Sasthakotta Dharma Sastha
Compiled By
P.R.Ramachander
It is another very famous ancient Sastha temples of Kerala. The temple
is surrounded by fresh water (sasthamkotta lake) lake on all three sides(The
biggest fresh water lake of Kerala)
and hill with dense forest on the
other side .A small town called
Sasthamkotta has come up near these
forests.
Shri Dharma Sastha temple is built in Kerala style of
architecture and was built by the Pandalam family .Sasthamcotta is a well
historic place where the Second World Religion Conference was held in 1971, in
which the Global Religious Celebrities participated.
Sasthamcotta is well connected with the other parts of
Kerala by road and rail. The National Highway (NH 47) passes through
Karunagapally and Chavara. Both these towns are just 12 km from Sasthamcotta.
Two other important places on MC Road (SH 1) that connect to Sasthamcotta are
Adoor and Kottarakara; both approximately 18 km away.
Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) plies regular
bus services to this place from Kollam, Karunagapally, Kottarakara, Adoor and
Pathanamthitta. KSRTC also runs regular services to Pampa via Sasthamcotta
during the Sabarimala season.
Sasthamcotta has a small railway station about 4 km from
Sasthamcotta town. Karunagappally railway station is about 12 km from
Sasthamcotta. Kollam Junction and Kayamkulam Junction are the two major railway
stations close to Sasthamcotta.
Folklore has that the idol consecrated at Sasthamcotta
temple is none other than the swayambhu idol worshipped by Lord Ram during his
trip to Lanka (Sri Lanka) in search of his consort, Sita. It seems Lord Rama when he was going from Sri Lanka
to Ayodhya visited this place , It is believed that, Lord Rama offered ‘pithru
tharpan’ on the banks of the Sasthamcotta Lake and he deputed the chief
architect of his vanara (monkey) team, ‘Neelan’ to serve his host. Neelan is
believed to be the predecessor of the monkey clan in this temple.It is also
believed that Lord Hanuman when he was searching for Sita has visited this place , There is also a prathishta of Ganesa
in this temple.
This temple has
very large number of monkeys roaming
all round it. The monkeys that once colonised the surrounding woods were
believed to be followers of the prime diety, Dharmasastha, and hence, are
revered by devotees. Thousands of devotees visiting the temple feed these
monkeys with nuts and fruits.
A few years ago,
the monkeys began to face shortage of food and they began to snatch food from
visitors to the temple and children going to nearby schools and colleges. The
Courts then ordered the Devaswom (Temple) Board to make arrangements to feed
the monkeys of the temple adequately. The Board, being short of funds, sought
support from well-wishers of the temple but adequate funds were not
forthcoming. Mr Gopala B. Pillai, founder and president of Wild Republic, and a
native of Sasthamkotta, heard about this dilemma and offered to set up a Trust
Fund jointly with the Devaswom Board to ensure perpetual feeding of the
monkeys. This was achieved in 1996 and since then the monkeys of the temple
have never been in want of food. On local festival days, when people feast at
home, the Trust arranges a similar feast for the monkeys of the temple also.
The presiding
deity of the temple is , Shri Dharma
Sastha who is accompanied by his consort 'Prabha' and son 'Sathyaka'.
The highlight of this temple is the 10 day annual
festival the month of Kumbham (February-March). The festival includes the
colourful Kettukazhcha procession of various bullocks, horses, decorated
chariots, folk art performances etc. Various folk arts such as Mayilattam,
Kaala (bull motif), Kuthira (horse motif), Ammankudam are performed. The
festival concludes with the Arattu ceremony, five caparisoned elephants take
part in a procession held at midnight. Another important festival is Shiva
Prathishta Vaarshikom which is held in Atham in the Malayalam month of Edavam
(May-June).
Entry is restriceted to Hindus.
Sasthamcotta Neelakandan
Sasthamcotta Neelakandan is the elephant at Sasthamcotta
Temple (Sasthamcotta Manikandan was the first elephant at the temple.
Sasthamcotta Manikandan passed away in the year 1999). Neelakandan is the vital
part of Sasthamcotta temple. He carries the deity of the Lord Dharmasastha
during annual festival processions and ceremonial circumambulations in the
temple. Nelakandan is donated by Sri. Ajith Kumar, who is a well known
business man in the UAE, as his offering.
Sasthamcotta Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is open from
4:30 AM to 11:30 AM and from 5 PM to 7:45 PM
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