Aryankavu Dharma Sastha
Compiled by
P.R.Ramachander
Aryan Kavu is 31 km from Punalur.. The temple is built 35 feet below the road level. The God is supposed to have
married Pushkala at this temple
and has this consort on his left
side. Pushkala is supposed to belong to the Saurashtran community who have occupied parts of
Madurai. They are supposed to have migrated
from SAurashtra, The devotees of
this temple believe that The God Ayyappa was brought up by the king of Madurai and Pushkala who was a SAurashtran girl fell in love with him. Another story says
that Pushkala who was only ten years old
at that time, accompanied her father to Trivandrum and on the way they happened
to stay in Aryankavu temple. The girl
fell in love with the God. And on the way back, she merged with the God.
Lord Sastha informed this to the priest
of the temple and requested him to honor Pushkala’s father.
The two main
festivals in this village are the Madala pooja and the Thirukalyanam festival
both celebrated in the month of DEcember.Invitation to the marriage is sent
every year by the Travancore Devasvam board to
the Saurashtran community in Madurai
Every year the marriage is celebrated
following the rituals of the Saurashtran
community in a grand way .
Large number of Saurashtra community members attend this festival
bringing with them gift to the bride.
Nearby this Sastha
temple is the Mampazhathurai BHagwathy temple . The Goddess is in a fierce
form at this temple . There are various
theories about this temple. Some people believe that the marriage of Pushkala and Sastha did not
take place and with great anger
Pushkala and went to Mampazhathurai
and sat there. Another view is that
Mampazhathurai is only an
Yakshi temple . This appears as more
plausible because the people in Tamil Nadu believe that Pushkala is
married to Dharma Sastha.
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