Trip to delta districts of tamilandu - temples, sea shore, paddy fields & fort.

Morning around 6am we have started our trip from salem..

This temple is Dedicated to Lord Shiva in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Jayankondam, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The temple was constructed in 1035 AD by Rajendra Chola I (1014-44 CE), the son of the famous Chola king Raja Raja Chola I, who built the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur.

We have reached the temple around 11.15 am, it was cloudy at that time. The temple will be closed by 12PM. So we entered into the temple quickly and got the Lord dharshanam. Only very few peoples are there, so we have got a chance to look and pray very nearer to the Lord Shiva (in the form of Linga).

After dharshanam, the drizzling started and then slowly within few minutes rain started. The taken pictures was not good due to this bad weather but because of it we are able to spend some additional time in the temple.

UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 2004.

Drive on Delta district give you a sigh of lush green paddy fields on both sides of road

Initially we have not planned for this temple and the following one. But due to my best friend request we have added it to the plan, maybe you may understand in a few minutes why my friend requested this SPECIAL temple !!

Thirumanancheri is located in Mayiladuthurai, near Kuttalam. The village name comes from the god Shiva. Thirumanam mean marriage; cheri denotes a village or hamlet. Shiva married Parvathi at this place so the village is called marriage. So there is belief, that his/her marriage is delayed due to any reason, then they come here and do poojas to get blessings from the Lord to get marry.

We have reached the temple @3PM, but the temple will open by 4PM. There were few hotels but all are closed. So its better to finish our breakfast / lunch / dinner at kuttalam itself. We had few biscuits and tea from nearby small shop and continued walking around the places.

Addition of this temple to our list added more essence to our trip. We enjoyed the sites while driving to this temples. Its full of agricultural fields on one side and other side with cauvery canals.

NOTE: Most of the time in our drive, we have taken village/town road suggested by Google Map. So in road itself we found many cattle roaming or sleeping and also its a two way road (small size). Speed limit is 30KM only, so we have to drive carefully.

Amritaghateswarar-Abirami Temple

This temple is associated with the legend of Shiva saving his young devotee, Markendeya from death, and the tale of a saint, Abirami Pattar a devotee of the presiding goddess.

The sun almost went to his nest back, as our day also come to end. As per our plan, we have reached karaikal from here around 8PM and searched for rooms to rest. The search taken little long time around 40mins and then we found a place to rest.

Karaikal Beach is a popular beach in the coastal area of Karaikal city, Puducherry. It lies on the Bay of Bengal. The beach is one of the best natural beaches in the region of Southeastern Tamil Nadu. The beach is two kilometers wide. It is also a perfect place for those seeking leisure, tranquility & peace.

In addition to the sandy beach, it has children park, Restaurants & tennis court.

Fort Dansborg, locally called Danish Fort, is located in the shores of Bay of Bengal in Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Fort Dansborg was built in the land ceded by Thanjavur king Ragunatha Nayak in an agreement with Danish Admiral Ove Gjedde in 1620 and acted as the base for Danish settlement in the region during the early 17th century.

The fort is the second largest Danish fort after Kronborg. The fort was sold to the British in 1845 and along with Tranquebar, the fort lost its significance as the town was not an active trading post for the British. The fort is now used as a museum where the major artifacts of the fort and the Danish empire are displayed.

It is one of the largest South Indian temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and an exemplary example of a fully realized Dravidian architecture built by Tamil king Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Built out of granite, the vimana tower above the sanctum is one of the tallest in South India. It was, in all likelihood, one of the tallest structures in the world at the time of its construction. The temple has a massive corridor and has the one of the largest Shiva lingas in India. It is also famed for the quality of its sculpture.

The temple complex includes shrines for Nandi, Parvati, Kartikeya (Murugan), Ganesha, Sabhapati, Dakshinamurti, Chandeshvara, Varahi and others. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.

I have read many interesting facts about Thanjai Periya Kovil in various site and also heard from my Grandfather and Grandmother. I have found this blog (read here) in internet which describe about all those facts & secrets of the temple.

We got a chance to drive through almost all the delta districts "Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagappattinam, Pudukottai, Cuddalore, Ariyalur and Tiruchirappalli districts" of Tamilnadu.

Due to bad weather & cyclone formation, we have returned to the home town on early morning of 3rd day but those two days days helps us to escape from our mobiles & laptops. This gives time to think about our history, culture, life, had a chance a talk with fisherman's about their struggles in ocean and mostly importantly it showed how beautiful is the life we live in this earth.

Plant Trees, Reduce Plastics Usage, Save Earth & Save our only home