2017 was a tough year, some of the health issues were troubling us.Mid of September, conditions were improving but we were completely tired mentally. All our festivals were about to begin but there was no energy left to celebrate them.
On 2nd October 2017, we packed our bags and started for an adventures road trip. We planned out few of the places, which we never thought off. We opened the map and connected them distance wise.
Our trip plan was from Bangalore to Vellore -Kanchipuram-Mahabalipuram-Puducherry(Puducherry was completely a bonus trip for us as it was not planned at all :) )
The Sandrock passage of temple was carved with Hindu Gods, Deities, animals like Lion,bull & half human-animal creatures. The more we crossed the passage the creatives mesmerized us more than our expectations.
As per the available information ,temple was built during 685-705CE by a Rajasimha ruler of the Pallav Dynasty. The Kailasanathar Temple is of stone built architecture unlike the rock cut architecture built into hollowed caves .The temple's foundations are made of granite to withstand the weight of Temple.
Typical design of the pillars carved with multidirectional lions as well as passage had many Nandi statues.This temple is not very grand or huge like many other temples in southern India but architecture is one of the best among all.
The carved sculpture of Hindu God Shiva-Durga ,Vishnu -Laxmi,Kartikey -Ganesha are frequent on the temple wall.Lord Shiva is having many carnation and different mythological characters,the temple architecture had covered most of them .
One of the above picture is depicting Shiva holding river Ganga with the strand of his hair and this form of Shiva is known as Gangadhara.
Kailasanathar temple is a perfect place for the students,Historians,artist & architects to study the old Indian traditions & architectes.
Timings:Morning 6am-12pm to even 4pm to 7.30pm
Entry Fee : Free
Camera is permitted in the temple compound.
On 2nd October 2017, we packed our bags and started for an adventures road trip. We planned out few of the places, which we never thought off. We opened the map and connected them distance wise.
Our trip plan was from Bangalore to Vellore -Kanchipuram-Mahabalipuram-Puducherry(Puducherry was completely a bonus trip for us as it was not planned at all :) )
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| Bangalore-Vellore-Kanchipuram-Mahabalipuram-Puducherry travel route |
Vellore :
Vellore is an olden city of the state of Tamilnadu. It is also very famous for its hospitals and medical facilities. In different periods of time, different rulers have ruled here.
The distance between Bangalore to Vellore is approximately 212 km via Bangalore -Chennai national highways (NH7). We started in the morning at 7.30am to avoid the traffic of Hosur Road. Once you crossed the Bangalore after Tollgate, you will find both sides of the road are quite picturesque. We reached Krishnagiri, which is surrounded by hills. There is Macdonald's fast food joint where people took a halt.
It took around 3.30 hrs to touch the Vellore. We found snacks joint at outskirts of the Vellore and had our breakfast and asked the restaurant person the direction of the famous Golden temple.
Travel Tips: Places to Visit in Vellore
1.Golden Temple
2. Vellore Fort
3.Temples
4.Musium
Golden Temple:
Our main aim of traveling to Vellore is to see the famous Golden Temple. The temple is on the outskirts, 8kms away from the Vellore city at the place called Sripuram. Sripuram is a spiritual park spread in quite a big area including temple, ashrams, guest houses and local market.
If you are going from Bangalore then Sripuram would come first.
Golden Temple Guest House
Before coming to the temple we made an inquiry about the availability of rooms in the temple guest house due to the peak season they were not sure about it and ask us to meet them in the admin office.
Inside the temple compound, there is an admin office, where we informed about the arrival and checked about the availability of the room and luckily got the one. The guest house was in the peaceful area just 5 minutes away from the temple compound surrounded by greenery. The guest house was divided into five different blocks each blocks consisting of 24 rooms. Room was big enough with all required amenities.
Golden Temple Timings :
The temple usually open for all the 365 days from early morning 4 am to 8 pm. General darshan starts at 8 am.
Facilities in Golden Temple :
Cloak Room: For facility of devotees temple has a cloakroom. Devotees can deposit their belongings at the entrance gate on very nominal charges.
Dormitory: Free dormitory with toilets are provided to the devotees. The bedding would be available on nominal charges.
Dining Hall: Inside the temple, there is a big hall far, where food is served between 12 pm to 3 pm by the temple.
Ticketing Counter: Ticket counter is present on the entrance of the temple for all their services.
Queue Complex: The temple has beautiful queue complex to accommodate the crowd. It is surrounded by greenery, carving and sculpture one can observe easily. It has a very beautiful shaded walkway with water and food stall facilities.
Prasadam Counter: It's on the exit of the temple, where people can collect Prasadam.
Souvenir Counter: In queue complex as well as Peedham there are souvenir counters are arranged, so people can purchase handicraft, puja related things.
Parking: Temple has Parking facility in and out both the sides. Buses, cars, and two-wheelers can be parked easily.
Wheelchairs: The wheelchair facility is available on the nominal charges on the entrance of the temple gate. The place is wheelchair friendly, which makes elders, disables to reach the temple smoothly.
Drinking water: Drinking water facility is sufficiently available across the temple.
Seating Arrangements: Throughout the queue complex, management has done sitting arrangments.
Food and Beverages: Just outside the temple compound there is Shree Narayani Bhavan veg Restaurant provides food & edibles. As well many other small eatery joints are available. We preferred taking food from Shree Narayani Bhavan. Inside also stall are available for juices & milk.
We finished the darshan by 2.30 pm, the waiting time was comfortable and the idol of goddess Laxmi was so beautiful.
