God of Healing and Medicine - Sri Dhanwanthri

I just got back from a temple visit.It is an awesome get-away from the concrete world of today. Located in Ramanathapuram, Coimbatore, this temple is called Sri Dhanwanthri Temple, managed by the Ayruveda Research foundation and Hospital team. The hospital or the Chikitsalaya is housed in the same campus as the temple.

http://temples.avpayurveda.com/about_us.php

The website gives all the details about the temple. It is a typical Kerala temple and all the poojas and procedures are strictly followed.

What caught my attention was the greenery all over the place. There are benches in the garden, where you can sit back and relax, meditate, do nothing and just recover. There seem to be houses or guest houses where people are seen to be taking rest after medication. To look at lush green garden from your window sill or balcony is a gift that people are rarely blessed with these days. It seems this simple exercise of looking at greenery each morning has got a healing touch to the human body and mind.

As you enter the temple you get to see the statues of chosen few great people, very carefully chosen according to me : Swami Vivekananda, Shri Shirdi Sai Baba, Swami Narayanan, Narayana Bhattatri, Thiruvalluvar, Meera, Swami Raghavendra, and two others whose names I don't happen to recall now. Too bad, but my memory is not exactly photographic these days.

There is a short Who's Who on each of these great minds followed by a quote from each of them. Truly practical and sensible ones at that for those who want to practice. When you get out of the temple, you may take few minutes to sit on the benches, a usual practice among devotees in most temples. While you are seated you have these sculptures, the greenery, your prayerful or peaceful thoughts to keep you company.

On your way out you see the hospital, a pharmacy and a small eatery with minimal choices but good ones.

I think I saw only one sector of the campus. For those who can take more time, chances are you might have more to take back from this place.

The next time you are in Coimbatore make it a point to visit this place. From the bus stop ask for buses to Ramanathapuram, Olympus bus stop. About a few steps from there you see a guarded route with a direction sign - Sri Dhanwanthri Temple. Five minutes walk down the private road leads to the temple and the hospital. For the taxi or car people, just drive over to Ramanathapuram, about twenty minutes drive from the central bus station, Gandhipuram.

A very quiet and scenic place, a must see!!!

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