Navagraha

Navagraha i.e. The Major 9 Planets What does it signify? Do these planets have any influence on the earth? How can one define these influences ? During the Vedic Era, the Sages and the Saints known as Rishis and Munis used to calculate the time from the sunrise till sunset by viewing the shadows. During night time they used the stars positions to judge the time of the moment. Unlike these days they never had any clock and measuring instruments, yet they were far more accurate in finding the planetary positions and their movements. What they found is astonishingly accurate to today's developed science and technology. They identified the planets and its influence on the earth and its particles so precisely that each planet has some relative element in its existence. Listed below are some of the links and examples that are quite relevant to Astrology and its notions. Sun being the largest star in our Solar system, while passing its rays to the earth, also touches many other planets before entering into the earth's atmosphere. Thus radiation emanated from the Sun is a mixture of rays with contamination from other planets. These mixed rays are suitable for some and not so for others, whether human or otherwise. To overcome these problems they found simple solutions from nature itself and discovered that each planet is, in one or other way linked to the nature, viz. tree, plants, grain, mineral and color too. They precisely found the links and identified it with remarkable influences. For instance, wheat is identified with Sun and if a person has the Star Sun placed in a weaker position, then he is advised to substitute wheat with other food items. This is a corrective measure which helped the sufferer from the ill effects of the planet/star. Like wise, for each planet they marked a particular grain, mineral, metal, tree or plant, color and flower. Within my limited knowledge, I give below the list of each planet and its relative substance on the earth. 0ne can then easily understand why an astrologer suggests some gem or other to weed off the ill effects of a specific planet. I am giving hereunder the sample stones also for one to recognize. Alright. Now what about its effects and influences on humans? How can one be sure which color or stone suites someone best? What effect these gems will have on a person? Let us study these points one by one. First, let us discuss the planet Saturn. People in general tend to fear saying this planet's name and are scared once they find that they are under the influence of Saturn (Saade Sathi or the so called Seven and half years period of Saturn's cycle). Planet Color Gem Grain Metal Sun Red Ruby Wheat Bronze Moon White Pearl Paddy/Rice Lead Mars Red Coral Bengal Gram - Red Lentil Gram Copper Mercury Green Emerald Green Gram Mercury Jupiter Yellow Yellow Sapphire Indian Yellow Split Peas (split Gram Lentil) Chana Dal Gold Venus White Diamond Soya Gram Silver Saturn Blue Blue Sapphire Sesame (Gingili) Iron & Steel Rahu Black Zircon Black Gram Rocks-Blackstone Ketu Multi-color Cat's Eye Horse gram Red stones As listed above, Saturn is identified with Iron & Steel and its rays contain Iron particles. When Iron substance is excessively found in one's body then the neuron chips in the brain gets disturbed. Thus the emitting of brain wave is also disturbed or scattered and this puts a person under Saturn's effects to great hardship. People tend to ignore this person. Many a time clashes occur. A person under its influence is likely to slip from his or her routine. They are more often attracted towards unwanted and unlawful activities. Greed takes them for a ride and they may even tend to go for gambling, howsoever a refined person he or she may be. Saturn is a very slow moving planet and it takes roughly two and half years to cross one sign of 30 degrees. Unless it is a new moon or full moon day, generally during all Saturdays, the atmospheric pressure is very minimal. This low pressure in atmosphere causes lethargic attitude in most of us and for those who suffer from the Seven and Half years (Sade Sathi) period of Saturn, in particular. That's why persons affected by it become lazy and lethargic during the ill effect period. This I have seen in many peoples' horoscopes that practically during the Saturn's ill effect periods known as Sade Sathi, they tend to forget even most important assignment, lose valuable items, become very lethargic and inactive, lose weight, and spend money more than usual and mostly borrow it even if it is for higher interest rates etc. thus taking him to a bad debt trap. Many a person who suffered these bad effects were given some remedial suggestions according to astrological considerations. If a person wears a blue sapphire stone during that specific period, the Saturn's ill effects are minimal. But how a stone or gem can bring solace is questioned by many. The fact is that the mineral content in a particular stone and the cosmic radiation combined together are beneficial, that much one can be sure of. And there is always a link between our Mother Earth and the Celestial movement of planets; even the researchers inform, that some sort of sound emission from other planets too reaches the Earth; this sound vibration too causes some disturbances with any person affected during the 7and half year (Saade Sathi) period. Some alternative methods are also suggested to weed off Saturn's radiations. 