Malayalappuzha Bhagwathi temple of Pathanamthitta
By
P.R.Ramachander
Malayalapuzha Bhagawathi temple is just outside the Pathanamthitta town The Goddess here is in the fierce form of the Goddess known as Bhadrakali. She is called Malayalapuzha Amma. The temple attracts devotees from all major religions of Kerala. The popular belief is that the Goddess is noted for getting the unmarried girls married, protecting the devotee from enemies, helping businesses flourish, getting employment and in general extending prosperity to all the devotees. There is a popular story about the temple.
Long , long time ago one Namboodiri Brahmin went by walk to the Mookambika temple at Kollur. He spent a lot of time there unable to part with the Goddess Mookambika. When he decided to go back to his native place near Maruthwa Mala, the Goddess appeared in his dream and told him that she will come along with him to his place and entered the Saligramam that he was worshipping. Since this happened at night , she came in the form of Bhadra kali with eight arms and a very fierce looks. The Namboodiri reached along with a SAligramam and an Palm leaf umbrella a palatial home called THombil Kottaram. He stayed and took rest for the few days. But when he wanted to take the Saligramam and Umbrella , they did not move from that place. That night in his dream, the Goddess came and told him that she likes the place and would like to stay there. She also told the Namboodiri, that he will not live very long and would merge with her soon. He died soon and due to that her worship was affected. Bad omens came in large number in that place and the Goddess entered in to a member of the Thombil family and asked them to build a temple for her at that spot. This temple was about 5 km from the present temple . That Goddess was consecrated facing east and nearby a Shiva Linga also has been consecrated . This was in a plateau which is in between five hills. Later according to the wish of the idapally king , the chief of Thombil clan shifted the Goddess to the present location. One story is that the Chief of the clan became very old and was not able to climb the hills and reach the temple. He consecrated the Goddess in a spot on the shores of the south Malayala puzha , and below the Idathattil mountain. It seems that there was a temple of serpents in that place and this was destroyed to accommodate the temple of the Goddess. Even today there is worship in the original temple of the Goddess and lot of devotees gather there on the first of every Malayalam month.
There is another story about the origin of this temple “ This temple was originally situated in a small village called Edathitta ,in Pathanamthitta Dist.This was a full fledged village , ruled by Raja Shaktibhadran, the only Sanskrit south Indian writer.One day a tantrik from Malayalapuzha visited this place ,as he heard a lot about this temple. Malayalpuzha was in drought for many years. So the TANTRIK with his power ,migrated the shakti's of the devi to malayalapuzha.And the place progressed like anything.As the shakti's were taken away from edathitta, the place faced many destructions.And gradually there were no signs of the temple.Then according to the prashnakundali people found out as in when it was migrated and when will it come back,as the power cannot be transferred completely ,it mentioned that it will take 3000 yrs for this shakti to come back. And in 1992,somebody from that village saw a dream that the vigraham,and the pooja utensils were beneath the ground,and people started digging that place , where they found everything mentioned by the person.And the villagers then contributed towards temple. .”
The idol in the present location below the idathattil mountain is very fierce looking . It is made of concentrated Jaggery and is about 5 feet tall and has eight hands, with one leg moved to the front and kept on the Vetala and another stepped back. In spite of the fierce appearance , the devotees only see mercy in her eyes. Since the idol is made of Jaggery, only flower worship is done to it . It seems there was a custom to remove the idol every twelve years and replace it with a new idol got made in Tamilnadu. But once the people were not able to remove the idol from its seat. The Thombil Namboodiri that night saw a dream in which the Goddess told him that she does not want her idol to be removed. And asked him to continue the worship for that idol forever.
Just before entry to the sanctum, there is a small idol of Veera Bhadra and another peculiarity of the temple is the statue of Parvathi , on whose lap is the baby Ganapathi suckling her.
For recovering stolen goods people offer Thoniyari Payasam (Payasam made of 36 ¼ para (Para is approximately 14 kg) of rice
People believe that offer of Payasam made of with 101 Nazhi(120 ml) of rice, coconut milk , jaggery and 101 banana fruits offered to the goddess leads to fulfillment of our desires and success in business.
Ladies offer Manjadi seeds (Adenanthera pavonina Linn.) to the Goddess for increase of breast milk. This same seed , after taking it round their hair is offered by ladies near the flag post for luxurious hair growth.
Offer of arecanut , betel leaves , tobacco and camphor to the Goddess at the sanctum is believe help us fulfill our desires. The sacred ash that you get back from the temple after this offer should be kept in the prayer room. People believe that within a year their desires would be fulfilled. People believe that when we make requests to the Goddess , if a honey bee from outside enters the Sanctum sanctorum and returns back in our presence then our desire would definitely be fulfilled.
