tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197451762024-03-07T14:21:37.596+05:30ThenkaraiAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553987148787881314noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745176.post-1145540200970683802006-04-20T18:48:00.003+05:302011-02-23T17:28:15.776+05:30Visual Treat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: black;"><span class="" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">Enjoy the Photo Gallery... Thenkarai is a place where God spends His happiest moments...</span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">(just click on the image to view full size)</span></div><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0323.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /><br />
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<div style="color: black;">Statue of a dancer who had sacrificed herself</div><br />
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/LILLY%20CLOSEUP.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/LILLY%20CLOSEUP.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
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Our lake always welcomes you with a smiling lilly.....<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0321.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0321.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /><br />
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If you were born before centuries... you wouldn't get married, unless you lift any of these stones without jerk..<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0316.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0316.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
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You can always see elephants playing like this... don't afraid...!! just in the sculpture on temple pillars only..<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0295.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0295.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /><br />
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Array of cocconut trees see their beautiful face daily morning in the crystal clear lake water...<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0288.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0288.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 263px; width: 401px;" /></a><br />
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Sri Navaneetha Krishna Swami Temple at the south end of Agraharam.....<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0110.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"></span></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0110.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 266px; width: 397px;" /><br />
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A channel from Vaigai river crawls <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>along the backyard of houses in Agraharam...<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0100.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0100.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 244px; width: 397px;" /></a><br />
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A Paan (Betel leaves) farm......<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0102.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0102.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 243px; width: 397px;" /></a><br />
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A close look...will tempt you to eat..<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/400/DSCN0176.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 242px; width: 394px;" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0176.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="color: #33ffff; font-size: 85%;"><br />
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Dawn and Dusk are green in colour only in Thenkarai....<br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Hope you enjoyed.... Please post your suggestions and comments... </span> <br />
<b style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> Thank you.....</span></span></b></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553987148787881314noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745176.post-1144309037571652412006-04-06T11:42:00.084+05:302011-02-23T17:25:05.484+05:30Welcome to Thenkarai.....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0168.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/320/DSCN0168.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 162px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 191px;" /></a><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"> Welcome to Thenkarai -an ancient, beautiful and hitorically important</span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: black;">village of the erstwhile Madurai Pandiyan</span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: black;">Kingdom.....</span></span><br />
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</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 100%;"><b>Location:</b></span><br />
<div style="color: red;"><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><b></b></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thenkarai is 25 Kilometers West from Madurai city and is situated in the South</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> bank of river Vaigai comes under</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">VadipattiTaluk, Madurai district of Tamil Nadu.<br />
</span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Riv</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">er </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Vaigai flows in North-South </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">direction and so She is called here<br />
as </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;"><b>'Dhakshina vaahini'</b></span>. This is one of the </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">speciality of Thenkarai which </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">makes it a holly place...</span></div><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0140.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/200/DSCN0140.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">Thenkarai is a</span> <b style="color: blue;">"Swasthik"</b></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: black;">shaped village </span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;">.</span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">The original name of Thenkarai is </span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: blue;">"Sendaneri Kattikallur"</b>,<span style="color: black;"> which is evidenced by the</span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">Sangam age literature </span><b style="color: blue;"><i>"Agananooru" </i></b></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: black;">and a stone script of sadayavarman Chozha Pandiyan (a Pandiyan emperor) dated 1065 C.E. carved in Sri Moolanatha Swami temple, Thenkarai.</span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"> But, Thenkarai gained an important position in the period of</span><b> <span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">"Paraakirama Pandiayan"</span></b><span style="color: black;">- the king who ruled this landscpae between 1087 - 1104 C.E</span></span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;">. </span><span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">He built a check dam across the river Vaigai and channelled the water to the big lake and thus made this village fertile.