World Travel 4 Indians

The South has very few temples where Siva is depicted as anything other than a lingam. A few notable exceptions are the temple of the Cosmic Dancer at Chidambaram and the Ardhanareeswarar temple at Tiruchengodu. Siva is also worshipped as the five elements i.e. as Sky or Space in Kanchipuram Temple, Tour Operator in Tamil Nadu Chidambaram, Water in Tiruvanaikkaval, Fire in Tiruvannamalai, Earth in Kanchipuram and Air in Sri Kalahasti (Andhra Pradesh). In Tamil Nadu, Vishnu is worshipped as Vishnu himself rather than as one of his incarnations, though there are some temples dedicated to Rama and Krishna both of whom are incarnations of the Lord. He is known by various names such as Varadaraja Perumal in Kanchi, Kallalagar in Madurai and Ranganathaswamy at Srirangam.

Of the consorts, there are several temples dedicated to Parvati where there are also shrines to Lord Siva. The most prominent of these of course is the twin temple dedicated to Meenakshi and Sundareswarar at Madurai, and the Kamakshi temple at Kanchi. Apart from this, the goddess is also worshipped as Kali Amman or Durga.

Vinayaka or Pillayar is perhaps the most worshipped of the gods and is also called Vigneswara or Ganapati or Ganesa. He is the elephant-headed elder son of Siva and Parvati and is extremely benign in appearance. During any festival or celebration, worship of this God is given precedence over others. The largest Pillayar temple is at Pillayarpatti near Karaikkudi. Vinayaka's younger brother Subramanya is the Lord of the mountains and his six abodes of Aarupadaiveedu - Tiruttani, Swamimalai, Palani, Thiruparankunram, Pazhamudircholai and Tiruchchendur.

Two terms that one often comes across in reference to the temples in Tamil Nadu are Saivism and Vaishnavism. As the words imply, Saivites are followers of Lord Siva while Vaishnavites are followers of Lord Vishnu. Not all that long ago, the men of the two sects could be identified by the distinct religious marks on their forehead. The Saivites wore three horizontal strokes of the vibhoothi or sacred ash while their Vaishnavite counterparts wore a long 'U' shaped decoration in white with a vertical stroke of vermillion stretching between the eye brows. These marks are no longer in use as catholicity, now marks the Hindu faith.

Tour Operators Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram Temple, Tamilnadu Travel GuideThere are more than 30,000 temples in Tamil Nadu, which has given the state the distinctive title of 'A Land of Temples'. Built by various dynasties these temples bear a superficial resemblance to each other in that they share the same physical features - the gopuram or the imposing tower over the entrance, from all four directions the vimanam which is the tower over the sanctum and the spacious halls and corridors. The temple was also much more than a place of worship.

It was a place for social gathering, for education, for celebration - not just of the king's victories in battles but also of local functions and ceremonies such as marriages. The temple was also used as a store house of sorts for emergencies and, many a temple also maintained hospitals. The temple was a place where art, in all its forms i.e. music, dance, drama and handicrafts received encouragement and flourished.

But, above all, the temple was a place of worship. And what was of utmost importance is the beautiful sculptures that adorned them. Every temple has architectural beauty of its own, peculiar to the presiding deity. You will not miss the Universal.

How to Reach Tamilnadu
By Air
Chennai, Madurai and Kanyakumari have domestic airports. Regular flights from cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai are available. In addition to Indian, the government owned airlines; nearly all the private airlines offer their service in Tamilnadu.

By Train/Rail
Cities like Chennai, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Madurai and Tanjore are well connected through railways. Several express and super-fast trains connect these to cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

By Road
Various buses and cabs operated by Tamilnadu State Transport Corporation and other transport corporations of the neighboring are available in Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu is well connected to its neighboring states such as Kerala, Andhra and Karnatka through a good network of State and National highways.