There is another very peculiar belief in the temple. It is believed that the soul of the devotees of the Goddess , after death comes and stays in the temple. So their sons/daughters come to the temple along with a piece of sandalwood packed in a red silk, make the soul enter that and take it out . This is called Chavirakkal (removal of death)
Farmers pray that they will give a part of the harvest of their field and take a cloth from the temple, write on it that the produce belongs to the Goddess. People believe that if this is done then theft of the produce from their field is prevented . This is called “Malayalappuzha Thoopu”
People also worship the Brahma Rakshas which is on the east of the temple for getting rid of ghosts , devils and evil magic affecting them. Offering of Mangalya to the Goddess to get married quickly is also done.
Just outside the temple The Naga Raja also is consecrated. Near it is an Konna tree which flowers daily all the year long. Below it a Shiva Linga which Is Swayambu (self made ) is there . People believe that this Shiva linga keeps on growing. People believe that if this Shiva linga is bathed with tender coconut water , immediate rain will result.
There is a temple (half a km away ) for the Yogeeswara grand father who brought the Goddess to this place , This is called Sri Kandeswari Moorthi Kavu. There are also Pancha moorthi idols in this temple. Here toddy , meat, Agar Bhathi, tobacco etc are offered to the grand father statute. People believe that the Goddess would be happy only if we visit this temple first before visiting her.
Unlike other Bhagwathi temples , there is no practice (asked to be discontinued by the Goddess ) of drawing her figure using rice powder, turmeric , saffron etc but the usual singing of her story is done there without it.
Another peculiar custom of the temple is that the procession carrying the deity turns left (ie clockwise) and because of this people called this Goddess Idathattil Bhagwathi( Bhagawathi of the left).
Description of several temples of Kerala which are the mini editions of deep devotion P.R.Ramachander
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thrichammaresan temple of Thaliparamba
Thrichammaresan temple of Thaliparamba
By
P.R.Ramachander
Thali Parambu loosely translated would mean, a ground of temples. One of these is the temple dedicated to Lord Krishna , called Thrichammaresan. He is also referred as Thrichambaresan. This temple is one of the most important Krishna temples of Kerala. Here Krishna is portrayed in his form immediately after killing the elephant Kuvalayapeetam and rearing to kill Kamsa. This temple is not very far from the Thaliparambu Junction which is about 20 km from Kannur.town. We have to cross a small stream (which is usually dry or having very little water) to reach this temple. It is believed that this temple was established by a sage called Sambaran, The temple maintains a Gosala where large now of cattle are fed and maintained. These cows and bullocks are normally seen around the temple. The temple faces the east. Slightly west to it there is a pond and a temple of Durga.in the middle of it. People believe that she is the sister of Lord Krishna who was born to Yasoda. Slightly south of the temple there is an ilanji tree with a raised platform around it. It seems in ancient days one gentleman with wounds all over his body was lying underneath the tree praying Trichambaresan. It seems the fruits of the tree fell on him causing grievous hurt. Then he prayed Lord to help him by preventing the fruit fall. It seems the falling of fruits immediately stopped and from then on this tree has not borne any fruit. The devotees buy a ring from the temple and deposit it under the tree with a belief that all their desires would be fulfilled.(Mothiram vechu Thozheel). There are lot of technically superior murals all round the temple , which is large considering the temple type of Kerala. The idol of the temple is about four feet high and has a merciful look instead of the expected ferocious angry look.
Another peculiarity of this temple is that elephants are not allowed to come anywhere near the temple , So the usual procession of God on the elephant is not there in this temple. People believe that since Lord Krishna had just killed Kuvalayapeeta the four tusked elephant sent by Kamsa , all elephants would be scared on seeing the lord. It seems once an Islamic merchant rode on an elephant in spite of warnings around the temple. As soon as the elephant came before the gate , it fell down dead.
The annual festival of the temple (Uthsavam ) is held in the month of Kumbham (February-march) on 22nd of that month (approximately march 6th) and continues for 14 days. Lord Balarama who has a temple nearby (Dharmakkulam) visits this temple and every day there is a ceremonial dance (two people carrying Thidambu of Gods Krishna and Balarama ) on the nights of important festival days (27, 28 th of Kumbam and 1,2, 6 of Meenam ) during the festival. Initially the priests go round the temple carrying the Thidambu on their heads and later there is a dance with Gods acting through them. On the last day they move outside the temple and do the dance in the public road in a place called “Pookothunada” to the accompaniment of several drums played by their greatest exponents.. Since the brother gods are going to part after this (Koodi piriyal ) and would be able to see only after a year , there is a frenzy of separation in this dance. This dance is extremely famous in the northern part of Kerala.
“Ayiram appam of Trichambaram Temple, a special kind of sweet offering made in thousands, is quite famous. This is the only temple in Kerala where women from Namboothiri families prepare the offering.”
