San Marga Sanctuary

The straight path to God

The Path of the Saivite Saints

The Path of the Saivite Saints is directly north of Iraivan Temple. Standing at the entrance to this sacred path is a monolithic twelve-foot-tall black granite Dakshinamurti, God Siva as the primordial guru, seated in front of a small banyan tree with four sages before Him absorbing the teaching of the Self, Absolute Reality, in the atmosphere of Siva's mystical silence. Walking the 1,300-foot-long path that winds around ponds, orchid-bedecked banyan trees and tropical plants, pilgrims encounter statues of the eight past and present Satgurus of our Nandinatha Sampradaya. Amidst ponds filled with lotus, lillies and colorful koi fish stands a large Sivalingam, set in a traditional base, called pitham. This natural rock was smoothed by eons of water flow in the Narmada River in India. Today, pilgrims and other devout visitors delight in performing the traditional worship, called abhishekam, of bathing the Lingam with water and milk.

Next: The Hanuman Mandapam