Chaturagiri (Sathuragiri)

Chaturagiri (Sathuragiri) mountain is famous for its Shiva temple. The temple is situated deep in the reserve forest in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The main Pooja is held during full moon and new moon night.  On other days the temple gets hardly any visitors. We visited during one of these days and there were only about 6-7 people in attendance. The main temples on top are surrounded by mountains and forests devoid of human activity. Tranquil.

The trek to Chaturagiri from Thaniparai takes about 3 hours. It is advisable to start climbing at least by 8 am as it can get really hot by noon. The gradient for the climb is quiet steep. I was told that the climb is more difficult than Shabarimalai. In monsoon season there are numerous waterfalls enroute. There are 4 small temples before reaching Chaturagiri, the last being dedicated to Karuppa Swami. Karuppa Swami is said to be protective guardian of the temple.

At Chaturagiri there are 3 main Shiva temples. These temples, perhaps because of its remoteness, are much smaller than the other major temples in Tamil Nadu. It is said that these mountains were the home to 18 seers who were versed in the Vedas. It is said that flashes of light seen in the mountain at night, even today, mark the movement of these seers.

Main temple

Legend of Chaturagiri: The main temple idol consists of a Shiva Lingam that is tilted about 20 degrees from the vertical. The Shiva lingam in the other temples two are upright, as is normally the case. I asked the priest the reason for the curious inclined Shiva lingam. The main priest was only too happy to explain the legend. Many eons ago a cowherd lost one of his cows from the flock. Searching  for the cow, he ventured into the forest. In the forest he found a man drinking milk directly from the udders of his cow. He did not realise that this stranger was Lord Shiva himself. The cowherd hit this man on his back as he thought that this stranger had stolen his cow. As soon as he touched Lord Shiva the past life of the cowherd (think re-incarnation and re-birth) came flooding back to him. In his previous birth the cowherd had received a blessing that he will meet Lord Shiva and that after the encounter he will attain Moksha(Nirvana). After the cowherd attained salvation, Lord Shiva who was drinking milk from the udders of the cow spontaneously turned into the Shiva Lingam that we see even today in Chaturagiri. To drink milk directly from the udders of a cow one has to bend over and this is said to be the incline in the Shiva lingam.

Free food is offered at Chaturagiri around the year by two houses. The belief is that nobody should go hungry from Chaturagiri. Simple vegetarian meals are served around the day. There is no furniture and one has to sit on the floor to eat the food. The elderly men serving the meal frequently kept asking us if we needed anything more. It’s advisable to make some donation to the establishments offering food as it’s the voluntary contribution that keeps the free meal scheme going. All food has to be carried up from Taniparai. Spare a thought for the men and women who carry 35 Kg bags of rice on their head up the mountain to make this meal possible. There is a large hall where people can sleep on the concrete floor. Bring a bedsheet as it does get  cold during the night.

Temple to Karupa Swami

Trivia: Karuppa Swami is said to be the protective deity of the Shaturagiri temple. His helpers are believed to be the stray dogs that roam around. These dogs are believed to protect the devotees through the forest. Then we were walking down we were accompanied by two dogs for almost 2 hours. One walked ahead of us and the other behind as, like being escorted in an armed convoy. When we stopped the dogs would stop too!! The dogs never go beyond the last temple and that’s where they left us. Perhaps they will escort the next traveler on the way up.

Getting there:   

We were traveling from Vaitheeshwaran Kovil. We took the train to Srivilliputhur. The train station is on the outskirts of town. From the train station hop on to share auto’s that ply frequently to the bus station. Get Srivilliputhur bus station take the bus to Watrap. From Watrap take an autorikshaw to Thanparai. There are a few buses from Watrap to Taniparai but they are few and far between. The climb starts from Taniparai.