By
P.R.Ramachander
Thali Parambu loosely translated would mean, a ground of temples. One of these is the temple dedicated to Lord Krishna , called Thrichammaresan. He is also referred as Thrichambaresan. This temple is one of the most important Krishna temples of Kerala. Here Krishna is portrayed in his form immediately after killing the elephant Kuvalayapeetam and rearing to kill Kamsa. This temple is not very far from the Thaliparambu Junction which is about 20 km from Kannur.town. We have to cross a small stream (which is usually dry or having very little water) to reach this temple. It is believed that this temple was established by a sage called Sambaran, The temple maintains a Gosala where large now of cattle are fed and maintained. These cows and bullocks are normally seen around the temple. The temple faces the east. Slightly west to it there is a pond and a temple of Durga.in the middle of it. People believe that she is the sister of Lord Krishna who was born to Yasoda. Slightly south of the temple there is an ilanji tree with a raised platform around it. It seems in ancient days one gentleman with wounds all over his body was lying underneath the tree praying Trichambaresan. It seems the fruits of the tree fell on him causing grievous hurt. Then he prayed Lord to help him by preventing the fruit fall. It seems the falling of fruits immediately stopped and from then on this tree has not borne any fruit. The devotees buy a ring from the temple and deposit it under the tree with a belief that all their desires would be fulfilled.(Mothiram vechu Thozheel). There are lot of technically superior murals all round the temple , which is large considering the temple type of Kerala. The idol of the temple is about four feet high and has a merciful look instead of the expected ferocious angry look.
Another peculiarity of this temple is that elephants are not allowed to come anywhere near the temple , So the usual procession of God on the elephant is not there in this temple. People believe that since Lord Krishna had just killed Kuvalayapeeta the four tusked elephant sent by Kamsa , all elephants would be scared on seeing the lord. It seems once an Islamic merchant rode on an elephant in spite of warnings around the temple. As soon as the elephant came before the gate , it fell down dead.
The annual festival of the temple (Uthsavam ) is held in the month of Kumbham (February-march) on 22nd of that month (approximately march 6th) and continues for 14 days. Lord Balarama who has a temple nearby (Dharmakkulam) visits this temple and every day there is a ceremonial dance (two people carrying Thidambu of Gods Krishna and Balarama ) on the nights of important festival days (27, 28 th of Kumbam and 1,2, 6 of Meenam ) during the festival. Initially the priests go round the temple carrying the Thidambu on their heads and later there is a dance with Gods acting through them. On the last day they move outside the temple and do the dance in the public road in a place called “Pookothunada” to the accompaniment of several drums played by their greatest exponents.. Since the brother gods are going to part after this (Koodi piriyal ) and would be able to see only after a year , there is a frenzy of separation in this dance. This dance is extremely famous in the northern part of Kerala.
“Ayiram appam of Trichambaram Temple, a special kind of sweet offering made in thousands, is quite famous. This is the only temple in Kerala where women from Namboothiri families prepare the offering.”
Thiruvulla Kavu Dharma Sastha Temple
Thiruvulla Kavu Dharma Sastha Temple
By
P.R.Ramachander
Thiruvullakavu Dharma Sastha temple is in the Peruvanam division of Kerala. This division was supposed to have been created by Lord Parasurama and had very learned Brahmins who were considered as great Vedic Pundits. (Please see the write up of Peruvanam shiva temple) . This is temple is again in the village of Perumbilliseri, near the small town of Cherpu near Trichur. It is believed that the famous saint Vilwamangala saw that the idol of this Sastha was being held in the right hand by Lord Shiva of Peruvanam and later a new temple was consecrated separately for Dharma Sastha on the right of The Shiva temple. It seems he chose to call it as “Thiruvulla Kayyor” But there is a theory that the actual name of the temple is Thiruvalakkavu(Holy temple on the right) . Some people even refer to it as Thiruvellakavu( Holy temple of water) . But any way the present name is Thiruvullakavu. Since the word “Thiru” represents Goddess Lakshmi , this name may mean as “A temple where Lakshmi(wealth) is there.”
It seems in olden times a Varrier who used to go by this way , saw a brilliant powerful light coming from the field where this temple is situated. When he examined the place he saw there the a small stone statue of Sastha . He immediately brought the trustees of Peruvanam temple , who consulted an astrologer , who told them that it is a Sastha (Son of Lord Shiva and Vishnu) idol. They immediately got a temple built up there . In the temple along with Sastha are his wife Prabha on his left and his son Sathyaka on the left. Kindly note that Lord Ayyappa, who was the incarnation of Dharma Sastha was a Brahma Chari. In Some places Sastha is being consecrated with two wives viz Poorna and Pushkala. Some people believe that he had only one wife called Prabha , who had the two forms of Poorna and Pushkala. In front of these stone idols , there is a slightly bigger idol of Sastha with a spear (soola) made of Panchaloha. The morning Abhisheka is done to the Pancha Loha idol and it is kept behind the stone idols later.
