Sri Yoga Narasimhar temple, Sholingur


About the temple

Located close to Chennai, Sholingur Sri Yoga Narasimhar temple is among the 108 divya desams of Sri Vaishnavas. Thirukadigai or Sholingur is among the Thondai Naatu divyadesams. The presiding deity is Sri Yoga Narasimhar. There are two hills here- Big hill called periya malai and Small hill called Chinna malai in tamil.

 

About the big hill : The presiding deity is Sri Yoga Narasimhar and one has to climb almost 1300 steps to reach the shrine. The utsavar deity Sri Bhaktavatsala perumal presides in the temple below the hill in the town.

About the small hill: The presiding deity of the small hill is Sri Yoga Anjaneya and there are 407 steps to the shrine. There are also shrines to Sri Ranganathar and Sri Ramar.


 
The main temple tank is called Takkan kulam or Brahma theertham. There is a huge hanuman statue and an arch welcoming the devotees there.

An average healthy person will take around 40 minutes - 1 hr to climb the big hill and around 20 minutes for the small hill.



How to reach

Sholingur is around 115 kms from Chennai..One can easily walk from the base of the Periya malai to base of Chinna malai. Following the options one can take

1. Catch any superfast train that stops at Sholingur station. Take a bus or auto outside the station..The temple is around 13 kms from the station. Buses going to the Sholingur bus stand stop at Takkan kulam stop. Share autos are available from the bus stop to the temple less than 2 kms away.

2. Local suburban trains to Arakonnam and Tiruttani and most of the superfast trains stop at Arakonnam. Share autos are available outside the railway station at Rs. 5 per person to the busstand. Private and Govt buses from there are available to Sholingur Takkan kulam stop (30 kms) and share autos from the temple tank take you to the temple.

3. Drive via Bangalore Highway to Kaveripakkam and from there reach Sholingur.

Ample Car parking space is available near the temple.

Sannadhis

Big hill :

Sri Yoga Narasimhar
Lakshmi Narasimhar, Chakratazhwar, Kannan, Adiseshan and Garudazhwar
Amritavalli thayar
Namazhwar, Ramanujar, Senaimudalvar and Saptha Rishis


Small hill :

Sri Yoga Chaturbuja Anjaneyar
Bala Ranganathar with Sridevi Bhoodevi
Sri Ramar with Sita, Lakshman, Chakratazhwar, Navaneeta Krishna

Specialty of the temple

It is believed that any person visiting the temple and spending 24 minutes on the hill will attain moksham.

The Lord is said to cure the devotees of Mental disability and chronic diseases.

There is a small window in the big hill temple from where Lord Narasimha gives darshan to Lord Anjaneya on the small hill.

The Lord is referred to as Takkan by Namazhwar in the paasuram wherein Takkan means the Lord who has the right to fulfill all the wishes of the devotees.

It is considered auspicious to go for a Girivalam around the hill on Pournami days.

Temple timings, where to stay 

The temple is open from 8 am to 5 pm on normal days and the timings vary on festival and special ocassions. There are lot of mutts and rooms available for devotees to stay.


Points to note :

One can easily finish off both the temples in half a day's time..so plan your trip accordingly. Although the steps have shelter now to protect the devotees from hot sun, it is better to stay early.

There are lots of monkeys on both the hill..the best way to stay safe from the monkeys is by not teasing them and not carrying anything in the hands that is visible..preferably dont carry anything..there is a shop midway that sells juices and snacks. Also different types of prasadam are available in the temple premises. So one neednt carry any food item with them.

6 comments:

chitra said...

Nice photographs. I would like to visit this when I get back to Chennai as it is in 108 divyadesham.

Sanctified Spaces said...

Looks very scenic and peaceful.Must have been great at the hill top.

vetri said...

Very nice photographs

sudharsan sankaranarayanan said...

I visited Yoga Narasimhar temple with my family yesterday. Its very nice and amazing experience. It has 1305 steps. First of all, we thought we couldn't step up and liked to worship lord Suyambu Anjaneya in the downstairs. Then on worshiping Anjaneya, we started to move towards hill steps. We sit down for every 100 steps in the first 400 steps, then monkeys came towards us and made us to move upto the 1305 steps. Its very thrilling and great experience, better than any amusement park visit. The temple visit gave us lot of hope and confidence on ourselves.

A few things to note before starting.

Keep your mind and hands free.
Dont bring snacks, fruits and flowers.
Women dont wear jasmine flowers (Monkeys love it much)
When monkeys came across you, dont see monkeys eyes, it will threaten you, just move on.
Watch the steps and move up carefully.
Dont run while going up and coming down, it will make you to slip.
Dont keep mobiles in hand, monkeys will take away.

Try to stay in the hill top for atleast 30 minutes and see downstairs. It will be exciting. Enjoy

Ramya said...

How and where can we offer hair in sholinghur because we are planning to make to hair offering or our baby.

EC said...

sorry for the delay..please check there at the temple base..they should be able to help you out

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