[avinashverma]

Very insightful, thanks for the information. Om Namah Shivayah

[avinashverma]

Kumbakonam is a wonderful place to go on a pilgrimage. The place is rich in its history and you will find plenty of old temples with fascinating stories, although a lot of these temples are not well maintained now. I have been to Kumbakonam before and I would definitely recommend everyone to visit this holy place. The Navagraha temple Yatra in Kumbakonam is very famous and you should probably take the tour. Sri Rangam and Chidambaram is also nearby and you have got two wonderful temples in Sri Rangam and Chidambaram. Other than this please find below the most important temples in Kumbakonam.

Adi Kumbeswarar Temple:
Adi Kumbeswarar temple is a famous Hindu dedicated to God Shiva located at the center of the Kumbakonam town. One of the famous Hindu festivals of Mahamaham is associated with this temple. This is the ancient temple for more than 1300 years old.

Ramaswamy Temple:
Ramaswamy temple is located at near Adi Kumbeswarar temple dedicated to God Rama and Sita.

Chakrapani Temple:
Chakrapani temple is located at about 1.2km North Ramaswamy temple. The main deity is Chakraraja with Sudharsana Chakra. The important and peculiar point about this temple is that “Vilva Archana” which is normally performed for God Shiva temples is also performed here for the God Vishnu.

Kasi Viswanathar Temple:
Kasi Viswanathar Temple is located very near to the Mahamaham Tank. The main Deity is one of the Shiva Avatar Kasi Viswanathar & Visalakshi. The important point about this temple is the 9 Holy Rivers (Navakanniyar) which names are Ganga,Yamuna, Narmadha, Saraswati, Kavery (Ponni), Godaveri, Tungabhatra, Krishna and Sarayu.

Nageshwaran Temple:
Nageshwaran temple is located at near Kumbakonam old bus stand, dedicated to God Shiva in the guise of Nagaraja, the serpent King. Aditya Chola constructed this temple during the 12th Century. It stands as a great marvel of Chola Architecture and building technology.

Sarangapani Temple:
Sarangapani Temple is located at Kumbakonam Bazaar Street, dedicated to God Vishnu. This temple holds the place for the tallest temple tower in south Asia, before built the Sri Rangam Temple Tower.

Someswar Temple:
Someswar temple is located at south part of Sri Sarangapani Temple. The temple faces east with 5-tier tower at the entrance. The architectural style and element of this temple resembles the Dravidian Architecture of 13th Century of the Chola period.

Airavateswarar Temple:
Airavateshwarar temple is located at Darasuram, 4km of west from Kumbakonam. Airavath is the Holy White Elephant. This temple constructed by Rajendra Chola is the example of 12 Century Chola Architecture. This is temple is one of the tourist part of Kumbakonam.

[avinashverma]

One of the most disturbing stories that we find it the Puranas is the story of Krishna`s son Samba, whose mother was the bear-princes, Jambavati.

He dupes his father`s junior wives by disguising himself as Krishna and is cursed by Krishna that he will suffer from a skin disease that will enable his wives to distinguish father and son. Samba is cured after he builds temples to the sun. All sun temples in India, from Konark in Odisha to Modhera in Gujarat to Markand in Kashmir, are attributed to this son of Krishna.

Samba also attempts to kidnap Duryodhanas daughter and this leads to war between the Kauravas and the Yadavas. Peace is restored, and the marriage is solemnised, only after Balarama, Krishnas elder brother, and Sambas uncle, in a fit of fury threatens to drag Hastinapur into the sea.

Then there is the story of Samba pretending to be a pregnant woman and duping sages who were visiting Dwaraka. They sages were not amused and cursed Samba that he would give birth to an iron mace that would be responsible for the end of the Yadu clan.

Must not Krishna`s son be as noble and divine and wise and loving as Krishna? But that is not so. Samba comes with his own personality and his own destiny over which Krishna has no influence. Or does he?

Can we wonder if Samba was a product of his fathers neglect? For was not Krishna spending most of his time with Arjuna and the Pandavas and in the politics of Kuru-kshetra?

There are hardly any stories of
Krishna as father. He is friend, philosopher and guide to Arjuna, but the only stories of father and son are of tension, rage and violence.

In conversations about corporations, we often forget about the other half of our lives, the personal one.
As more and more people are working 24×7, thanks to Internet, and smart devices, the lines between professional and personal, work and life are getting blurred. In fact, people feel noble when they sacrifice family for work and guilty when they take a holiday to take care of their family.

Family is not seen as achievement. Children are not seen as purpose. They are seen as obligations, duties, by-products of existence, even collateral damage.

We admire leaders who sacrifice family for a larger cause. Like freedom fighters who neglect their wives and children. Like business men and entrepreneurs and consultants who spend most of their time in office.

With the rise of feminism, women are also working. Parenting has been outsourced to maids, teachers, computers, videogames and grandparents.

Women who work in the office have not been compensated by their husbands spending more time at home. Instead women are made to feel guilty for not being good mothers. No one questions men for not being good fathers. Eventually, the office wins. Absent parents rationalise how office is more important than the children: we need the money, the children eventually grow up, surely our needs are also important.

Many great Krishnas in the workplace discover that they have nurtured Samba at home: sons who either follow destructive paths as they seek attention, or sons who make their way away from parents, as they have grown used to not having them around. Who wins?

Corporations were supposed to create wealth for the family. Now families are creating only workers for the corporation.

We have many more Krishnas in this generation and maybe many Sambas in the next.

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