This Sastha is considered as one who gives knowledge . This is possibly based on an incident which happened at the temple.
It seems once there was a priest there by the name of Pattathu Vasudeva Bhattathiri. He was of very average intelligence and was assisted in his duties by a young Varasyar. One day the Varasyar left to her home and by the time The Bhattathiri closed his temple torrential beating rain started. Due to this Bhattathiri was not able to leave the temple . Due to this Bhattathiri decided to sleep in the Verandha of the temple without food. Then Sastha came in his dream and asked him to open the temple and eat the Banana fruit which was offered to him and was kept before him. Bhattathiri obeyed the order. Next day early morning the Varasyar came in search of him. She saw there was some transformation in case of Bhattathiri. He had become a great poet. When she asked , as to the turn of events, Bhattathiri related to her all that has happened. Then the Varasyar asked him as to where he had put the Banana peel after eating the fruit. When he showed him the place , she ate all the left over peels. She too was transformed in to a poet called Ikkali Varasyar. Both of them have a great place in Malayalam literature.
Due to this incident , this temple became very famous as the place where you can get knowledge and wisdom. Every Vijayadasami (Tenth day of Navarathri) day thousands of little children learn their first alphabets at this temple. Even on the other days children brought here and are allowed to start their way to education at this temple. The most important offering to this god are Unniyappam (Neyyappam in Tamil) and Kadalippazham(A particular variety of Banana) .The main festival of the temple starts on the Uthram star of the month of Kumbham (February-march) . That day The God is taken round on an elephant. And it ends on the hastham star of the month of Meenam (March-April)
The Darshan timing of the temple as given in the web site of the temple (http://www.thiruvullakkavudevaswom.org/) is as follows:-
Darshan Time
Morning - 5AM - 10:45AM
Evening - 5PM - 8PM
Pooja schedule
Nithyapooja/Nivedhyapooja - 6:30AM - 7AM
Trippuka - 7:30PM - 7:45PM
Thanthripooja - Morning on Muppattu shani days
During mandala maasam
Darshan Time
Morning - 4:30AM - 10:45AM
Evening - 5PM - 8PM
Pooja schedule
Nithyapooja/Nivedhyapooja/Mandalapooja - 6AM - 7AM
Trippuka - 7:30PM - 7:45PM
Thanthripooja - Morning on Muppattu shani days
Ezhuthiniruthal
Every day at morning 5AM - 10:45AM
Except on Mahanavami and Atham naal of Meenam
NB: The Sreekovil nada remains closed during the above mentioned pooja times.
After trippuka, in the evening no offerings can be done at the temple.
By
P.R.Ramachander
Thiruvullakavu Dharma Sastha temple is in the Peruvanam division of Kerala. This division was supposed to have been created by Lord Parasurama and had very learned Brahmins who were considered as great Vedic Pundits. (Please see the write up of Peruvanam shiva temple) . This is temple is again in the village of Perumbilliseri, near the small town of Cherpu near Trichur. It is believed that the famous saint Vilwamangala saw that the idol of this Sastha was being held in the right hand by Lord Shiva of Peruvanam and later a new temple was consecrated separately for Dharma Sastha on the right of The Shiva temple. It seems he chose to call it as “Thiruvulla Kayyor” But there is a theory that the actual name of the temple is Thiruvalakkavu(Holy temple on the right) . Some people even refer to it as Thiruvellakavu( Holy temple of water) . But any way the present name is Thiruvullakavu. Since the word “Thiru” represents Goddess Lakshmi , this name may mean as “A temple where Lakshmi(wealth) is there.”
It seems in olden times a Varrier who used to go by this way , saw a brilliant powerful light coming from the field where this temple is situated. When he examined the place he saw there the a small stone statue of Sastha . He immediately brought the trustees of Peruvanam temple , who consulted an astrologer , who told them that it is a Sastha (Son of Lord Shiva and Vishnu) idol. They immediately got a temple built up there . In the temple along with Sastha are his wife Prabha on his left and his son Sathyaka on the left. Kindly note that Lord Ayyappa, who was the incarnation of Dharma Sastha was a Brahma Chari. In Some places Sastha is being consecrated with two wives viz Poorna and Pushkala. Some people believe that he had only one wife called Prabha , who had the two forms of Poorna and Pushkala. In front of these stone idols , there is a slightly bigger idol of Sastha with a spear (soola) made of Panchaloha. The morning Abhisheka is done to the Pancha Loha idol and it is kept behind the stone idols later.
This Sastha is considered as one who gives knowledge . This is possibly based on an incident which happened at the temple.
