Are you an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva? Then, you must have heard about the great Shiva temples revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars called the “Paadal Petra Sthalams.”
Among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalas, there are 265 temples in Tamilnadu, 2 in Andhra Pradesh, 1 in Kerala, 1 in Karnataka, 2 in Uttarakhand, 2 in Srilanka, 1 in Nepal and Tirukayilaayam in Mount Kailash. Let us impart the historical and mythical significance of some of the heritage sites.
- Ekambaranathar temple, whose Prithvi lingam installed by Goddess Parvathi under a mango tree on the banks of a river in the holy towns of Kancheepuram, is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalangal of God Shiva. The tree is worth worshipping since it represents 4 vedas, and the tree bears 4 different types of mangoes in 4 different seasons. This is the main reason devotees visit this temple throughout the year.
- Srivanchikulam Shiva Temple is a Hindu temple situated in Kodungallur in Thrissur district in the South Indian state of Kerala. The temple is believed to have been built during the Chera period in the 8th century. This is the only Thevaram Paadal Petra Shiva sthalam in Kerala. It is one of the oldest Shiva temples in South India, where Shiva is said to have lived along with his whole family. Sundara Murthi Nayanar reached Kailash by sitting on a white elephant, sent by Lord Shiva on Adi Swathi day (July/August), from this place. Moreover, it is believed that this is the temple where Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu, worshiped Shiva to expiate his sin of killing his mother Renuka.
Each one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams unravel “Siva Tathvam” in different forms and beliefs, which are too numerous to be listed here.
Do you wish to visit Paadal Petra Sthalams in just a single trip? Wondering whether this is possible? Here is the couple who made it possible with their strong will and determination.
Mr. Kailash Nath Gupta and Mrs. Vijayalakshmi K Gupta,retired civil servants and a pious couple from Vishakapatnam, despite having access to information could not convert their dream of visiting Paadal Petra Sthalams, considering their age and safety of the travel. With the help of Gosthala, they experienced a comprehensive, 35-day package tour that included 266 Paadal Petra Sthalas. It covered 63 temples in Chozha naadu (Cauvery Vadakarai), 31 in Thondai naadu (excluding Kalahasthi), 128 in Chozha naadu (Cauveri Thenkarai), 14 in Pandiya naadu, 7 in Kongu naadu, 22 in Nadu naadu and 1 in Malai naadu (Srivanchikulam in Thrissur). GoSthala, the first and only personalized pilgrimage travel service in India, provides personalized and customized package tours catering to the needs of the customers such as schedule, budget and mode of transportation.
The trip commenced from Chennai on 15 December 2018 and ended at Thrissur on 18 January 2019. This exhaustive package encompassed almost all major temples in Tamilnadu in various districts such as Kanchipuram, Thiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Thiruchirappalli, Madurai, Thirunelveli and so forth.
Kapaleeshwarar temple in Chennai, Annamalaiyar temple in Thiruvannamalai, Natraja Swamy temple in Chidambaram, Vaitheeswaran kovil, Thyagaraja Swamy temple in Thiruvarur, Rock fort temple in Trichy, Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai, Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram are some of the famous temples covered.
Here are the few words from Mrs. Vijayalakshmi K Gupta when asked about her experience. “The antiquity of the many Shiva temples and the documented miracles in many Thevarams related to these temples are so spiritually uplifting that it cannot be described in words but has to be experienced by each and every one. We really had a great, well planned and well executed visit to 266 Paadal Petra Sthalams through Gosthala. Aiswarya took personal care by tracking us everywhere. The transport and the driver provided by Gosthala were excellent. Would recommend Gosthala unhesitatingly to everyone. We wish them all the best.”
A typical tour package requires adequate planning and due diligence. People in Gosthala know places inside out and came out with entire tour plan adding hotels at places according to the route of the trip, making pilgrimage travel hassle-free and convenient. Gosthala not only makes excellent arrangements for travel and stay but also assists in having peaceful darshans at every place by providing location maps of each and every temple well in advance. Their simplified travel routes help travelers easily access their destinations and enjoy their trip without having to worry about anything.