0ne such suggestion is to light/burn the gingili (sesame) seeds soaked into gingili (sesame) oil and inhale the carbon. This method is practically done on every Saturday evenings in the famous South Indian temples which hold a separate location for the Temple of Planets. This method supposedly relieves one from Saturn's ill effects, viz. by inhaling the gingili Carbon, the ventricles take it directly to the brain and the chemical reaction caused in the brain releases the excessive Saturn Radiations from the brain, through the seven visible holes in the face itself - i.e. nostrils, ear, eyes and mouth. In addition, the skull punch or the focal point, (from where brain waves are emitted) also ventilates the Saturn's radiations. Saturn's rays are, presumably, thick containing more iron substance/iodine. Another such method is, just to keep the gingili seeds into one's palm for few minutes and then to gift it to a Brahman. It is said, that gingili seeds absorbs the Saturn's rays directly from the body and gives relief to the sufferer. This is also done on a Saturday. It is widely believed that the receiver of this gingili gets the ill effects of the Planet Saturn and the receiver is mostly a Brahman who should take remedial measures to correct the imbalances. This I shall discuss in a separate article under Duties of a Brahmin. Stones! But all precious!! These are remedial values too. R A H U Next to Saturn, the people in India are generally scared of the Shadow planet called Rahu which is known as "Dragon's Head" or Ascendant Node. Though this is called a shadow planet and it takes anti clock wise move, its influence in one's horoscope is very high. Very particularly during its Dasa period of 18 years. Rahu represents many ill aspects in general. Rahu is identified with Black Cobra, poison, Zircon, black magic, gambling, black gram, black stone, blade grass (Dhruva in Hindi) menial jobs, slavery, all sorts of skin ailments, venereal deceases, impotency, childlessness, jail/imprisonments etc etc. In short this planet mostly gives only negative results when it is ill placed in one's horoscope. If Rahu is placed in the fifth house from Lagna or Ascendant, then the native is most likely (he/she) childless and in some cases only female issues and surely no male child. If there is any conjunction with other planet, this result may, however, vary. Likewise, if this planet is placed in the 6th house, the native is likely to suffer from skin ailments, skin burns, dryness, sore skin etc. That too when the Rahu Dasa is running; and if Rahu is transiting through the 6th house, then ill effects are sure to be there and critical too. To weed off the negative aspects of this planet, there are many remedial suggestions given in the ancient astrology. One such suggestion is to consume the essence of the Blade Grass daily, about three to five tea spoonfuls, for a consecutive 48 days. This way one gets his/her blood purified and the skin ailment vanishes. This medicinal remedy is so powerful that I have seen people getting better after consuming it. Another kind of remedy somewhat resembles pressure therapy. It is believed that if a person under Rahu's influence is made to lay on the black gram seeds for a particular no. of hours then the seeds absorb the ill effective rays from the body. Also the pressure of the seeds on the body itself gives some massage like therapy thus one gets a maximum benefit achieved by using the Black gram. Now for the fourth alternate suggestion given in the astrology scripts. It is widely known as a pilgrimage to the temples which cures any ailments that relate to Rahu's placement in a native's birth chart. There are 3 such temple locations for Rahu and Ketu. 0ne is in Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra, other at Kaalahasthi in Andhra Pradesh and the third is Thirunaageswaram in Tamilnadu. To get more details on these and the benefits one receives on a visit to any one of these places, please read my article under head "Astrology, Myth & Facts" in this site. It is self explanatory. The third Planet people worry about is Ketu. This is also a shadow planet and it is always at 180 degrees opposite to Rahu. This planet too moves in anti clock wise direction. Ketu is the kaaraka or cause for many good and bad events in one's life. MARS The well known Manglik, Kuja Dosham or what they call as Chevvai Dosham. Mars, is identified as the Ruling planet of earth and known as Bhoomi Karaka. It is denoted with brothers, Fire, Accidents, cuts, wounds, injuries, rudeness, anger, short temper, lethal weapon and War. It is also a most feared planet in general and marriage