It seems once there was a priest there by the name of Pattathu Vasudeva Bhattathiri. He was of very average intelligence and was assisted in his duties by a young Varasyar. One day the Varasyar left to her home and by the time The Bhattathiri closed his temple torrential beating rain started. Due to this Bhattathiri was not able to leave the temple . Due to this Bhattathiri decided to sleep in the Verandha of the temple without food. Then Sastha came in his dream and asked him to open the temple and eat the Banana fruit which was offered to him and was kept before him. Bhattathiri obeyed the order. Next day early morning the Varasyar came in search of him. She saw there was some transformation in case of Bhattathiri. He had become a great poet. When she asked , as to the turn of events, Bhattathiri related to her all that has happened. Then the Varasyar asked him as to where he had put the Banana peel after eating the fruit. When he showed him the place , she ate all the left over peels. She too was transformed in to a poet called Ikkali Varasyar. Both of them have a great place in Malayalam literature.
Due to this incident , this temple became very famous as the place where you can get knowledge and wisdom. Every Vijayadasami (Tenth day of Navarathri) day thousands of little children learn their first alphabets at this temple. Even on the other days children brought here and are allowed to start their way to education at this temple. The most important offering to this god are Unniyappam (Neyyappam in Tamil) and Kadalippazham(A particular variety of Banana) .The main festival of the temple starts on the Uthram star of the month of Kumbham (February-march) . That day The God is taken round on an elephant. And it ends on the hastham star of the month of Meenam (March-April)
The Darshan timing of the temple as given in the web site of the temple (http://www.thiruvullakkavudevaswom.org/) is as follows:-
Darshan Time
Morning - 5AM - 10:45AM
Evening - 5PM - 8PM
Pooja schedule
Nithyapooja/Nivedhyapooja - 6:30AM - 7AM
Trippuka - 7:30PM - 7:45PM
Thanthripooja - Morning on Muppattu shani days
During mandala maasam
Darshan Time
Morning - 4:30AM - 10:45AM
Evening - 5PM - 8PM
Pooja schedule
Nithyapooja/Nivedhyapooja/Mandalapooja - 6AM - 7AM
Trippuka - 7:30PM - 7:45PM
Thanthripooja - Morning on Muppattu shani days
Ezhuthiniruthal
Every day at morning 5AM - 10:45AM
Except on Mahanavami and Atham naal of Meenam
NB: The Sreekovil nada remains closed during the above mentioned pooja times.
After trippuka, in the evening no offerings can be done at the temple.
Thiruvilwamala Ramabhadra Swamy temple
Thiruvilwamala Ramabhadra Swamy temple
By
P.R.Ramachander
Thiruvilwamala(The sacred mountain of Vilwa) is a small village on the shores Of Bharatha Puzha. The main temple houses two temples. The one in the west is supposed to be a temple dedicated To Sri Rama and the one in the east is dedicated to Lord Lakshmana. But both idols are of the form of Lord Vishnu with four arms holding conch, wheel, mace and lotus flower. Near this temple there are two more rivers viz Cheerakuzhi puzha and Padur puzha. Though in the olden times there were no bridges in any of these rivers, the approach was only through Pazhyannur but now there are bridges in all the three rivers and Thiruvilwamala can be approached from several sides. It is believed that behind the idol of the temple there is deep hole in which there is a golden Vilwa tree. The name of the place comes from this legend. The temple also has idols of Ganapathi, Hanuman and Ayyapan which are consecrated there . There are many stories about this temple.
One of them says that Lord Parasurama after killing all the royal families of India wanted to give salvation to their souls. So he did great penance addressed to Lord Shiva. It seems Lord Shiva appeared before him and gave him an idol of Vishnu. Sage Parasurama liked Thiruvilwamala most because Vilwa trees were growing there. He consecrated the Vishnu idol given to him by Lord Shiva . Then Lord Parasurama summoned the souls of all those killed by him as well as his manes. Most of them got salvation and some of the very bad ones did not. Lord Parasurama chained all of them in a place near by called “Rakshasa Paara”(The stone of the Rakshasa.)
