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VELLORE FORT
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The Fort was at one point of time the
head quarters of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fort is known for its
grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry..
The Fort was built around 1566 by Chinna
Bommi Nayak and Thimma Reddy Nayak, subordinate Chieftains under
Sadasiva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Vijayanagara kings called
it "Raya Vellore" to differentiate it from "Uppu Vellore" in the
Godavari region. The name Vellore is also spelt "Belur." The present day
Chennai region and Tirupathi were under the domain of the Fort.
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GOLDEN TEMPLE
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The golden temple
of Sripuram is a Spiritual park situated at the foot of a small range
of green hills in a place known as "Malaikodi" in the city of Vellore in
Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is at the southern end of the city of
Vellore, at Tirumalaikodi.
The salient
Feature of Sripuram is the Lakshmi Narayani temple or Mahalakshmi temple
whose 'Vimanam’ and ‘Ardha Mandapam’ have been coated with gold both in
the interior and exterior
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RATHANAGIRI (Murugan Temple)
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The
Ratnagiri temple is situated at Vellore in Tamil Nadu. Vellore can be
reached by train or bus. The nearest air and seaport is at Chennai, 140
km from Vellore.
The Ratnagiri temple is
dedicated to Lord Muruga. There are two forms of the deity in this
temple - one is Lord Thirukkolam, seen with his wives Valli and
Deivanai, and the other is Lord Gurukkolam. There are separate shrines
dedicated to Lord Ganesh, Lord Sani and the Navagraha (deities
representing the nine planets of the Solar system).
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Pallikonda
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The
presiding deity here is Sri Ranganathaswamy. The stone
inscriptions of the temple reveal that it should have been
built in 10th century prior to the regime of Vikrama
Chola. Contributions made by Kulasekara Sambhuarayan and
Kampavarman, son of Nandivarman, a Pallava King are recorded
in these inscriptions. The temple was originally inside a
fort as revealed by the surrounding old dilapidated
walls.
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Shenbakkam
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The famous
temple dedicated to Sri Selva Vinayagar and Somasundareswarar
has been attracting a large number of devotees from far
and near. A special feature of the shrine is that poojas
and abishegams are performed for Sri Selva Vinayagar in an
open space around which the prakaram has been built. It is
said that the original name of the village was Shenbagavanam,
as it was full of fragrant Shenbaga trees even
though no trace of the trees is to be seen now.
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Sholingur
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Famous for the Sri Yoga Lakshmi
Narasimhar temple, situated on 750 ft. high hillock &
1305 stairs. There is also a Yoga Anjaneyar temple located on a
350 ft. high and 406 Stairs. Volunteers and devotees who
visit the hill temple of Sholingur on full moon day of
every month to perform girivalam. Thirupavithrotsavam
festival is celebrated in the month of August. The Navarathri
festivals are held in the month of October.
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Takkolam
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Thiruvurai alias Thakkolam is
historically important as the battle-field where the
Rashtrakutas and the Cholas fought in 949 A.D. during the
time of Rajaditya. The stone inscriptions in the temple reveal
that this temple should have been built during the time of
Pallava dynasty and was later on improved upon by
Chola Kings.
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Tiruvalam
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The
presiding deity of this shrine is, Sri Vallanadheeswarar.
Saint Thirugnana Sambandar has composed a Padhigam in praise
of the deity. A unique feature of this shrine is
that the Nandhi is not facing the Lord, but facing the
opposite direction. There is an under-ground path, beneath the
Bali Peetam. Several stone inscriptions in both Tamil and
Sanskrit could be found in the temple.
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Tirumalpur
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The village Tirumalpur is named after
Tirumal (Lord Vishnu). The temple is of all-stone and
assignable to 9th century A.D. based on architectural style
and inscriptions of Parantaka Chola (A.D. 907-955). Though
the temple is devoid of sculptures, it is engraved
with a number of Tamil inscriptions belonging to the Chola
period (10th to 13th century A.D).
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Vallimalai Temple
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Vallimalai is located near Vellore, 16 km north of the
Shivastalam Tiruvallam, on the Chennai Bangalore highway.
Legend has it that this is the site at which Valli was
born and married Murugan. A similar legend holds at the
Velimalai (Kumaran Koyil) temple near Kanyakumari. Valli is
depicted in the form of a playful maiden here. The natural
springs on the hill are said to be associated with
Valli. This rock cut hill temple is built on top of a small
hill accessed through a flight of 300 steps. Much of the
temple is within a cave. The cave temple is in three levels
successively increasing in elevation. There are also
shrines to Vinayakar and Kasi Viswanathar here. Festivals :
The annual Bhramotsavam is celebrated in the month of Maasi.
Padi Utsavam is celebrated on Tamil new years day in the
month of April, and the asterism of Kartikai in the month
of Aadi is also celebrated here. contact : 0416-2217974.
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Virinchipuram
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The most sacred Siva Temple at
Virinchipuram is popularly known as "Bhaskara Kshethiram"
because the sun is said to worship the linga when its rays
fall on it in the month of Panguni. The main shrine of the
temple is said to have been built by Raja Raja Chola,
Sambara Rayan, the viceroy of Kulothunga Chola. There are 5
prakaras in this temple, and there is lion faced sculpture, in
the left side of the shrine. This is a well with foot steps
inside and is known as the "Simha Theertham".
