Attending this temple with Vinod made it far more special. It ensured the experience was truly emotional rather than just observational. To have someone I respect showing me what the various symbolisms meant and explaining the basics of how the temple is constructed of carved story telling scenes. Showing me how it all links together.
We then attended a service with hundreds of people. The service was reasonably straight forward. Vinod had explained the shirtless attire to allow absorption of energy, ringing the bell to announce your arrival and reset the sounds, etc. I was more than a little surprised by the exuberance of the worshippers to be seeing the deity. I was more than a little surprised at the energetic jostling for position. I guess I need practice because I only saw the deity for probably 2-3 seconds before being pushed on.
The Thanumalayan Temple, also called Sthanumalayan Temple, is an important Hindu temple located in Suchindram in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. The Thanumalayan Temple is of importance to both Shaivaite and Vaishnavite sects of Hinduism. It is one of the 108 Shiva Temples revered by the Kerala Hindu culture, though this temple is now in Tamil Nadu, after Kanyakumari District was merged into Tamil Nadu from Travancore.
The temple complex covers around two acres and has two gateway towers called gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower with 11 stories and a height of 44 metres. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Sthanumalayan and that of Hanuman being the most prominent. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Thirumalai Nayak and the Travancore Maharajas.
If you’d like to know more on this temple, click here.
View across Temple Pond to the Main temple
Photography isn’t allowed inside the temple, so being the complying personality I am, I just collected the rest of the pics below from the net.