alliance seekers in particular. People in India are too scared about the planet Mars known as Kuja or Mangal. If this Planet is placed in the 2nd, 4th, 7th or 8th houses from one's ascendant or from the Moon sign in their horoscope/Natal Chart, then it is really difficult for them to find a suitable match and get married. It is a very foolish idea that marriages in India are delayed only on this count. I know a number of persons affected by branding them as "manglik" They fear that if a person is married to a non manglik either one of them will die soon. The fear of reduced longevity for one of the coupled makes everyone to think twice before the wed lock. As many astrologers profess this as a major cause or set back for one's marriage, many of the match making efforts are tactically rejected showing only on this count. No doubt, the planetary influences are to the maximum extent causing some imbalances in everybody's life, it certainly cannot be taken as granted to reject an alliance only on the ground that the person is "manglik". My father, Late Shri Mukkur Ramabathrachariyar, has once clearly explained to me that a number of matches can be found and suitable alliances can be arranged, if a proper study of the horoscope is undertaken. For example, majority of the people who fall under Positive Blood group are having the planet Mars in their1-2-4-7-8 or 12th houses. However, there are exceptions given based on the placement of Mars occupying or in conjunction with some beneficial planets. If these valuable points are ignored, then really one misses his/her suitable alliance and wrongfully confined and coupled with other non matching ones. Likewise, majority of the Non manglik horoscopes, which I have seen are of Negative Blood groups where Mars is placed in their Natal Chart at 3-5-6-9-10 or 11th house from Ascendant or Moon sign. Here again, many exceptions are given, someone having Mars in the 7th house can be of Positive Blood group and some one who has the Mars placed in the 3rd or 5th of their natal chart can be of Negative Blood group. But leaving the exceptions, majority of the cases are as aforesaid. Although it is the placement of the Mars that is now being considered here, let us discuss some most vital points too. If the birth time given is wrong, then the entire horoscope is wrong and meaningless. In some cases, the Longitude & Latitude of the birth place is wrongly given, then too, the natal chart erected goes wrong. In most cases, when the birth is taking place in the hospitals, the birth timing is not so seriously taken. I found myself in the mess, that a staff nurse in the hospital writing the timing as 2.30 PM, when my daughter was born at 1.06 pm exactly, and the doctor who attended the delivery confirmed it to me personally & immediately on delivery. I was waiting outside the ward room when it happened. And I did check and note the time. Alas, the staff nurse found her time to note the entries only at a time that was suitable to her, hence she fixed the birth time! In such cases, can one fully depend only on the horoscopes' matching? Is there any astrologer who takes the risk and blame for rejecting a perfect match, otherwise found to be manglik? Also, there is a risk of of classifying a person as manglik, if her/his birth takes place during a time, whence even the fraction of minute can change the natal chart housing positions. They are known as border cases or the junctions, when actually they may not be one! I emphasis here, for the readers to understand that manglik is not any untoward. Nor should one have any fear of it. It is nothing but a classification of Blood group that can be judged by the placement of Mars in their natal chart. In simples terms, Negative goes with Negative and Positive with Positive. Whether it is electricity or human body, the rule is same. So when next time you search for an alliance, if you find the match is perfect in every respect excepting the placement of Mars, then better you go for matching the blood group rather than fully depending on the unpredictable astrology!! I am not blaming the subject Astrology as unpredictable, predictably, most of the astrologers do it in haste, without considering the consequences. The rules, exceptions and inclusions are there to see, but just simply they stamp a person as manglik, if the Mars is placed in the houses of 1-2-4-7-8 & 12. This is where they fail and mismatch many horoscopes that fails in practical life. There are two systems to calculate one's horoscope viz. Nirayana and Sayana; The Hindu and Indian system mostly follows the Nirayana System that is vastly experienced as the best suited one. Now let us study the effects of Chevvai known as Kuja or Mangal (Mars), as per the Nirayana system. The placement of Mars or Mangal known in Tamil as Kujan and its house-wise position effects are listed below. If the Lagna or Ascendant and the Moons sign is same for a person, then it is considered that the the Kuja dosham is doubled! It is most vital to see the Hindu System