NavaGrahaKshetras

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Dear Friends : Although Sri VaishNavAs do not

worship Nava Grahams , there are a wide variety

of people who seek relief for inauspiciousness caused

by one or more of this grahams .There are Veda manthrAs

for each of the planets at the end of Surya NamaskAra

manthrams of TaitthirIya AraNyakam .

 

Dr.Parthasarathy of Coimbatore , whose posting on

DipAvaLi we enjoyed earlier has assembled very interesting

information on the location of the famous temples in ChOLa desam ,

where each of the Nava Grahams has a special koil .

 

I will add some comments for perspective on

Navagraha worship at temples and at home , whether

one practises or not .

 

**Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshithar has composed his brilliant

set of nine krithis devoted to each of the nine Grahams .

He composed them to help one of his dear disciples

subjected to a graha dhOsham .These are musical gems

housing the manthrams of the individual nava grahams .

 

**Saint ThyagarAja has commented about the futility

of worshipping Nava Grahams , while the mighty RaamachandrA

is there to help us in every way .This song is set

in Raagam Revagupthi :

 

Pallavi : Graha BalamEmi Sri RaamANUGRAHA BalamE Balamu

 

Anupallavi: GrahabalamEmi tEjOmaya Vigrahamanu

dhyAninchu Vaariki Nava graha BalamEmi ?

 

CharaNam : Graha Peedala PanchapaapamulanA grahamulu gala

KaamAdhiripula nigrahamu jEyu Harini Bhajimchu

ThyagarAjuniki RasikAgrEsarulaku ( Graha BalamEmi)

 

Meaning : "Of What avail is the strength of the planets ?

The real strength is that of RAAMA'S BLESSINGS . What can

the strength of planets do to one , who meditates upon

the effulgent form of the Lord , and to the men of

discernment like ThyagarAjA , who are steeped in devotion

to Hari , whose power destroys the virulent inner enemies

like KaamA , the five great sins and the evil effects of

the nine planets .

 

In a NaadhavarAngiNi raaga Krithi , Saint ThyagarAjA

talks further about the boons of Siddhis obtained by homams

done to please the planets et al to secure some

auspiciousness and rejects them too . There he says

movingly :

 

Oh RaamachandrA ! Dispeller of the sins of

SaraNAgathAs ! People go after siddhis thinking

that it may help them to gain salvation , but

in the ultimate analysis , they find those siddhis

are obstructive to Moksham and finally realize that

they are deluded in going after these anithya siddhis.

Oh My dear One ! Oh Daasarathi ! Pray have mercy on me

and save me from any thoughts other than Your lotus feet !

 

Navagraha worship is however a tradition among many .

Saint ThyagarAjA was an authority in JyOthisham and

independent of that he recognized that Sri Raamachandran

is his sole refuge .

 

I am attaching this article from a historical

point of view of temple culture .We have always to remember

that the Sthala PurANams have to be taken with a pinch of

salt . Any references there that one God worshipped the other

to gain some relief or other has to be taken at the surface level.

Sthala PurANams have a tendency to glorify the local God

or Goddess at the expense of others. Please keep this in mind,

when you browse this article.

 

V.Sadagopan

 

ARSHAM 033--TEMPLE WORSHIP. NAVAGRAHA KSHETHRAS

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The planetary deities are perceived to play a significant role in an

individual's life. Jyothisham (astrology)connects the events in life

to the planetary movements.

 

Hence the nine important planets are worshipped and have temples or

occupy an important place in some temples.

 

SUN :Governs confidence,authority and status.

MOON:Presiding deity of mind and emotions.

Kuja or Mangala or Angaraka : Governs courage and bravery and presides

over health and siblings.

Budha: Mercury .Presides over intelligence and capacities of teaching.

Guru : Presiding deity of religious inclination and prosperity and

married life of women.

Sukra: Venus.Presides over comforts,arts,culture,asthetics and love.

Sani : Presiding deity of longivity,calamities and difficulties apart

from spiritual wisdom.

