chozha Naadu and the 2 Divya Desam shrines in Nadu Naadu. Volume Four which was released thereafter covered the 18 Divya Desam shrines in Pandya Naadu. Volume Five which is being released now covers the 22 Divya Desam shrines in Thondai Naadu. It is hoped that this pictorial journey will create an interest amongst travellers to plan to visit the 108 Divya Desam. Thondai Naadu is a region in Tamil Nadu comprising several districts in the northern part of the state which formed the historical kingdom of Athondai Chakravarti. It is bounded in the south by Chozha Naadu and Nadu Naadu and extended from river Krishna in the North to the river Palar in the South. There are 22 Divyadesams in Thondai Naadu which can be accessed from the towns of Chennai and Kancheepuram. 6 out of the 22 Divya Desams in Thondai Naadu can be conveniently accessed from Chennai and can be covered in one or two days. 14 Divya Desams are located in Kancheepuram town and can be covered in two or three days. The remaining 2 Divya Desams of Thiruputkuzhi and Thiru Kadigai (Sholingur) can be covered either from Chennai or Kancheepuram. As we travel from one temple to the next, the pictures taken at each temple along with the accompanying text will leave you with memories that can only be equalled by taking time out to go and visit each one of them. About the Author : The author, Jagadeesan Krishnan, an intrepid traveller and heritage enthusiast has visited many temples over the years. His desire to visit and worship the Lord at the Srivaishnava 108 Divya Desams took shape a few years back and since then, he has been fortunate to visit over 80 of these shrines and hopefully visit the remaining shrines very soon.