Anjaneyar at Thirukadigai (Sholingar)

Visit to Sholingar divya desam is not complete without the dharshan of lord Anjaneyar.

In no other place, Anjaneyar has:

• A hill and temple of his own abode
• Seen in yoga posture
• Seen with four hands
• Seen with sankhu (counch) and chakram (discus)
• Kreetam (crown) having the image of rama pattabishekam

The moolavar here gives dharshan in four hands the two upper arms hold the chakram (in the right) and sankhu (in the left) while the lower arms are in yoga poses. The lord holds japa malai (counting beads) in the lower right arm and the fingers of the left arm are folded as if to count the number of times he has completed japam.

The legend goes thus: Two demons by name "kaalan and kEyan" were disturbing and preventing the tapas of the saptha rishis. The saptha rishis took their case to Lord Rama, who was about to return to vaikuntam after the avataram. The lord then instructed Anjaneyar to go to this place and protect the rishis penance, for which he gave him his sankhu and chakram. Anjaneyar killed the demons (on a Sunday, till date thirumanjanam to the lord is performed only on Sundays at noon, to pacify him) and the rishis were able to complete their tapas. The lord appeared and Anjaneyar along with rishis had the dharshan of the lord. As a boon the rishis requested the lord to stay in this place as Narasimha until the end of kali yuga. The lord agreed. This explains the reason for sankhu and chakram.

According to a few Vaishnavite scholars, Anjaneyar is doing penance atop the hill to become the next Brahma (after the present kali yuga). The Lord has reportedly advised Anjaneyar that there is a better service to perform, than becoming a Brahma, which is just a post created for a specific purpose of being a creator of the Universe. Instead, the Lord has advised Anjaneyar, the 4-handed bestower of boons, that by blessing his devotees who visit Him at Thirukadigai (sholingar), he can remain in the eternal service of the Lord.

Location : The foot of the hill is about 5 Kms from Sholingar town. Lots of sings are available and the local people would also guide you to the hill, you need to ask for direction to the hill. Sholingar is about 120 Kms from Chennai. The best route to reach this temple frm chennai would be to via Thiruvallur, Thrutani, along the Chennai - Thirupathi - Chitoor route. Past Thirutanni one takes a detour to Sholingur. Approximate travel time would be 3.5 to 4 hrs. from Chennai.