</span> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 100%;">In his period the village</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 100%;"> was called by his name </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 100%;">as</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #33ffff;"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i> <span style="color: blue;">'Paraakirama Pandiyapuram'.</span></i></span></b></span></span><span style="color: yellow; font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: black;">Even today, agriculture is the backbone of the revenue of this village. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: yellow; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">Thenkarai was also called as</span> <i><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">'Kulasekarapuram'</span> </i><span style="color: black;">during 1190 C.E. after the name of the king</span></span><span style="color: yellow; font-size: 100%;"> '<span style="color: black;">Kulasekarapandiyan'. It is suggested by historians that the name Thenkarai</span></span> might have came in use during 'Nayakkar' period. Thenkarai was one of a village of<b> </b><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">"Chozhaanthaka</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;"> Chaturvedimangalam"</span>, </span><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">"Paraanthaka Chaturvedimangalam"</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>and <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">"Sananatha Chaturvedimangalam"</span></span> during 8- 10 th century. Brahmins were highly encouraged by the king to settle in this village during this period and so the village was categorised as<b style="color: #3333ff;"> <span style="color: blue;">"Brahmadesam" (the name used to denote the villages donated by Kings to Brahmins)</span>.<br />
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</b><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0132.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/200/DSCN0132.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #ffff66; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #66ffff;"></span></span><span style="color: #ffff66;"></span><span style="color: #33ffff;"></span><b></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span> <b style="color: #3333ff;"></b><b style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Temple:</b><br />
<div style="color: black;">Thenkarai was constructed in a Swasthik shape with Sri Moolanatha swami temple in the centre. This Siva temple was renovated by a Pandiyan emperor "Veerapandiyan" in 946 C.E. and the structure was further extended between 1094- 1104 C.E. Lot of historically very important stone scripts are found in the walls of this temple and is always a favourite place for historians and archealogists. The main deity of this temple is <span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">"Sri Moolanatha Swami</span><span style="color: blue;">"</span> and His divine consort <b style="color: blue;">"Sri Akilandeswari Amman"</b>.</div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0301.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/200/DSCN0301.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="320" /></a> The whole temple complex has been constructed using hard granite, stricktly following the "Aagama Sastra"- the traditional science of temple construction tuned with nature. The temple was considered to be very old and the Lingam was installed and worshiped by the sage<b> </b>"Thirumoolar".</div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0136.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/200/DSCN0136.0.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="320" /></a>Thenkarai is mentioned in old scriptures as <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Bilvaaranya Kshetram</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span> because once this area was covered with "Bilvam" -a divine tree, leaves of which is offered to Lord Siva.<br />
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The temple also contains a pond with full of water round the year. The pond is called <b>"Swarnaapjini"</b> and there are stories about the 'Venkushtam' disease (Leprosy) of Pandiya king was cured by taking a dip at this holly pond and so many other miracles done by "Sri Moolanatha swami".<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>"Bhilvaaranya Mahathmiyam" is a Palm script that details the mythic history and many interesting stories about this village.</div><span style="color: #ffff66;"></span><span style="color: #33ffff;"></span><b></b><b style="color: #3333ff;"></b> <br />
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<div style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0287.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/320/DSCN0287.jpg" style="float: left; height: 207px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0pt; width: 155px;" /></a></div>Sringeri Sankara Mutt:</div><br />
<div style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Branch of Sringeri Sankara Mutt is </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">in the Agraharam (Brahmin dwelling area)</span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">. A beautiful white marble idol of Sri Adhi Sankaracharya</span><span style="color: #ffff33;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">, Sri Chakra and other deities for daily worship is also kept and poojas are performed regularly by a Pandit. ( I take the privilege to mention that our own native house was reformed as Sankara Mutt by Dharmatma Vaidhyasubramania Iyer family). This Mutt also serves as a community hall for Brahmins where all common functions are being held including Navarathri, Upakarmam etc..</span><br />
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Trusts:<span style="color: yellow;"> <span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">A charitable trust is being run by Sri Gopala Iyer family for the betterment of the villagers. Periodical free health camps, daily medical check-up with free medicine, free trainig classes</span></span><span style="color: yellow;"> <span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">for girls in tailoring, free tution for poor students, Sloka class for women...and a lot of good public service schemes are initiated and continuously being done by Dr. Vasudevan Iyer (USA).</span><br />
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</span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/1600/DSCN0296.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6651/1960/320/DSCN0296.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a><b style="color: red;">Agriculture:</b><span style="color: #ffff33;"> <span style="color: black;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffff33;"><span style="color: black;">Crops like paddy, coconut, plantain, paan which demands a more fertile land and surplus water are cultivated here. one can see the village is simply surrounded by Cocconut farms, river 'Vaigai' on one side and the big lake 'Sendaneri', Paddy fields and Banana plantations on the another side. Pawn leaves cultivated here has a special taste and high demand.</span><br />
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<div style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13553987148787881314noreply@blogger.com2