Nandi pani seidha nagar.

Nandhi puram the Lord is Nandhinathan in the moolasthanam on the wall can be seen a Adhikara Nandhi. King Nandivarman built this temple. another famous story is of Sibhi Chakravarthy and the dove. The King was well known for his generosity. one day while he was at the Darbar a dove came rushing and fell at his feet and requested to be protected from the vulture who was chasing it. the king Sibhi intervened and asked the vulture to spare the dove. the vulture demanded that the dove was his rightful prey for food. the king is said to have offered his own flesh of equal weight of that of the dove. He got a balance and placed the dove on one side and he then cut a piece of his own flesh from his thigh and placed it on the other scale but the dove seemed to weigh more every time, finally without any hesitation he is said to have offered himself by sitting on the scale. It was then that Perumal appeared before him and blessed him. the dove was Indra in disguise and the vulture was Agni bhagwan they had come to test the rightful king Sibhi. The idol of the Lord which was facing East all the while changed direction after this incident and faced west. The alwar is said to have sung 10 verses praising and describing the Lord. 

thirumangai alwar brandishing a sword

In Thiru Aadanoor, Thirumangai alwar has a place within the sanctum sanctorum itself. In very few temples does Thirumangai alwar have a separate shrine for himself. In most temples he is seen with the other alwars  in a mandapam or a niche in the corridor. In Varadaraja Perumal koil in Kanchipuram and at Therezhundur in Tanjore district there are seperate shrines for him. but here in Thiru Aadanoor he is seen in the garbha griha itself and that too brandishing a sword. The story goes that after he spent a lot of time money and effort in renovating the temple at Srirangam he was tired and he spent some time in this village. one day Perumal appeared to him in his dream and said that many who had served him had acquired riches etc but it was rather strange that though he had done so much service to the Lord was not rich. He further said that the next day Thirumangai alwar should go to the banks of Kollidam river and that a person would meet him and confer wealth etc. The next day the alwar along with various others went to the banks of the Kollidam river there they saw a majestic figure standing there with a measuring unit in his hand. On seeing the alwar he gave a bushel full of mud to the alwar. and the moment the Alwar received it it turned to gold. the others watching this also extended their hands to receive their share of the mud. but in their case the mud remained as mud itself. Without realizing the significance of what had transpired they rushed on the donor the Perumal in disguise. Thirumangai alwar is said to have brandished his sword to frighten away the disappointed crowd. Hence he is seen here in the Garba griha itself in this attire.

koti surya sama prabha.

The Light one sees may be like the crores of suns. the following is a reproduction of an article i have read.on Prayer. i dont remember where may be the daily or .... but worth contemplating on so.....but i do believe one has to pray only to Thank God for we are ignorant and do not know what is right for us may be by asking we are prolonging the final surrender but everyone has to decide this for themselves.  ..... here goes
......

‘More things are wrought with prayer than this world dreams of,’ is well known saying. Let us see the efficacy of prayer. First of all we should be clear as to what is prayer. We pray to have our desires fulfilled, or when we have some problem, or when we are under some stress or difficulty ranging from minor upset to a great calamity. Lastly we pray for others also to alleviate their suffering. Let us examine each to make sure whether they will be granted.

It is the general belief and also a truth that an ardent prayer with complete faith is always answered. Is it true in all cases? Let us take them one by one.

1. A prayer to fulfil a wish, It may be for getting a child or getting married or getting promotion or even getting more wealth and it may be for umpteen desires people always have . Sometimes they also try to bribe God by taking a vow that they will put  thousands of rupees etc. in the hundi or do some other offering treating God like an official in the wide world of bribes. Of course this is despicable and only a business deal. We can never expect the one who owns the universe to be tempted by our offers.  And He knows that if He fulfils one wish of yours you will be back with your begging bowl for another soon. Even the vows like going to Thirumala by foot or any other involving physical hardships are only slightly better because God is not expecting you to torture yourself in order to give what you want . If He does so He will be no better than tyrant. Has He not said “ You give  Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit , or water, with love and I will accept it with relish?” Even that He does not expect from you to do a favour but  only as a sign of your love.

So what happens when these kinds of prayers are made?

We find that our desires are fulfilled sometimes but  not always. It is not because God is not satisfied by what you offer to Him in return of His granting your wish, so that next time you have to raise its value! For He is not a corrupt official of the Government or a corrupt  politician . It is because He knows what you need and what is good for you and what  you are destined for. If a child suffering from cold asks the mother for an ice cream will she give it however much the child pleads and gives all sorts of promises that he will be good and will do this and that etc.? The same mother will gladly give him the ice cream, even two or three when he is well. Similarly God knows when you should have ice cream and when you should have the bitter pill and It is for your own good.

2.When we have problem we pray that it should be solved. There is no problem which cannot be solved. But when we pray we acquire faith that it will be solved which gives us the mental peace and ability to think about the solution. But even then the solution will only come when it does and prayer gives you a patience to wait for it. The most important thing is to stop worrying about the problem once you have prayed fro His help. Then in your mind that becomes clear He plants the thought regarding the solution.

