My Temple Visits series
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About 30 kms from Mayiladuthurai and on Thiruvarur road lies a small beautiful village called Poonthottam ! In this village , a temple for Aadhi Vinayagar is located in which Lord Ganesh appears in his human face. This is perhaps the only temple in India where Lord Ganapathi is with his human head. It is considered very auspicious to visit this temple and people believe that all their worries and hurdles in life will disappear after the darshan of Aadhi Vinayagar ! Within the same premises, temple of Lord Mukteshwarar ( Shiva who bestows salvation) is also located along with a very beautiful Veda patashala with 50 plus students and teachers . This temple is known as ‘ Thila Tharpanapuri ‘ as devotees come in large numbers to do Shraddham and amavasya tharpanam for their dead parents or forefathers . The temple is located on the banks of Arasalaru river, a major tributary of Cauvery. It is believed that the rituals performed here are as auspicious as and equivalent to those performed at Varanasi, Gaya and Prayagraj ! On amavasya days , particularly in the month of Aadi, devotees throng in very large numbers. There is a separate hall vais able for brahmins ( who come few in numbers) to individually perform their shraddham or tharpanam in elaborate details with the guidance of the teachers from the Veda patashala. For Hindus, other than brahmins, rituals are conducted in batches of 20-25 persons at a time ( as numbers of such devotees is very large making individual performance impossible) . In group rituals, the priests chant the mantras in Sanskrit and explain its significance in Tamil and devotees thereafter perform their offerings of food, vegetables, fruits, flowers ,etc to their dead forefathers. People can take bath either in the river or in bathrooms of Veda patashala.
I had the good fortune to visit this place on Aadi Amavasya day and perform tharpanam for my parents and forefathers under the guidance of teachers of Veda patashala. It was a wonderful and satisfying visit to the temple which many people may not even be aware of its existence. Very near to this place , a few kilometers away lies the Temple for Goddess Saraswathy at Koothanur village . Students visiting this Temple are blessed by the goddess for achieving excellence in their studies !
TC Venkat Subramanian
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About 30 kms from Mayiladuthurai and on Thiruvarur road lies a small beautiful village called Poonthottam ! In this village , a temple for Aadhi Vinayagar is located in which Lord Ganesh appears in his human face. This is perhaps the only temple in India where Lord Ganapathi is with his human head. It is considered very auspicious to visit this temple and people believe that all their worries and hurdles in life will disappear after the darshan of Aadhi Vinayagar ! Within the same premises, temple of Lord Mukteshwarar ( Shiva who bestows salvation) is also located along with a very beautiful Veda patashala with 50 plus students and teachers . This temple is known as ‘ Thila Tharpanapuri ‘ as devotees come in large numbers to do Shraddham and amavasya tharpanam for their dead parents or forefathers . The temple is located on the banks of Arasalaru river, a major tributary of Cauvery. It is believed that the rituals performed here are as auspicious as and equivalent to those performed at Varanasi, Gaya and Prayagraj ! On amavasya days , particularly in the month of Aadi, devotees throng in very large numbers. There is a separate hall vais able for brahmins ( who come few in numbers) to individually perform their shraddham or tharpanam in elaborate details with the guidance of the teachers from the Veda patashala. For Hindus, other than brahmins, rituals are conducted in batches of 20-25 persons at a time ( as numbers of such devotees is very large making individual performance impossible) . In group rituals, the priests chant the mantras in Sanskrit and explain its significance in Tamil and devotees thereafter perform their offerings of food, vegetables, fruits, flowers ,etc to their dead forefathers. People can take bath either in the river or in bathrooms of Veda patashala.
I had the good fortune to visit this place on Aadi Amavasya day and perform tharpanam for my parents and forefathers under the guidance of teachers of Veda patashala. It was a wonderful and satisfying visit to the temple which many people may not even be aware of its existence. Very near to this place , a few kilometers away lies the Temple for Goddess Saraswathy at Koothanur village . Students visiting this Temple are blessed by the goddess for achieving excellence in their studies !
TC Venkat Subramanian