astrological calculations, which is considered as an effective one in finding the results. However, once should read the chart before coming to conclusion as Mangalik, thoroughly from the Moon sign & Ascendant. According to the Devakolam system now prevailing in Kerala and in some parts of Tamilnadu one should also check this Mangal's effect from the Venus (Sukran) also. As per the Ancient Indian Astrology Kuja Dosham is considered an important aspect in marriage match making and compatibility. The very word scares and sends shivers along the spine of the alliance seekers. The moment they hear that Kuja Dosham exists in one chart, they drop it and say you find a match with similar Dosham. Chevvai or Kuja Dosham means the placement of Mangal- Kuja (Mars) in houses 1, 2,4,7,8,12 from Lagna as well from Moon sign is bad and will cause death or separation of spouse and hence should be avoided for marriage alliance unless both the parties have the same extent of Chevvai / Kuja Dosham -Mangalik. The second house from Lagna defined wealth, eye sight, tongue, longevity, communication and transport and the presence of Mars - Kuja in this affects the smooth sail of life in these fields and thus may cause death or separation of spouse/life partner and hence should be avoided. But there are exceptions for this, that is dealt in detail separately. The placement of Mars/ Kuja in 4th house from Lagna, the house that deals with the subjects of family, mother, and thus Mars, a harsh and fiery planet, causes danger to those fields governed by the 4th house and hence should be avoided for marriage alliance. If the Mars is placed in the 7th house from Lagna, the house of spouse and partners, should not have the presence of Mars - Kuja and if present may cause disputes and death of spouse. So an alliance with Mars in seventh house shall be avoided. If both are having the same proposition then sure you can consider this for a match The 8th house is for health, longevity and death and if the Mars present here then it is a potentially a danger to the native of the chart because it is considered the native as an accident prone and hence an alliance with short life span person be avoided. The 12th house is considered for Sayana, Moksha & Viraya ( expenditure) and if Mars present in this house. it will affect the longevity of the native hence an alliance with short span of life should be avoided. For the above reasons an alliance with a person having Mars placed in 2,4,7,8 & 12 houses of the horoscope are considered as people having Kuja Dosham or Mangalik and be avoided unless the other party is also having same value and extent of Kuja Dosham-Mangalik. Mars represents of a persons ego, self esteem, energy, will power, confidence and temperament. If mars dosham is there then it can make a native's temper volatile. Such natives have troubles adjusting with spouse, friends & colleagues can at times become ruthless. However traditional Indian system of Hindu Astrology has given certain exemptions even if the Mars - Kuja placed in these houses with the following simple conditions. 1. If Lagna or Moon sign is Capricorn (Makaram - where Mars is exalted) OR in Cancer (where Mars is debilitated) or Leo (Simmam as the Sun, Lord of Leo's Exalting House is Aries) Aries (Mesham) or Scorpio (Viruchikam) as the last two being Mar's own house. The Kuja/Mangal dosham will not affect or apply nor will do any harm to them. 2. If Mars is in 12th house and the 12th house is Taurus or Libra then also the native will not have the applicability of Kuja Dosham. This exception is given because both Taurus and Libra are the direct 7th houses from Mar's own house. 3. Like wise Mars in 4th house and if the 4th house falls in Aries and Scorpio then Kuja Dosham does not apply. 4. If the 7th house is in Capricorn or Cancer and the Mars placed in any of them, then also Kuja Dosham does not apply. 5. If Mars is positioned in the 8th house and the 8th house falls in Sagittarius or Pisces then Kuja Dosham does not apply. 6. If Mars is in conjunction with Jupiter (Guru) or Sun (Suryan) or Sani, then the Mangalic effect is nullified. 7. A general opinion is that if Mars is in 2nd or 12th in the male horoscope or Mars in the 4th & 7th houses in female horoscope or Mars in 8th in either of the horoscope, there is no escape from Kuja Dosham. This single placement is considered too harsh to have Mangalik or Chevvai or Kuja Dosham. 8. If Jupiter's 5th, 7th or 9th house aspect is visible, then the native need not worry at all. If Mars is in conjunction with Jupiter and Moon, then it is considered more lucky as Guru Mangala Yogam and Gaja Kesari Yogam is combined together to weed off the ill effects! 