What are some lesser known ancient temples in Tamil Nadu?

 Tamil Nadu is like a treasure house, the more you find the more you get surprises and it's no wonder why every month some other other family gets some or other artifacts when they dig up their ground to build a house.

There are some temples in Tamil Nadu that are very beautiful, ancient but doesn't get much visits.

These temples are not much famous and can be found in interior parts of Tamil Nadu and listing a few of then here.

1.Jurahareshwarar Temple, Kanchipuram

Located on the banks of Palar river in Kanchipuram is a Pallava temple built in Dravidian style of architecture.

It's said that this temple was built by Narasimhavarman 2 during 700 to 728 CE ( 1300 years old) which is now maintained by ASI.

Juram or Jwaram means fever in Tamil and Lord Shiva here is considered as the one who saves people from fevers

Unlike other temple, the sanctum is semi circular which is unique to Dravidian temples.

2. Udayarpalayam Payaraneeswarar Temple

Present in the Udayarpalayam village of Ariyalur district, this temple is very old, it's said that it's nearly 1400 years old built by Cholas.

This temples has the largest temple tank in Tamil Nadu and the temple has many sculptures.

This temple doesn't get many visitors as it's so much famous but actually most temple scenes in Tamil movies gets shooted here because of the peace( very less visitors and hence can shoot without any disturbance).

Also this temple is maintained by the Udayarpalayam Jamindar family and thus it's private temple and gets easy permission to shoot films.

3.Talagirishwara Temple, Panamalai, Villupuram Dist

This temple is built on a small hill next to a Panamalai lake and this makes the temple more beautiful.

This temple is also built by Narasimhavarman 2 of Pallava dynasty ( actually this King has built many temples during his reign).

He is the one who built the Shore Temple as well teh Kailasanathar temple which both are UNESCO world Heritage sites.

So this temple is built in 7th century, there are many beautiful Sculptures in this temple and also a 7th century mural painting of the Pallava king .

4.Marudamalai Murugan Temple, Coimbatore

Built by the Kongu Vettwa Kings, Marudamalai Murugan temple is a famous as well a beautiful temple present in the foothills of eastern side of the Western Ghats.

Actually there are 6 abodes for Lord Muruga Or Karthikeya in Tamil Nadu but the Marudamalai temple is considered as the 7th and a special abode for Lord Muruga.

The temple is special because the ancient Tamil poets have sung many famous songs praising the Nurugan here.

Beautiful right?

5.Chitharal Malai Kovil Or Cave Temple and Bhagavathi Temple, Kanyakumari

These two temples one is Jain and the other one is Hindu temple is next to each other.

The cave temple is bit old in 1st millenium CE but the main temple is said to built in 9th century by the Pandya king Vikramaditya Varaguna Pandya.

It's a very holy site for Digambara Jains and for Hindus as well .

6.Erumbeeshwarar Temple, Tanjore

Actually this temple is very unique because it's built like a small fort which is unique to Tamil NaduAditya but inside it has many sculptures.

Interesting mythological story explains how Devas (celestial creatures with godly characters) worshipped Lord Shiva, disguising themselves like ants, tricking the demons ( Erumbu means ant in Tamil)

The Lingam here is a sand linga and it is believed those who pray in this temple can avoid their fears and attract prosperity to the family.

This temple is built on a small hilllock by Chola King Aditya!

How did ancient Indians calculate Jupiter's orbital period so accurately?

 Ancient Indian astronomers combined their observational and mathematical skills, and knowledge of celestial mechanics, to accurately calculate Jupiter's orbital period. They have made some remarkable contributions to astronomy,

They relied on meticulous naked-eye observations of celestial bodies, such as Jupiter, and tracked the planet's position relative to the fixed stars in the background, over long periods. They used simple instruments like gnomons (vertical sticks) and armillary spheres to measure angles and positions of celestial objects. (An armillary sphere is a model of the objects in the sky, consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and the ecliptic.)

Hindu planispheric astrolabe in brass, single plate, made for Raja Ramasimha by Sivalala in 1870. Engraved in Sanskrit with instrument laid out for the latitude of Bundi (25º 28'), Rajasthan, India. Science Museum.

The ancient Indian astronomical texts, known as Siddhantas, provided systematic methods for calculating the positions and motions of the visible planets. The Surya Siddhanta, one of the most famous texts, contains detailed descriptions of planetary motions and methods for calculating their positions. . The Surya Siddhanta includes tables of sine values. Yes, Indian astronomers developed and used trigonometric functions, such as sine and cosine, to perform precise calculations.

By observing Jupiter's position relative to the background stars, ancient Indian astronomers determined its orbital period. They noted that Jupiter takes 12 years to complete one full orbit around the Sun.