After coming back to the guest house we took some rest. In the evening we started to see the famous Vellore Fort.
Vellore Fort :
Vellore fort is one of the famous forts of India. It is built during the 16th century by the Vijayanagara Empire and situated in the heart of the Vellore city. The fort is famous for its wide moat, grand and strong rampart.
The Vellore fort has seen different ownership by the royal families. From Vijaynagar King to Bijapur sultana, to the Marathas, to the Mughals to British till India Independence.
The architecture of the Vellore Fort:
The Vellore Fort is unique in its Architecture and a strategic setup. It had a deep moat, where once 10,000 crocodiles swarmed and thick irregular projection double wall where 2 carts can be driven abreast.
Fort has a temple-mosque and a church, which says the story from history.
Jalagandeeshwara Temple: The temple is dedicated to Jalagandeeshwar.The sculpture of the temple shows the great craftsmanship of the artisans of that period.
Mosque: The Mosque inside the fort was built during the period of last Arcot Nawab.
St.John's Church: Inside the Vellore Fort St.John's Church built by Govt of Madras in 1846 for the East India Company's employees.
The timing of Vellore Fort: 9.30 am to 5.30 pm
The timing of Vellore Fort: 9.30 am to 5.30 pm
Travel Guide: How to reach Vellore
Vellore is situated on Chennai -Bangalore Highway.
Distance From Chennai: 120Kms
Distance from Bangalore: 212 kms
Nearest Railway station: Vellore -Katpadi Junction
Nearest Airport: Tirupati Airport, Chennai International Airport, Bangalore International Airport
Kanchipuram:
Travel Plan for Kanchipuram
Next Day, We started around 11 am in
the morning from Vellore to Kanchipuram.The distance between Vellore
to Kanchipuram was 69 km, which would take 1 .30 hours to reach
Kanchipuram.
We took Bangalore Chennai Highway,
which was in very good condition and favourable for drive. Both the
sides of the highway was having nice view. You will get Adyar Anand
Bhavan as well as Sarvana Bhavan for fresh & delicious food on the Highway.
We booked a room in hotel JothisResidency through OYO rooms .It was a comfortable stay in decent size
clean room with all required amenities. They had parking space in
front of the hotel and two restaurants for Veg & Nonveg were
situated along the hotel.
Kanchipuram is an olden city of
Tamilnadu located on the bank of Vegavathi river. The city with
huge religious importance. Kanchipuram is also known as city of
thousand temples. The city has great history and religious culture.
In olden era it was the centre of learning for all religions
including Jainism and Buddhism . Kanchipuram is also considered as
one of the Hindu Tirtha.
Kanchipuram is also known as Kanchi
,the city is headquarter for Kanchi Matha,which was established by
Hindu Saint “Adi Shankaracharya” .It was Capital city of Pallav
Kingdom during 4th & 9th century .
Kanchipuram is famous for its hand
woven silk .Kanchipuram Silk sarees are world famous.
Travel Guide : Best places to see in
Kanchipuram
Kailasanathar Temple,Kanchipuam :
1. Kailasanthar is one of the
oldest temple situated in peaceful narrow side lane.This temple is
dedicated to Lord Shiva and built up during Pallava dynasty . This
temple is managed by Archeological Survey of India.
The temple is open early morning 6 am to 12am and 4 pm to 7.30 pm in the evening .When we reached in the afternoon, it was closed for few hours. Meanwhile we waited in temple compound
and were guessing how the temple would be from inside.Outside temple on the lawn and in front of the temple's entry, we could see a big Nandi statue.At 4 pm we were
allowed to enter inside the temple ,and the first view made us wonderstruck .It was a wonderful piece of Dravidian Architecture ,which
transported us in completely different Era.
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| Front view of Kailasanathar Temple |
In the temple there are 58 Shrines had been made ,most of them are in inner side of the temple and only 8 of them are out side the temple,Which mostly used for meditation in those days.
Inside the temple ,we found ourselves completely detached from the outer world .The structures and carvings had been done in such a manner ,which gave us many reasons to lost in it.
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| total 58 shrines are made including outside & inside of temple |
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| carved passage of the temple |
As per the available information ,temple was built during 685-705CE by a Rajasimha ruler of the Pallav Dynasty. The Kailasanathar Temple is of stone built architecture unlike the rock cut architecture built into hollowed caves .The temple's foundations are made of granite to withstand the weight of Temple.
 |
| main Shrine of the temple with lion carved |
Typical design of the pillars carved with multidirectional lions as well as passage had many Nandi statues.This temple is not very grand or huge like many other temples in southern India but architecture is one of the best among all.
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| Nandi statues |
We have not seen Shiva's peaceful statue with a Veena before ,it was completely different.It is believed that the temple carving shows Lord Shiva & Parvati's dance competition .
At the maine Shrine 16 sided Shiva linga made with granite is unique feature of the temple.
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| Unique Lord Shiva & Goddess durga sculpture |
The carved sculpture of Hindu God Shiva-Durga ,Vishnu -Laxmi,Kartikey -Ganesha are frequent on the temple wall.Lord Shiva is having many carnation and different mythological characters,the temple architecture had covered most of them .
 |
| Depiction of God & Goddess |
Kailasanathar temple is a perfect place for the students,Historians,artist & architects to study the old Indian traditions & architectes.
Timings:Morning 6am-12pm to even 4pm to 7.30pm
Entry Fee : Free
Camera is permitted in the temple compound.
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