9. Quite apart from the above, if Mangal or Mars is in 8th house in conjunction with Venus known as Sukra, then it is really more harmful. It is a must to find a suitable alliance only with the same combination of horoscope. Venus in the 7th house aspect of Mars from 7th or 8th house Drishti is still worse. It this happen to be the exalted house of Mars, i.e. Makara, then surely a same combination of alliance should be sought. It is just because, the physical and sexual demands will be more, or to say critically high, so the partner should match this criteria. If a person is born on a Tuesday, then not to worry as for them, they are surely not a Mangalik, since the day lord Mars Rules for the day, the Manglik effect is nullified to a maximum extent. If Mars is in conjunction or aspect by Jupiter, Sun or Saturn, then too the ill effects are nullified. According to Deva Kolam, even exchange of house with Mars by any other planet causes this Dosham nullified. In terms of Astrology and the Indian system I have listed few vital aspects of the Kuja Dosham - Mangalik - Chevvai dosham. Now it is for the reader just to judge and value the the above, comparing it with Science and nature. The general and known house-wise effects of Mar's placement is listed below: Mars dominated natives have a tremendous fire like energy and if this energy is not utilized in something constructive then the above related problem arises. This specific Mangal Dosham or Chevvai Dosham is generally affect the marital life. Ill effects of Mars/Mangal in the houses are as listed below; Let's see the house-wise effects of Mars in a native's chart: Mars in Lagna (Ascendant - 1st house): It will directly aspect the houses 7th house and also Its aspect (Drushti) is powerfully fall in the 8th house. 7th house being the house of life partner, Mars will create quarrels even on minor issues. Here it indicates physical violence and sexual abuse. Because of cruel behavior of such a native will be despised by society. Will not be able to gain assets. Mars in the 2nd house: The second house represents for Family, left eye sight, Money, cash flow, and tongue. If Mars is placed in the 2nd house, then the person is of curt, temperament, harsh, talkative and with rash in nature. Mars in 4th house: This house also represents happiness. This also affects the work area. Will frequently change profession and jobs. Will not be economically successful. No job security . Mars in 7th house: Here it causes great anger. The native possesses extra energy. If Mars placed equally in the 7th house of the couple, then the physical pleasure would surely make them as happiest couple. If otherwise, the person with Mars in the 7th house will never get any physical/ sexual satisfaction from the partner as it will be a mis-matched couple. Therefore it is most likely that the native has tendency to look from outside for his pleasures, thus putting a question mark on his/her character. It makes such a person with an abnormal interests such as domination, fetish, bondage. It is most likely, that he/she will have some differences with family members. Mars In 8th House: Loss of paternal property and bad relationship with the elders of the family. A person with lethargic attitude and lazy. No help he/she will get from the co-borns. Will vile away the time and will expect the spouse to earn. Mars in 12th house: Sudden financial losses are indicated in this house. Lot of enemies and the enemies will always trouble such a native. Will have lot of mental problems and anxiety. Lack of co-operation from brothers, or No brother at all (Sahothra Nashtam). However, the alignments of other planets, the Drushti known as aspect and the conjunctive effects of rest of the planets are more influencing factors in judgment. So, please do not conclude that the above statement alone valid; it surely depends on of other factors too, which must be considered before branding any one as mangalik. No doubt, the ancient scholars did a splendid job by identifying many of the planetary influences on the Earth, but they never would have thought about our present day astrologers influences! Oh, how many perfect suitable marriage alliances are rejected, how many mismatched ones are coupled and how many divorces and death takes place just because of horoscope mismatched bondages! OH, NO MORE MISMATCHES, please. Just check the other qualities of the prospective bride or groom, if only on the ground of manglik it is rejected, then better you go for Blood Group check and match it fine from there on. And this way, you can escape and be saved from the HIV infected alliances too! I am sure, the contents given above are an eye opener to many of the alliance seekers and I write this with good intentions. Surely, I am not blaming any Astrologers or their profession, but underline the need to go for soul searching. In practical terms, I did come across as many as 300 horoscopes, that were matched by astrologers as best suited, but actually the female partner suffers more, when the blood group is a mismatch. This too, most often occurs, when they are pregnant and also post birth problems are of more serious in nature. Father is positive - mother is of negative blood group. And if the child born with positive group, then the breast feeding is a complicated one as the child's intake might make a lots of complication right