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Melpadi
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The village Mahendravadi owes its
origin to Pallava Mahendra Varman-I (AD 580-630).
According to an inscription in Pallava grantha this cave
temple was excavated by Gunabhara on the bund of a large tank
called Mahendra thataka in the city of Mahendrapura.
The cave temple is formed by completely scooping out a large
free standing boulder. Now the ‘karuvarai’ has an image of
Narasimha.
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Muthu Mandabam
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Muthu Mandabam was inaugurated on
01.07.1990 by the then Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Mr. M. Karunanidhi. Vikrama Raja Singhan, the last
Tamil ruler to rule Kandy (Sri Lanka) was originally named
Kannuswamy. He belonged to the Nayak Dynasty of Madurai. The
Britishers fought with him for 16 years from 1815 and Vikrama
was arrested and imprisoned in the Vellore fort
jail. He died in 1832. Only in 1983 his cemetery was found. In
his memory the Muthu Mandabam was established here in
Vellore. His samadhi was erected by his son, A. Vikrama Raja
Singham on 27.07.1832.
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Kankeyanallur
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Sri Kangeeswarar temple is in
Kangeyanallur village and was built during the time of the
Chola rulers, as evidenced by the stone inscriptions.
The temple dedicated to Lord Muruga was built some five
hundred years ago and later on it was renovated by Sri
Mallaiyadhas Bhagavadhar and Sri Thirumuruga Kirupanandha
Varriyar, a popular exponent of Hindu Scriptures.
Sculptures are artistically engraved in the gopura depicting
the Kandhapuranam and the six sthalams of Lord Muruga.
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Padavedu
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During 13th
and 14th Centuries, the Sambuvarayar chieftains ruled this region
under the patronage of the Pandyas. For a short time they became
independent and subsequently came under the rule of Kempagowda.
Padavedu was the capital of their empire and so this was a big
commercial place during that time. There were two forts - Big fort and
Small fort with moats (Agazhi in Tamil). Number of sages performed
penance and attained salvation here. It is said that there were 1008
Shiva temples and 108 Vishnu temples here (though it is difficult to
believe). Out of these except the Yoga Ramar temple and the Renugambal
temple, all other floor temples have disappeared due to the natural
disasters. During the 1990s, many temples have been unearthed and
renovated. These were built at various points of time, but most of the
improvements and decorations appear to have been done when the
Sambuvarayar came under the sway of the Vijayanagar Empire. There are
many inscriptions from Vijayanagara periods.
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Kanchipuram
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Welcome to the city of
thousand temples. Kanchipuram district is situated on the north-eastern
coast of Tamil Nadu, adjacent to the Bay of Bengal and Chennai city.
It is bounded in the west by Vellore and Thiruvannamalai district, in
the north by Thiruvallur district and Chennai district, in the south by
Villupuram district, in the east by Bay of Bengal. It lies between 11°
00' to 12° 00' North latitudes and 77° 28' to 78° 50' East longitudes.
The district has a total geographical area of 4, 43,210 hectares and
coastline of 57 Kms.
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Thiruvannamalai ( Arunachala Temple )
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Thiruvannamalai , same as English
pronunciation) is a pilgrimage town and municipality in Thiruvannamalai
district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of
the Thiruvannamalai district. Thiruvannamalai is home to the
Annamalaiyar Temple located at the foot of the Annamalai hill and
amongst one of the great Shiva Temples of Tamilnadu. Thiruvannamalai has
long been associated with many yogis and siddhars,[1] and more recently
the 20th century guru Ramana Maharshi. The sanskrit name for
Thiruvannaamalai - Arunachala - became known worldwide mostly due to Sri
Ramana. The other saint being Swami Arunagiri Nathar who wrote the
Thiruppugazh and Kandaralankaram in Tamil
More Details
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Andhra
Pradesh is rich in historical monuments. It posseses many holy temples
with architectural beauty, which attract large numbers of pilgrims and
tourists from inside and outside the country.
In
Chittoor district are two sacred places not only for Andhra Pradesh but
also for India. Tirupati and Tirumala here is Lord Venkateswara, who is
also worshipped as `Balaji' by the north Indians. Tirumala lies in the
midst of the Seshachalam hills, which are 2,000 feet above the sea
level. It has also worldwide importance as a major tourist centre.
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Kanchanagiri
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Situated 7
km from Ranipet, Kanchanagiri is famous for the small Siva
temple on a plateau surrounded by hills. One can see many
suyambu lingams. It is believed that they are the
Siddhas who lived there for thousands of years.
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Kaveripakkam
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It is well-known for its lake which is
the biggest in this district. It was built by King
Nandivarman III of Pallava dynasty The length of the bund is
8.35km.
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Madrazaye Mohammadiya Masjid
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Another
important monument of attraction is that of the Mosque of
Nawab Chanda Sahib. It was built in 1750 A.D. The entrance of
the masjid is on the Northern side. At the top of the
structure, provision is made for the speakers. On all the
four sides of the structure is decorated with arch shapes. It
is constructed with brick and lime.
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Mahendravadi
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The village Mahendravadi owes its
origin to Pallava Mahendra Varman-I (AD 580-630).
According to an inscription in Pallava grantha this cave
temple was excavated by Gunabhara on the bund of a large tank
called Mahendra thataka in the city of Mahendrapura.
The cave temple is formed by completely scooping out a large
free standing boulder. Now the ‘karuvarai’ has an image of
Narasimha.
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