​VIJAYA HOMES FOR ELDERS

SHIVA PANCHAYATANA UMA SKHANDA SWAMY TEMPLE

Siva Lingam

Linga in the main sanctum is a Bana linga, a Svayambhu Linga found in the bed of the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh. Bana Lingas are very sacred as they contain the very form and energy of Lord Shiva similar to Jyothir Lingas. They are naturally powerful and hold the essence of divinity within them.

The Narmada Bana Lingam’s upright egg shape represents the Pure Consciousness of Lord Shiva and the Holy Markings on the Sacred Stone (which differ greatly from stone to stone) represent the interactive aspect of Goddess Shakti. Together, they represent the Union of the Supreme Male and Supreme Female Energies - Shiva and Shakti: Shiva Sakthi, the Wholeness and Oneness. It should also be understood that the Narmada Shiva Lingam represents the Divine Blending of Knowledge (Shiva) and Wisdom (Shakthi). The Sacred Shiva Lingam is widely considered to be the “Form of the Formless”.  According to Vedic Texts, the Narmada Shiva Lingas illustrate Harmony through Duality and represent Power, Creation and the Physical Plane or Grounding of those who have these Divine Energy Tools.

 

The Siddhanta Sekhara revealed that the Bana Lingas have already been worshiped by deities and contain the impress of their worship visible in the marks on the Lingas. This rendered Bana Lingas as Daiva lingas and hence these Bana Lingas are considered extremely superior compared to other Lingas. 

 

Linga in the main sanctum has a Lotus mark (Padmam) indicating Brahma’s mark.

 

Somaskanda Murthi

Somaskanda is a particular form of representation of Shiva with Uma, and Skanda as a child. The representation shows Shiva with four arms and Uma, and between them the infant Skanda is shown as dancing with ecstasy.            

 

There have been many interpretations regarding the Somāskandamūrti aspect of Śiva. The representation of Kumaraswamy in between Śiva and Umā is mainly intended to emphasize the importance of the child in family life.

 

Another view is that the three figures represent sat, chit and ānanda. Further it is also viewed that the figures Śiva, Umā and Skanda represent lccha-śakti, kriya-śakti and jñāna-śakti respectively (Vaithyalingam 1980: 90). Again Śiva in the company of Umā and Skanda symbolizes universal parentage (Nagaswamy, 1983: 100). The couple is extolled as the Father and Mother of the World (jagata pitarau) by Kalidasa in Kumārasambhavam. Lastly, Somāskandamūrti may be viewed as emphasising the worship of Skanda, who is the enbodiment of Śiva and Umā combined.

 

Panchayatanam Murthies (Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha)

Panchayatana puja (Pañcāyatana pūja) is the system of worship ('puja') in  Hinduism. It is said to have been introduced by Adi Shankara. It consists of the worship of five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. Here Shiva Lingam is kept in the center and the other four surround it. Worship is offered to all the deities. The five are represented by small murtis. Philosophically, all are seen as equal reflections of the one Saguna Brahman, (i.e., a personal God with form) rather than as distinct being     SRIDEVI, BHUDEVI SAHITHA SRI PRASANNA VENKATESHWARA SWAMY TEMPLE   The main deities are a representation of sitting Lord Venkateshwara with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi as he is seen Sri Prasanna Venkateshwara Swamy Temple in Thondamanadu. This is the only temple in this region where Lord Venkateshwara is depicted as sitting instead of his usual standing position. This temple was constructed by Thondaman Chakravarthy. He also constructed Ananda Nilayam at Tirumala.   King Thondaman was brother of Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru, a much-loved ruler of Pallava times who rules from Thondamanadu. The lore goes that the King used to visit the Sri Venkateshwara temple on Tirumala everyday on his horse. But when the King was too old for such daily visits, he was heart-broken. So, Lord came to him and asked him to build a temple at Thondamanadu, where the Lord would settle with his wives, Sridevi and Bhudevi and he could visit him every day without much effort.   In this form Lord is shown with a Yoga Mudra. The deity is being adorned with a mala with 18 Shaligramas.   Shaligramas: Shaligram is a sacred stone found in Gandaki river found in the Muktinath area of Nepal. This stone is worshipped as an iconic representation Lord Vishnu, just as Lingam is worshipped as an iconic Lord Shiva.The marks on the Shaligram are natural with the pattern often representing that of Sudarshan Chakra, the Discus of Lord Vishnu.   Other Panchaloha Deities in the Temple premises are Nandishwara, Lord Ganesha, Raja Rajeshwari Devi, Annapurna Devi, Lakshmi Devi, Saraswati Devi, Kumaraswamy, Radha Krishna, Lord Bhadradi Rama with Sita Devi and Lakshmana, Satyanarayana Swamy     Shirdi Sai Baba murthi in the gazebo in the center forms an excellent prayer place   All festivals year round are celebrated here. Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Puja is done every Pournami, Sita Ramula vari Kalyanam on Sri Rama Navami, Lord Shiva's abhishekam on Mondays, Sri Venkateshwara Swamy puja on Saturdays etc. Bhajans are also organized regularly