3 Days trip to Heritage and Spiritual Tamilnadu 

In this article I am going to share my experience during my visit to the Delta of Kaveri River which comprises of Trichy, Thanjavur, Ariyalur and Cuddalore districts of Tamilnadu. I have a plan to visit these places since long time but it was happened recently. I have planned to start my trip from Trichy, so I have booked my train tickets to Trichy from Chennai and reached Trichy early hours. I have booked retiring rooms in Trichy railway station and took rest for 3 hours and then started our journey.

Trichy or Tiruchirappalli, one of the major cities of Tamilnadu famous for the ancient temples and monuments. I have a plan to visit below temples in the city and started our trip towards Srirangam temple.

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple

Jambukeshwarar Temple

Samayapuram Temple

Uthamar Kovil

Rockfort Ganesh Temple

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangam is regarded as first divya Deshams out of 108 main Vishnu temples (Divyadesam) and also considered to be one of the largest temple complex in the world. This temple is also known as Thiruvaranga Tirupati, Periyakoil, Bhoologa Vaikundam, Bhogamandabam. This temple lies on an islet formed by the twin rivers Cauvery and Coleroon[Kollidam].The temple spreads over 156 acres and also surrounded by 21 Gopurams and has 81 shrines inside the temple complex. In this temple, the main deity and Rangathaswamy and Goddess Ranganayaki Thayyar. We can also find a temple for Ramanuja in this complex.

If anyone wants to view the temple through ariel view, there is view point inside the temple complex to look at the entire temple.

Jambukeshwarar Kovil or Thiruvanaikaval is one of the pancha bootha sthalam dedicated to Lord Shiva representing Jala Lingam/Jambu Lingam/ Water. Here Lord Shiva worshipped as Jambukeshwarar and his consort Goddess Parvathi worshipped as Akilandeswari.

It was located 2 Kilometers away from the Srirangam temple.

We hired an auto to visit nearby places Samayapuram, Uthamar Kovil and Rockfort temple.

Uthamar Kovil is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped as Purshottamar and his consort Lakshmi as Poornavalli. In this temple complex, we can also find the deities of Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma with their consorts Parvathi and Saraswathi respectively.

Samayapuram is a village located 10 kms from Trichy famous for the Mariamman Temple. This is one of the wealthiest temple in the state of Tamilnadu. As per the legend, people used to believe that their illness will be cured after this temple.

Rockfort Ganesh temple, this temple is located at the hilltop in the City of Trichy. One has to climb more than 500 steps to reach the hilltop. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to go to the hilltop to visit the temple. People who were unable to climb the steps, they can pay their tributes to the shrine at the bottom of the hill.

After visiting all these places in Trichy, we have headed towards Thanjavur. Buses are very frequent between Trichy and Thanjavur. Thanjavur is famous for the gigantic temple structure dedicated to Lord Shiva who was worshipped as Brihadeeswara. One of the UNESCO heritage sites [Great Living Chola Temples] along with a couple of other temples in Tamilnadu [the Brihadeeswara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram]. It is one of the largest South Indian temples and also known as Periya Kovil or Big Temple by the local people. This temple is located near to the Old Bus stand. Another major attraction in Thanjavur is Raja Raja Cholan Palace. Since it was already late, we haven't got a chance to visit this palace.

Brihadeeswara Temple, is an architectural marvel which was built by Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD. The temple entirely built out of Granite and it is still a mystery how the shikhara which was around 80 tons placed on the Gopuram. The temple is also holds the record of having a Large Shiva Linga and Nandi which was carved out of a single rock. People planning to visit this temple should plan their visit before 12 PM or after 4 PM - 8 PM to have darshan. If you would like to visit this temple to see the architecture can visit anytime between 5 AM - 8 PM.

Our next stop is Swamimalai which was around 35 kms from Thanjavur. No direct buses available to Swamimalai from Thanjavur but buses going towards Kumbakonam will stop at the junction from which it was close to 2 kms. If you're coming from Kumbakonam, city buses are available and also Temple City[Green buses] will go this temple.

Swamimalai is a small town near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu. This town is famous for one of the six abodes of the Lord Muruga [Arupadaiveedugal]. Here Lord Muruga worshipped as Swaminatha Swamy and temple located at an elevation of 60ft on a artificial hilltop which can accessed through the steps. At the bottom of the hill we can find the temples of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

If anyone planning to visit this temple, I would suggest to book your accommodation in Hotel Namaskar which was adjacent to the temple entrance at a reasonable price and suitable for families.

After having the temple darshanam during early hours, we have resumed our trip to visit few other temples in Kumbakonam and hired an auto. All these places are easily accessible and public transport available for all these places. After visiting the big temple at Thanjavur, we have a plan to visit remaining two temples of Great Living Chola Temples]. Second one is Airavatesvara temple located in Darasuram which was around 3 kms from the Kumbakonam and 2 kms from Swamimalai. This temple is accessible from the road itself.