from the first time. At times, even the child may have to be kept under medical observation for a longer period than the normal times. Like wise for the negative blood group father and positive blood group mother and if the child is of negative blood group, again same sort of problem occurs. So, be sure, you match the blood group, when you are branded as or in doubt about the Kuja Dosham, Manglik or Chevvai Dosham. This will certainly give you the scientific value, if you consult a medical practitioner too in this regard. _____________________________________ The following chart illustrate the placement of Navagra in any Temple. While making Navratna stone set in any Ring, it is highly recommended to follow the following picture explanation and to fix the gem stones according to the guidance given in Vedic Astrology. Sun being the centrist star, the Solar celestial phenomena needs to be understood properly. A glance at the following navagra positioning would suffice to any goldsmith to fix the stone accordingly; the following picture gives the directions of each planet viz.: Sun at the Center, Mercury in the North East, Venus in the East, Moon in the South East, Jupiter at the North, Mars at the Southern End, Dragons Tail (Ketu) at the North West, Saturn in the West and the Dragon's Head (Rahu) in the South West corner. These are the positioning of Navagraha in any of the Navagraha Mandir known as Navagraha Temple: Budhan (Green) Sukran White Chandran White Guru (Yellow) Suryan (Red) Kujan (Orange) Ketu (Multi-Color) Sani (Blue ) Rahu (Black) The Navagraha (9 Planets) Temple Locations in Tamilnadu Now, for the benefit of the readers, I list below the Navagraha Temples situated in Tamilnadu. Though there are many other destinations for Specific Temple, these nine temples are situated at a strategic location, from where one can take a tour to these Navagraha temples in two or three days conveniently. Stationed from Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu, one can visit the Navagraha Temples situated in and around this town. The approximate distance and time taken is indicated below. These distance quoted are of approximate and only from starting point as Kumbakonam. This town has a moderate population and can be accessed by road or Train from Chennai & Trichi. Chennai and Trichirapally are connected by air. No five star luxury hotels available but can be accessed from Trichy. If efficiently planned, or with any experienced travel agency taking your assignment, one can take a day return trip from Kumbakonam and finish off the visits in two days time. The Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corpn. also arranges a regular 3 nights/4 days tour visiting to all the following Navagraha Temple and also makes arrangements for online bookings/accommodation & transport etc. but this tour originates from Trichirapalli (Trichy) as base. Navagraha Lord Temple location Distance and Route Suryanar Koil ( Temple for Sun) Suryanarkoil. 18 Kms. towards Mayiladuthurai Route (3 Kms. from Aduthurai which is on the Kumbakonam - Mayiladuthurai Road) Chandran (Temple for Moon) Thingalur 1.5 Kms. from Thirupayhanam which is on the Kumbakonam-Thiruvayyaru Road Kujan (Temple for Mars) Vaitheesvaran Koil 4 Kms. from Mayiladuthurai on the Chidambaram Road. Budan (Temple for Mercury) Thiruvenkadu 10 Kms. SouthEast of Sirkali (Sirkazhi) Lord Guru ( Temple for Jupiter) Alangudi 19 Kms towards Mannargudi route or About 15 Kms. from Kumbakonam on the way to NeedaMangalam.) Sukran (Goddess Venus Temple) Kanchanoor (Kanjanur) 21 Kms. in Mayiladuthurai route (It is an interior village on the Mayiladuthurai - Kathiramangalam Road.) Saneeswaran ( Temple for Saturn) Thirunallar 48 Kms - Kumbakonam Karaikkal Route or just on the way to Peralam- Karaikkal route, 5 Kms. from Karaikkal Rahu (Temple for Dragon's Head) (Ascendant node) Thirunageswaram About 9 Kms in Kumbakonam Karaikkal route Ketu (Temple for Dragon's Tail) (Descendant note) Kilperumpallam (Keezaperumpallam) Near Poompuhar - on Mayiladuthurai- Poompuhar road All the above temples can be easily accessed from Kumbakonam; The Navagraha temples, which are famous for each Planet, that are situated around Mayiladuthurai. One can visit all the 9 temples in a day, starting from Mayuram and it has become quite a popular tourist circuit today. People having Ragu dosha come here during Rahu (Raghu) kalam and perform Abishekas. Pancha Kaala Pooja (Five times a day worship) are being done daily basis. Special Abhisekas are performed between 4.30 to 6 p.m. (Raghu Kalam) on all Sundays. As far the transport, there are government bus service and train services are available. It is best advised to take a train service from Chennai or Trichy, because it is economical and a quick mode to reach Kumbakonam. More so, the roads are not even and the journey makes one feel sick! Hotel accommodations are available in and around Kumbakonam and the Hoteliers too arrange for transportation on an arranged manner, if a request is made in advance.