There is another story about the origin of this temple. There was a sage called Amalaka who was the son of Kasyapa Prajapathi. He started doing penance in this place. Indra , under the impression that this sage was doing penance to get his post, sent dancing girls Urvasi and Thilothama to disturb the penance of the sage. When their tricks failed Indra approached Amalaka’s father Kasyapa, who told him that Amalaka was doing penance to get salvation and nothing else. Then Indra stopped harassing the sage. Then the Rakshasa thinking that sage was an agent of Indra started harassing him , by causing rain and throwing stones at the sage. At this when the sage opened his eyes , fire came out of it and burnt all the Rakshasas. The ash of those Rakshasas joined together and became a big rock. This according to the local people is the Rakashasa para. Later it seems Lord Vishnu appeared before the sage and requested him to ask for the boons that he wanted. The sage requested for undying devotion to Lord Vishnu and also requested God to bless all the suffering human beings of the world and requested the Lord to stay there itself to do it. The Lord then became an idol of Lord Vishnu which was consecrated in the west temple of Thiruvilwamala. So people believe that the idol in the western temple is Swayambhu( Not man made). Sage Amalaka liked to chant the holy name of Rama in front of this lord. So slowly the other devotees branded the idol there as that of Lord Rama. Normally it is believed that we have to worship fist Lord Lakshmana and then Lord Rama . There are others who believe to the contrary. Several times both temples have been ravaged by fire but it is a miracle that the idols have never been damaged. The last such reinstallation of the temple took place in the year 1882 by the then king of Cochin. There is another custom in the temple of saluting Pazhani Andavan, Vadakkunathan, Guruvayurappan and Thirunavaya Mukundan in the different places of the temple . Some people believe that the Guruvayur temple can be seen from a particular point of the temple. There is also a story that after the Mahabaratha war the Pandavas came to the Bharatha puzha near here and did oblation to the souls of all those who died in the war. It seems that they built a temple for Lord Krishna called “Ivormadam Sri Krishna swami temple.”.
“It is also said that the pathway inside the cave seen near the peepul tree close to the eastern gateway of the temple had been connected to ‘Tirunelli’ through an underground passage. The story goes that when a priest returning through this passage after worshipping the deity at Tirunelli, the young lady walking in front showing light to the priest got impure and consequently the underground passage behind was sealed forever. Even now a part of this underground passage where extreme darkness prevails is explorable.”
On the northern side of the temple there is a beautiful Kulam (Pond) , known as Bhagavathi Chera and on the north-west side another pond called Raman Chera.
There are many festivals in this temple . The most important one is the Ekadasi on the Vruschiga month(November-December) . It coincides with the Guruvayur Ekadasi.
The Priests who perform the worship in the temple take bath in Bhagavathi Chera
before entering the temple. On that day the men devotees enter a cave called Punarjanee( which is km from the temple) on one side and come out on the other side. The priest of Thiruvilwamala temple , comes there after the main poja and then rolls a gooseberry(Nellikka) in side the cave from one side. It easily emerges from the other side. The cave is about 15 meters long and is of different heights. It starts from the southern side of the mountain. To cross it is difficult because it involves standing , sitting , lying down and crawling. It is believed that if we cross the Punarjanee on that day, we will not have any more births. Nowadays there are men available who, if paid money would cross the cave on our behalf.
Before entry in to the Punarjanee cave , we have to touch the Ganapathi Theertham which is on the northern side of the mountain. Then we have to climb a narrow and steep rock for some distance and reach the Papanasini thertham. People believe that Sage Parasurama has consecrated river Ganges in this Theertha . After crossing this we have to enter the Punarjani cave(Punarjani noozhal) , come out and then again go to the Papanasini theertham and take bath there. Then we have to go to the Pathala Theertha, wash our hands and legs and then go to the Kombu Theertham (Made by dashing of the tusk of Indra’s elephant Iravatha) and visit the Ambutheertham.
The manes are worshipped in this temple during the new moon day in the Karkidaga(July-august) month and other festivals are Niramalai in the month of Kanni (Aug-Sept) and Ashtami vilakku which ends on Ekadasi day in the month of Kumbam (Feb-Mar). Sri Rama Navami also is celebrated in this temple. On the Ekadasi day many people observe fast and do not sleep at night and remain in the temple.
By
P.R.Ramachander
Thiruvilwamala(The sacred mountain of Vilwa) is a small village on the shores Of Bharatha Puzha. The main temple houses two temples. The one in the west is supposed to be a temple dedicated To Sri Rama and the one in the east is dedicated to Lord Lakshmana. But both idols are of the form of Lord Vishnu with four arms holding conch, wheel, mace and lotus flower. Near this temple there are two more rivers viz Cheerakuzhi puzha and Padur puzha. Though in the olden times there were no bridges in any of these rivers, the approach was only through Pazhyannur but now there are bridges in all the three rivers and Thiruvilwamala can be approached from several sides. It is believed that behind the idol of the temple there is deep hole in which there is a golden Vilwa tree. The name of the place comes from this legend. The temple also has idols of Ganapathi, Hanuman and Ayyapan which are consecrated there . There are many stories about this temple.
One of them says that Lord Parasurama after killing all the royal families of India wanted to give salvation to their souls. So he did great penance addressed to Lord Shiva. It seems Lord Shiva appeared before him and gave him an idol of Vishnu. Sage Parasurama liked Thiruvilwamala most because Vilwa trees were growing there. He consecrated the Vishnu idol given to him by Lord Shiva . Then Lord Parasurama summoned the souls of all those killed by him as well as his manes. Most of them got salvation and some of the very bad ones did not. Lord Parasurama chained all of them in a place near by called “Rakshasa Paara”(The stone of the Rakshasa.)