3. When we are in trouble or calamity we pray to Him for relief from suffering  and this becomes a surrender as we find that there is no other refuge than Him we can resort to. This prayer with full faith always fetches result. There is no instance when God has forsaken the devotee in a calamity. But our discretion is to be used because God often comes in human form. We always find that someone  even a stranger comes and helps us in a crisis if we have staunch faith in God. But this does not mean that God forsakes those who have no faith in Him. What happens is the unfaithful strives to get out of crisis himself and in his turbulent mental state he does something wrong and is lost. The thing to remember is faith is not blind but combined with awareness. A man was surrounded by flood and had blind faith in God. He stood on a roof and was saying that God will save him. Three times people came with a boat to rescue him but he refused saying that God will save him. In the end he was drowned. There were devotees who never lifted a little finger to help themselves in a calamity like Abhirami Bhattar but that requires intense devotion that makes one forget about his body and the world since his mind is always absorbed in God. Such people the Lord says, ‘yogakshemam vahaamyaham,’ because they are not able to think or do anything except about God. But do such devotees pray?

4. An ardent devotee who fits the description’ ananyaaschainthayantho maam ye janaaH paryupaasathe’,meaning those who think of nothing else except God and interested in nothing except His service, it becomes the burden of the Lord to look after them as they are like children who have to be looked after by the mother. But do they pray? Yes they do. But what they ask for is not anything worldly , not even protection from a calamity but they pray only for intense bhakthi , that their love for God should never diminish but should go on  growing till it becomes equal to His love. They do not have any desire , do not care if they suffer but they only wish to have the Lord always in their mind and to love Him. They are always happy and revel in the thought of God.

Prahlada said he did not want any boon from the Lord Narasimha because he was always happy and had nothing to ask for. Andal asked only that she should belong to Him and serve only Him and told Him to remove all other desires from her heart. Gora Kumbha even after he cut off his arms himself, was singing an dancing chanting the name of Hari. For them the prayer was naamsankeerthan and not a shopping list. The Lord looked after them without they having to ask for it .

5.Finally the prayer for the sake of others. This is the best of all and the Lord is so pleased that He grants it immediately. That is why the collective prayers always bring result. When we pray for others who are suffering our heart becomes the abode of God and the divinity that is invoked in so many hearts has the power to work miracles.

Hence if at all you want to pray let it be ‘ sarve janaH sukhino bhavanthu.’

Forward of course. 

mantra chanting.

When a mantra is chanted in rhythmic tone with ups and downs, they create a melodious effect in the body . This effect can be defined as the Neuro-linguistic effect. The Neuro- linguistic effect will be possible even if you do not know the meaning of the mantra. Hence knowing the meaning of every mantra is not compulsory. 

At the same time if you know the meaning it has got an additional effect which is known as Neuro-linguistic (NLE) + Psycholinguistic effect (PLE). Lot of Research studies have been carried out by many and important results derived by one of the famous professors Dr. T. Temple Tutler, of the Cleveland University, Ohio, USA on these effects are remarkable. The NLE and PLE effects are due to the production and spreading of curative chemicals in the brain. These curative chemicals give smoothening and curing effect in the body. Thus mantra chanting is no way a superstition. It can also be directly called as mantra therapy in modern words. 

Listening to mantras directly lowers blood pressure, normalizes heart beat rate, brain wave pattern, adrenalin level, even cholesterol level. That is the reason why modern doctors advise the people under high tension to sit and listen to music or mantras for few minutes. This has become an accepted procedure just like the yoga and Pranayam practices. Even chanting the kirtans, melodious bhajans, songs, etc., have the good effect almost similar to the NLE and PLE. How ever there should be a melodious pattern for that. The music/ song/mantra should never be hard/ harsh/rough/ etc. The speed also should have a smoothening effect for example even Gayatri mantra chanting should be done at the range of 4 - 8 numbers per minute, Om Namo Narayanaaya at 38 -62 and Om Namah Sivaaya at 42 - 68 range per minute.

Sara of Vedas, Agamasastras and Puranic texts

Brahma was called by Maha Vishnu nd was asked to makeagoodot and keep in it for safe custody the Vedas the Agamasastras and the Purnic texts, Brahma accordingly visited each of the Divya Desams and took the mud and made a pot. But surprisingly the pot would break, he was so worried, he approached Vishnu for solution. He was informed that there were 12 swayam vyaktha kshetrams on earth and that he should go to one of these sara kshetrams and take the mud out of the puskarini and make his pot. he did as he was told and the pot did not break. It is believed that the sara kshetram is being guarded by Brighu, Sounaka, Vyasa, Markandeya, Parasara, Vainatheya and other rishis. As Brahma was able to safeguard the eda agama saram this place Thiruchcherai came to be known as Sara Kshetram. Pancha sara kshetram as the temple tank, the vimana the God and Goddess.
Two more very interesting stories connected to this place in the following articles. 