Airavatesvara temple build by Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century, one of the UNESCO Heritage sites in India as part of Great Living Chola Temples cluster. It is the last of the three great Cholan temples built by successive generations of kings starting from Rajaraja I. Airavateswara temple was built by Rajaraja II around 1150 AD. The stone temple incorporates a chariot structure and there are two temples located in this complex dedicated shrines to Airavateswara and his consort Periya Nayaki Amman temple.

We resumed our journey towards Adi Kumbeshwarar Temple and Sarangapani Temple. Both are located in the heart of the Kumbakonam.

Adi Kumbeshwarar Temple is one of the major temples in the town and also known as Periya Koil by the local people. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva worshipped as Adi Kumbeshwarar and his consort Goddess Parvati worshipped as Mangalambigai Amman. As per the legend, the name of this town Kumbakonam has been derived based on this temple. Eastern tower of this temple is one of the tallest and height of 128 feet. After had the darshan, we have now started towards Sarangapani Temple which was also located in the heart of this town.

Sarangapani Temple is one of the 108 divya Deshams dedicated to Lord Vishnu and this temple is also considered as part of the Pancharanga Kshethrams along the river Kaveri. Here Lord Vishnu worshipped as Sarangapani and his consort Goddess Lakshmi worshipped as Komalavalli Thayar. Sarangapani is the largest Vishnu temple in Kumbakonam and has the tallest temple tower in the town. The rajagopuram (the main gateway) has eleven tiers and has a height of 173 feet. The central shrine of the temple is in the form of a chariot drawn by horses and elephants, with openings on either side, showing the descent of Sarangapani from heaven in the chariot.

After visiting these temples, we have headed towards our next stop, Brihadeeswara Temple located at Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur District of Tamilnadu state. Buses towards Chidambaram, Chennai will go towards Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the temple is located beside the highway.

Brihadeeswara temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram is part of the Great Living Chola Temples. This temple has been build by Rajendra Chola I as a part of his new capital and Completed in 1035 AD. This Chola dynasty era temple is similar in design and has a similar name as Thanjavur Brihadeeswara temple. People planning to visit this temple should plan their visit before 12 PM or after 4 PM - 8 PM to have darshan. If you would like to visit this temple to see the architecture can visit anytime between 5 AM - 8 PM. The shrine of Lord Shiva guarded by Huge Nandi statue out of the temple.

After spending some time in the temple complex, we have resumed our trip towards our next stop, Chidambaram. We have booked our accommodation in Pari Lodge which was located very near to the Thillai Natarajar temple[South Temple entrance]. We took couple of hours rest and went to the temple for Darshanam. When I visited this temple earlier, I didn't notice all the shrines in this temple complex but this time I saw few details which were not seen during my earlier visit. Some of them were Lord Shiva in Oorthuva Taandava posture i.e. raising one leg above his head. We had darshan in Thillai Nataraja and Sivagami temple and headed towards the Thillai Kali Amman temple.

Thillai Kali Amman temple located in the outskirts of the town. There is an interesting story behind this temple location. During a celestial dance contest between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi in the presence of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and other gods in Chidambaram temple complex. When Lord Shiva about to get defeated by Goddess he performed "Oorthuva Taandava". Since this posture is to raise the leg above the head, Goddess Parvathi accepted her defeat and left the temple in very aggressive mood towards the outskirts of the town.

Goddess Parvathi can be seen in two moods with that result the temple has two main shrines. In the first west facing one the goddess is in her benign form called Brahma Chamundeswari and she has four faces like god Brahma. In the east facing shrine she is in her ferocious form called Thillai Kali.

This temple can be accessed by walk or you can auto to reach the town.

With this temple visit, we have completed our Day 2 and headed towards our hotel.

Our day started with a breakfast and have headed towards bus stand to catch a bus to Pichavaram. This was my second visit, earlier I missed the boating experience but this time, I went for boating.

Pichavaram, it was famous for the one of the largest mangrove forests in India after Sunderbans. To reach Pichavaram, you can find buses for every 45-50 mins from the Chidambaram bus stand and they will charge Rs 32/-. The bus will directly go to the Pichavaram boating point.

Currently, two operators are running boats TN State Govt and the Forest Department. Usually, the boats will be available for 2, 4, or 6 persons. Per head Rs 100/- for boating Rs 20/- for forest entry charge. For 2 people also, they will charge 400/-. So, it is better to group with other two people to share the boating for 1 Km ride. Boatman will take you deeper into the forest, if you pay some extra money to them. But to time constraints, we have decided to go for 1 Km ride and headed to our hotel for checkout.

With this my trip to Kaveri Delta comes to an end.