There is another story about the origin of this temple. There was a sage called Amalaka who was the son of Kasyapa Prajapathi. He started doing penance in this place. Indra , under the impression that this sage was doing penance to get his post, sent dancing girls Urvasi and Thilothama to disturb the penance of the sage. When their tricks failed Indra approached Amalaka’s father Kasyapa, who told him that Amalaka was doing penance to get salvation and nothing else. Then Indra stopped harassing the sage. Then the Rakshasa thinking that sage was an agent of Indra started harassing him , by causing rain and throwing stones at the sage. At this when the sage opened his eyes , fire came out of it and burnt all the Rakshasas. The ash of those Rakshasas joined together and became a big rock. This according to the local people is the Rakashasa para. Later it seems Lord Vishnu appeared before the sage and requested him to ask for the boons that he wanted. The sage requested for undying devotion to Lord Vishnu and also requested God to bless all the suffering human beings of the world and requested the Lord to stay there itself to do it. The Lord then became an idol of Lord Vishnu which was consecrated in the west temple of Thiruvilwamala. So people believe that the idol in the western temple is Swayambhu( Not man made). Sage Amalaka liked to chant the holy name of Rama in front of this lord. So slowly the other devotees branded the idol there as that of Lord Rama. Normally it is believed that we have to worship fist Lord Lakshmana and then Lord Rama . There are others who believe to the contrary. Several times both temples have been ravaged by fire but it is a miracle that the idols have never been damaged. The last such reinstallation of the temple took place in the year 1882 by the then king of Cochin. There is another custom in the temple of saluting Pazhani Andavan, Vadakkunathan, Guruvayurappan and Thirunavaya Mukundan in the different places of the temple . Some people believe that the Guruvayur temple can be seen from a particular point of the temple. There is also a story that after the Mahabaratha war the Pandavas came to the Bharatha puzha near here and did oblation to the souls of all those who died in the war. It seems that they built a temple for Lord Krishna called “Ivormadam Sri Krishna swami temple.”.
“It is also said that the pathway inside the cave seen near the peepul tree close to the eastern gateway of the temple had been connected to ‘Tirunelli’ through an underground passage. The story goes that when a priest returning through this passage after worshipping the deity at Tirunelli, the young lady walking in front showing light to the priest got impure and consequently the underground passage behind was sealed forever. Even now a part of this underground passage where extreme darkness prevails is explorable.”
On the northern side of the temple there is a beautiful Kulam (Pond) , known as Bhagavathi Chera and on the north-west side another pond called Raman Chera.
There are many festivals in this temple . The most important one is the Ekadasi on the Vruschiga month(November-December) . It coincides with the Guruvayur Ekadasi.
The Priests who perform the worship in the temple take bath in Bhagavathi Chera
before entering the temple. On that day the men devotees enter a cave called Punarjanee( which is km from the temple) on one side and come out on the other side. The priest of Thiruvilwamala temple , comes there after the main poja and then rolls a gooseberry(Nellikka) in side the cave from one side. It easily emerges from the other side. The cave is about 15 meters long and is of different heights. It starts from the southern side of the mountain. To cross it is difficult because it involves standing , sitting , lying down and crawling. It is believed that if we cross the Punarjanee on that day, we will not have any more births. Nowadays there are men available who, if paid money would cross the cave on our behalf.
Before entry in to the Punarjanee cave , we have to touch the Ganapathi Theertham which is on the northern side of the mountain. Then we have to climb a narrow and steep rock for some distance and reach the Papanasini thertham. People believe that Sage Parasurama has consecrated river Ganges in this Theertha . After crossing this we have to enter the Punarjani cave(Punarjani noozhal) , come out and then again go to the Papanasini theertham and take bath there. Then we have to go to the Pathala Theertha, wash our hands and legs and then go to the Kombu Theertham (Made by dashing of the tusk of Indra’s elephant Iravatha) and visit the Ambutheertham.
The manes are worshipped in this temple during the new moon day in the Karkidaga(July-august) month and other festivals are Niramalai in the month of Kanni (Aug-Sept) and Ashtami vilakku which ends on Ekadasi day in the month of Kumbam (Feb-Mar). Sri Rama Navami also is celebrated in this temple. On the Ekadasi day many people observe fast and do not sleep at night and remain in the temple.
