Wednesday, September 10, 2008

History of Suraikayur Sri Maha Sastha Temple

Dr Kudavoil Balasubramanian has written a scholarly article in Tamil on the Maha Sastha Ayyanar temple at Suraikayur. It traces the history of the place since the times of the Pallavas and Cholas. The article also talks about the worship of Ayyanar in Tamil Nadu since ancient times.

Given alongside are the links to the pdf files - in 2 parts. Part 1 ( 3.41 MB) contains the article and Part 2 (3.57 MB) the pictures of some of the Ayyanar temples and deites in the Thanjavur belt.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Kumbhabhishekam

After 12 years of the earlier kumbabishekam, thanks to the generous contributions of several devotees, from far and near, the Suraikayur Sri Maha Sastha Kumbhabhishekam Committee undertook complete renovation of the Maha Sastha temple, providing larger window openings, adding an opening gate in front of the main deity, adding a separate shrine to Lord Ganapati near the new main entrance, greening of the surroundings by planting samplings, realigning the site into a regular shaped one and securing it by providing a boundary wall. Simultaneously, the Shyamala Kali temple in the village was also renovated.

Monday, September 8, 2008

About Suraikayur

Suraikayur is a tiny village situated on the northern bank of the Vettar River in the verdant Papanasam Taluk of the Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu. It is about 25 km from Kumbakonam, and about 9 km from Papanasam. Nearby are the villages of Agaramangudi, also on the Vettar's northern bank, and Melattur on the river's southern bank. The famous temple town of Thirukarukkavur is about 4 km from Suraikayur.