Rahu and Kethu : Presiding deities of worldy desires and moksha

(freedom).

 

Now let us see some temples connected with these Navagrahas.

These are all situated in Tanjore district of Tamilnadu on

the banks of river Cauvery.

 

SURYANARKOIL(15 km from Kumbakonam). Sun God.Lord Siva is worshipped as

Suryanarayana by Brahaspathy.

 

THINGALORE : (3 KM FROM THIRUVAIYARU): The planet Chandra worshipped

Lord Kailasanatha here. In the months of Purattasi (Sep-Oct) and Panguni

(March-April), Moon's rays fall on the Lingamam. Saivite saint Appar

revived saint Appoothi Adigal's son, who died of snake bite, by singing

in praise of the Lord here.

 

VAITHEESWARANKOIL(6 Km from Sirkali): The presiding deity, Sri

Vaidyanathaswamy, is hailed as the healer of all ills. The Lord came

here as a Vaidya(doctor) and cured Angaraka(mars) of leprosy Among the

Navagrahas,Angaraha is worshipped here with great reverence. Hence this

shrine is also known as Angaraka Kshetra.

 

THIRUVEKADU: (10 km from Vaitheeswarankoil).The Siva shrine here is

dedicated to Sri Swetaranyeswara. The Goddess is Brahma

Vidyambika.Legends glorify this place as Swetaranyam,

Adi Chidambaram and Nava Nritta Sthala.Bhudha, the bestower of

knowledge; has a separate shrine. Wednesdays are

auspicious days of worship.The image of Lord Siva has

five faces - Easanam, Tatpurusham, Aghoram,

Vamadeuam and Satyojatam. The Lord assumed the form of Aghoramurti, the

furious aspect of God, to vanquish demon Maruthwasura. The Lord also

saved a devotee named Swetaketu from the clutches of Yama. For the sake

of this devotee, Siva danced all His seven Thandavams - Anand, Sandhya,

Samharam, Tripuranda, Urdhva, Bhujanga and Lalitha.

 

ALANGUDI(6 km from Needamangalam): The presiding deity here is Sri

Aabathsagayeswara or Aranyeswara, a Swayambu Lingam, and the Goddess is

Umai Ammai. There is a separate sanctum for the special deity Sri

Dakshinamurthi. Being a GURU KSHETRA ,Thursdays attract a

large number of pilgrims and special poojas are performed.

 

KANCHANUR (3 km from Suryanarkoil): Lord Vishnu worshipped Agniswara,

the presiding deity here, to rid Himself of SHUKRA DOSHA. The divine

consort is Karpagambal. Fridays are very auspicious, and devotees offer

white flowers to the Lord.

 

THIRUNALLAR:(5 km from karaikal); The Siva temple is dedicated to Sri

Dharbaranyeswara. King Nala attained emancipation here from the

hardships and miseries to which he was subjected by SANI.

Enshrined within the temple is SANISWARA.The devout believe that they

would get rid of their curses and spells of bad luck if they pray in

this temple. Pilgrims take a dip in the Nala Theertaham and offer

worhship at the temple. The worship here includes lighting holy lamps

with til (gingelly) seeds and oil. After prayers, balls of cooked rice

are offered to the Crow, the mount of Saniswara.

The festival Sani Peyarchi, which occurs once in two and a half years,

attracts thousands of pilgrims. On this day, Saturn moves from one Rasi

to another.

 

THIRUNAGESWARAM:(5 km from Kumbakonam) The Siva shrine is dedicated to

Sri Naganathaswamy.RAHU worshipped Lord Siva here on Sivarathri day to

redeem himself from some curse.Sundays are important and milk offered

here turns blue.This Siva KshEthram is one KM from

the divya desam of Oppilaippan Koil .

 

KIZHAPERUPALLAM (near Tharangampadi)Planet Kethu considered as the

bestower of knowledge is worshipped in a separate shrine here.vasuki the

king of serpants worshipped siva here.

 

I have briefly discussed above the nineplanets there shrines and their

significance.

 

Dr.V.Parthasarathy of Coimbatore .