Thiru Kannamangai

I saw
To my hearts content
with my own eyes
At Thiru Kannamangai
that Lord
who had destroyed the angry elephant Kuvalaya peedam
Who threw Vatsasuran on to the vailatree
who drank with relish the poisoned milk offered by the demoness  Poothana and also sucked her life out in the process.
who was born to destrot Ravana.
who ismy master and is sweet as nectar.
who never deserts those who trust Him
Who cleaverly treated Kamsa and killed him.
says Thirumangai alwar. one of his 14 on the Lord here.

Divya Kavi Pillai perumal Iyengar says:

Oh mind of mine
If it is your wish to see the matchless one who is beyond all comprehension through thoughts, words or even mastery over vedas-
I will tell you about him.
Listen-
The colour of his body is that of the enchanting dark rain bearing cloud-
His beautiful hands eyes and holy feet are like the lotus flower;
He belongs to Srirangam and Thiru Kannamangai.

Muthuswamy Dikshitar has given a beautiful description in his song in Raga Vamsavathi. adi tala.

Pallavi;
Bhakthimatam chitta pratyaksham pakaasanadi
Suradyaksham Bakthi mukthi radayaka dakeham
Bhoosuradi akilajana samraksham

Charanam.
Dasakrutim Krishnamangalakshetra pathim
Lakshmivivahotsavam
Visala veda sagara mandapam
Virajaeya Mahavibhava prabhavam
Vishistadvaita pratipadyam viroopaksha
guruguha samvedyam
Visesha pala pradam vidhi
dunta nivrutti kavam munijana priyakaram
Sasanka guru talpadosha
Hara darasa pushkarini
Tatapachima bhage subobhitot
Palavataka sthitham suramaya
Madhumakshika radhitham.

Siva advises Markandeya Rishi.

Markandeya was the son of Mirukandu Rishi who as soon as his son was born realised that his son would live only for sixteen years. so when the boy came of age he advised the boy Markandeya to offer sincere prayers in order to get over the impeding calamity, he told him to go to Palasa vanam and pray to Mahadeva at Appakudataan kshetram. Markandeya did as his father requested him after having a bath in the Indra puskarini. The lord one day appeared before him as a swan and started fanning him with his feathers and creating some commotion in the water. the Rishi first agitated tried to dissuade the swan saying he could not help him he said even Indra cannot help me etc. The swan calmly said he was a special bird he was the king among the swans and he belonged to the Saithara ratham which was under the administration of Kubera himself and that he lived in the Manatham tank known to be golden in colour filled with flowers. he asked the boy Markandeya to share his worries as he was well aware of all the three worlds and that he would try to solve the boys problem. the boy being hesitant he finally said he could even save him from the clutches of Yama. On hearing this Markandeya thought that his prayers were answered. He told the swan that he was there on his fathers request and that he was praying to Lord Siva and as the swan had said that he would save him from Yama too he felt his prayers to the Lord were answered. Siva was pleased with this and appeared in his real form and advised the boy to pray to Lord Narayana. he taught him one mantra which he said was very effective and which would act as a kavacham even against Yama kinkaras.
it goes like this:

Kesava please guard my head;
Narayana please guard my Hair;
Madhava please guard my forehead;
Govinda please guard my eyes;
Vishnu, Madhusudhana please guard my nostrills and the ears;
Thrivikrama plase guard my neck;
Vamana and Sridhara please guard my two lips;
Hrishikesa please guard my teeth;
Padmanabha please guard my tongue;
Damodara please guard my two shoulders;
Shankarshana please guard my chest;
Vasudeva please guard my stomach;
Pradhyumna please guard my back;
Aniruddha please guard the two sides;
Purushothama please guard my waist;
Narasimha please guard the two thighs
Achutha please guard my two knees;
Janardhana please guard the kanukkal, anklets;
Upendra please guard my feet;
Hari please guard the toes;
Krishna please guard my entire body.
As advised by Lord Siva the boy Markandeya used to have his daily bath in the Puskarini and pray with the above kavacham to Lord Narayana. 
Yama doothas when they approached him were frightened as he was taking Keshava's name and rushed off to Yama to complain.
On seeing Yama himself come Markandeya prayed to Shiva again and was once again advised to approach an old Brahmin who was sleeping in the house of the King Uparisaravasu {Another story of the old brahmin being here) as he was Lord Narayana himself.
Markandeya did so and was blessed by the old Brahmin who was holding in one hand appakudam lovingly.  the Nitya puskarini thenceforth came to be known as Mruthyu vinashini.

The story of the old Brahmin with the appakudam.
A Pandya raja by name Uparisaravasu was advised by Siva to pray to Lord Narayana with a prayer which he said was taught by Brahma to Indra. he was advised to repeat the sloka 1008 times and offer food to brahmins with appam ghee and payasam daily. The King religiously followed this advice and continue to stay there.
One day Lord Narayana took the guise of an old Brahmin and approached the King and told him that he was hungry and wanted to be fed immediately. the king reluctantly did so the old Brahmin ate up all the food prepared for the100's of brahmins and looked still hungry. the King requested the Brahmin to take some rest while he made arrangements to prepare some more food. the King then prepared appams with lots of ghee and bhakti to feed the old man. He had bought the appam's in a Kudam. the Lord stretched his hands and took the Kudam and gave the King his blessings of long life and moksha.