Srimushnam temple – A wonderful Experience

Every now and then, Sriman Narayana blesses me with the opportunity to visit an relatively less known, but wonderful Divyadesam – Srimushnam near Chidambaram. Update : Srimushnam is not a Divyadesam. It is a wonderful temple nevertheless.

The stunning Gopuram

Srimushnam temple is an very ancient one with stunning architecture all around. The amazingly majestic Gopuram / Vimana welcomes you to the magnificently built temple. Inside the temple, resides the beautiful Bhuvaraha Swami, a small deity much in contrast to the largeness of the temple, but more wonderful. The Deity is one of the 8 Swayambhu Deities in Vaishnava Divyadesams. Ambujavalli Thayar is the Lord’s consort, and the very moment you see Thayar, you feel She is the very embodiment of affection.

Huge Corridors in the Temple

Stala Puranam
Hiranyaksha, the brother of Hiranyakashipu, wanted to be a dominant force. To achieve this, he rolled over the earth and took it into the nether world, from where he ruled. Bhoo Devi undertook penance seeking help from Lord Narayana to protect her from the Asura. Lord Vishnu took the form of Varaha (a boar), went into the sea and killed the asura. He brought back the earth on his Adisesha and appeared here as a Swayambu idol.

Legend has it that he created the Pushkarani with the sweat emanating from his body after his battle with Hiranyaksha. On his death bed, Hiranyaksha prayed to the Lord and as his final wish wanted the Lord to turn to turn in his direction. Hence Bhoo Varahan’s face is seen turned in the direction of the asura towards the South. An interesting feature of the moolavar deity at this temple is that the face, in the form of a boar, is turned towards South, while the body bearing a human shape is facing West in the direction of the devotees.

Childless couples can do a Pooja here and will be blessed with Children soon.

Shri Varaha Kavacham (The armour of Varaha) – A powerful mantra of Lord Varaha that can be recited everyday. A beautiful and simple explanation for Shri Varaha Kavacham can be found here – stotraratna.sathyasaibababrotherhood.org/v46.htm

Lord Sri Rama Temple : Outside the temple there is another beautiful temple for Lord Sri Rama. The uniqueness in the temple is that Lord Sri Rama is in sitting posture in this temple, a very rare sight.

More about the temple can be read in detail here – prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/11/srimushnam-bhoo-varahaswamy.html

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Getting There
Srimushnam is about 70 kms from Cuddalore & 39 kms from Chidambaram. Please use the interactive map below to get more infor about the location & directions.