PITHRUKARMA TEMPLES AND SPECIAL GANESHA TEMPLES There are 7 places for performing Pithrukarma rituals viz. Kasi, Rameswaram, Srivanchiyam,Thiruvenkadu, Gaya, Thiriveni Sangamam and Thilatharpanapuri.
Pithru Dosham Pithru dosham occurs when the souls of our predecessors andforebears who have passed away do not find peace for one of the followingreasons: • When shradham (paying homage to ancestors) is not carriedout. My note- Till theirsouls are given salvation and souls could reach Swarga or upper worlds • Wrong doings committed while they were alive • The departed's children's bad deeds • Dissatisfaction with one's desires Feeding the needy on Amavasya day (New Moon day) andperforming the tharpanam (ritual of paying tribute to ancestors) on a regularbasis are two simple ways to get rid of Pitru Dosham (Ancestral sin). We canobtain our ancestors' blessing for a happy and tranquil existence by appeasingtheir departed souls. Thila tharpanapuri It is said that Sri Rama performed tharpanam for Dasaratha inmany places but worms appeared. He sought guidance from Lord Siva. On hisadvice Sri Rama performed tharpana at Thilatharpanapuri. Before undertaking thePitru Tharpanam, he was told to bathe in the Arasalar river nearby. Ramafollowed the instructions. To his surprise, the four pindams that hadpreviously turned into worms in other places transformed into four Lingams. Asa result, Dasaratha Maharaja obtained mukthi (salvation), and the deity's nameis Muktheeswarar. Locals say that performing the Pitru Tharpanam here cleansesyou of all your Pitru Sapams (ancestral curses) and Pitru Doshams (ancestralsins). The idol of Rama performing the tharpanam, as well as thefour lingams known as Pitru Lingams, may be seen in the outer prakaram(circumambulatory walk). This place is consideredequivalent to Kasi or Rameswaram. Performing tharpanam here on Amavasya day is consideredspecial. This is a Mukthikshetram. Special Ganeshatemples Lord Ganesha with his two wives - Siddhi and Riddhi;Moreshwar, Maharashtra "Munkatia Ganesha" or the Headless Ganesha, Rudraprayag district,Uttarakhand "Naramukha Ganesha" - Lord Ganesha with a humanhead; Koothanur, T.N. Aadi Vinayakar atThilathrpanapuri. The shrine for AadhiVinayakar (also known as Nara mukha vinayakar) is just outside the main templein the same complex of Thilatharpanapureeswarar temple. Here you can see Ganesha with ahuman head and hence the name Naramukha vinayakar. This location is comparable to Kasi or Rameswaram. It isdeemed exceptional to do tharpanam here on Amavasya day. A Mukthikshetram is aMukthikshetram is a Mukthikshetram is It is thought that, likeSrivanchiyam, those who have sinned will be unable to visit this temple, andthat a planned visit to this temple will be impossible. The story of Shiva beheading Naramukha Vinayaka who wascreated by Parvati and then replacing the head with an elephant head is wellknown. What is less known is, Shiva had instructed his troops tofetch the head of anyone found sleeping with his head placed towards North. They found this elephant sleeping with its head towardsNorth. Shiva named the boy Ganapati – meaning commander of his troops andgranted a boon that Ganapatishall be worshipped by everybody before starting anything new. This is the only type of Vinayagar where He has a human face.This is supposed to be the First Vinayagar that Goddess Parvathi created. Just beyond the main temple is the shrine for Adhi Vinayakar(also known as Nara mukha vinayakar). Ganesha is depicted here with a humanhead, thus the Naramukha vinayakar. The shrine for Adhi Vinayakar (also known as Nara mukhavinayakar) is just outside the main temple. One can see Lord Ganesha here with a human head and hence, He is Naramukha vinayakar. This posting and earlierone about Thilatharpanapureeswarar temple are Compiled and posted by R.Gopalakrishnan on 25-10-2025 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1920479276.410246.1761457573672%40mail.yahoo.com.
