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Tamilnadu Agastheeswarar Temple Tiruvottiyur
Although less known compared to other temples in the Tiruvottiyur district, this smaller Agastheeswarar Temple is dedicated to the god Shiva; still receiving regular devotees and visitor to the temple. With presence of idols of Gods such as Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Durga, Vishnu, and Brahma, this temple is believed to have been built a long time ago. Besides the surrounding sanctum, the temple houses idols of several Gods including main devotee of the Lord Shiva such as the Saint Agasthya, Kaliyamurthy, and Nayanar.
The temple structure was built in such a manner that its main entrance and tower faced north direction. The idol of Lord Agastheeswarar is also placed in such a way inside the sanctum sanctorum that it faces the north direction. This is very unique because the basic rule as per Vastu Shastra states that the idols should not be faces north when designing a Puja room.
History
The Agastheeswarar temple is one of the temples dedicated to lord Shiva that dates back to about 1000 years old in the Chennai city. According to the legend, the Agastheeswarar temple across India was built by the Saint Agasthya when he was travelling across the country. This is as a sign of thankfulness to the God Shiva because the Lord had forgave him from his sin of killing the sibling demon known as Vilvalan and Vatapi.
How to Reach
By Air
Getting to Tiruvottiyur by air is not much of a hassle as it is located near the fourth largest city of India. From the Chennai International Airport, Tiruvottiyur is only 31 kilometers away. There are lots of flights carrier services offering their services into this city either from India or a direct international flight from Abu Dhabi, London, Thailand and Malaysia.
By Rail
There are lots of trains available for a trip to Tiruvottiyur from Chennai Central Railway Station. There are also two different train stations available for a trip to Tiruvottiyur. One is located in Tiruvottiyur itself and another at Wimco Nagar. The train leaves for Tiruvottiyur everyday with the total journey time around one hour.
By Road
To go to Tiruvottiyur, visitors can get there either by bus or using auto rickshaw. With busses available from all over places across the Chennai, there is no shortage of bus to get there. The frequency of the bus available is very frequent; it comes after every 10 minutes.
Important Shrine
Other main temple in Tiruvottiyur is the Thygaraja which is also known Vadivudai Amman. Located on the same street as the Agastheeswarar temple, this temple is better known in this area compared to the Agastheeswarar Temple as it is dedicated solely to the God Shiva. This is because this temple is among the temple mentioned in the verses of Saiva Nayanars and is constantly glorified by two famous saint poets known as Sundarar and Pattinathar.
Significance of Temple
This temple is considered as ancient temple even though the year it was built is not known. The Agastheeswarar Temple mostly being visited by devotees who seeks forgiveness for their sin.
Weather and Time to Visit
The best time to visit this district is during the month of September when temperatures are not too high. This is the time when visitors can indulge in sight seeing without getting bogged down with extreme temperatures. Visitors are advised to avoid visiting there during the monsoon season as there used to rain heavily during this time of the year of almost 400 mm per year.
Accommodation
There are lots of affordable hotels located in the Tiruvottiyur available for visitors according to their budget. However for those who are looking for high end hotels, can stay in Chennai; as there are lots of 5-stars and 4-stars Hotels are available such as Rain Tree Hotel and Green Park Hotel.
Tips for Devotees
To get the best experience in Tiruvottiyur, visitors are advised to visit during morning time so that they will have the opportunity to visit temple with pressure of crowds at its minimum. Besides, praying to the Ambika God is also advised as this will help the devotees who are facing trouble in their marriage to have more peaceful relationship.
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