Thirunavaya Nava Mukundan
Thirunavaya Nava Mukundan
By
P.R.Ramachander
This temple of Lakshmi Narayana which is situated on the banks of Bharatha Puzha(Also called Neela Nadhi) is one of the most ancient temples of Kerala replete with history and several stories about it, This temple is situated 8 km away from Tirur town on the way from Shoranur to Kozhikode. On the opposite shore of the temple of Vishnu, there are temples of Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma. There is also a celebrated school of Vedas to the Namboodiris adjacent to the Brahma temple , which it is believed was consecrated by Lord Parasurama. So the devotes consider this place as equivalent to Varanasi (Benares) , The river near the temple also is considered extremely important to do Pithru Karmas(Worship of manes) especially in the months of Thulam(October-november) and Karkidagam( July-august) It is not clear whether the idol of the temple is made of metal or stone even to those who touch and worship it.
The temple was supposed to have been established by the nine occult yogis viz. Sathuvanathar, Saaloga nathar, Aadhinathar, Arulithanathar, Madhanga Nathar, Macchendira Nathar, Kadayanthira Nathar, Korakkanathar and Kukkudanathar. It seems the idol of Mukunda was consecrated by one of these yogis and as per the custom, the temple was shut for seven days. But when they opened the temple after seven days , there was no trace of the idol. Then the second yogi did the consecration. The same story was repeated till the eighth yogi. So when the ninth yogi consecrated the yogis did not wait for the stipulated seven days but opened the temple after three days. They were surprised to see that the idol has already sunk up to the knee. They immediately used occult manthras and stopped the further sinking of the idols. So even today , you can see the idol sunk up to the knee. It is believed that in spite of it the idol is sinking and when it has completely sunk, Kali Yuga will come to an end the final deluge will take place then . In course of time the first eight yogis attained salvation but the ninth yogi , prayed God and wanted him to send those great yogis back to the temple , The god replied to him that the eight yogis were still there worshipping the God and showed them to him, The ninth yogi also wanted to join them. The God fulfilled his wish and it is believed that al the nine yogis are always there worshipping the god.
It seems there is a bottomless pit behind the present idol and once upon a time a priest wanted to measure its depth. He tied his ring to a very , very long thread and slowly introduced it in side the pit . But in spite of keeping on adding fresh threads, the ring seemed not to touch the bottom. Hurriedly he withdrew the thread and was surprised to find that the ring was missing.
The Great yogis and Thanthris do not stand on their foot in this temple but kneel down before the deity in the belief that underneath the entire floor several God’s idol (which were lost) lay buried.
Just behind the temple there is a lotus pond and it seems the great devotee of Vishnu Gajendra( king of elephants) and goddess Lakshmi used to pluck the lotus flowers from the tank and offer it to Lord Mukunda. At one particular time the lotus flowers were about to be over and the upset Gajendra petitioned the Lord. To solve his problem, Lord Vishnu drew Goddess Lakshmi inside his temple and gave her a separate sanctum inside the temple compound and requested her to make the place prosperous.
Another story is about the connection of sage Markandeya to this temple. It seems when Markandeya attained the age of 16, Yama , the God of death started chasing him. Markandeya ran in side the Nava Mukunda temple. It seems then the God gave him one handful of mud and instructed him to rush through the west door to the Shiva temple at Thirprangode , make a shiva linga out of the mud given to him and worship it. As soon as Markandeya crossed the west entrance, Lord Vishnu closed it by putting a big stone there.(Even to this day , that door is blocked). Markandeya did as instructed and was saved by Lord Shiva, who killed , Yama , the God of death.
Apart from the main temples of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi there is also a temple dedicated to Ganesa in this temple.
The rituals to the manes (Pithru Kriya ) is supposed to be very propitious, if done on the Amavasya of Karkidaga month(July-august) and if it is done at this temple because , it is believed that on that day Goddess Saraswathi, Gayathri , Lakshmi, Parvathi , Planet Shani, sage Markandeya and rivers Ganga and Jamuna are supposed to assemble at this temple .
Mahamaham (Maha magma) used to be celebrated in this temple during olden times. The Zamorin (Samudiri) of Calicut used to come along with his army by the side of the temple. Warriors of the king used to take a vow of fight un to death and march against the zamorin. They were called Chaveru pada(Suicide squad) and were killed by the warriors of Samudiri and thrown in the big well there . Though this well still exists , this aspect of the Mahamaham festival has been discontinued..
. The annual festival of this temple falls on the month of ‘Meenam’ (March-April), lasts 10 days. The festival starts with the ‘Kodiyettam’ ceremony (Flag of) and ends with ‘Arattu’ (bathing of the idol).
. The worshiping time here are from 5.00 am to 11.00 am and from 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm.
Another very interesting aspect of the temple is the puzzles in this temple. Some of them are
1. It is not possible to say whether the river flows from north to south or from South to North.
2. The outside Pazhukka Mandapam of the temple is so made that it is not possible to tell whether it is inside or the outside the temple.
3. The leafs of the banyan tree in the temple look the same on both sides and after picking it is not possible to tell which is the top or bottom of the leaf.
4. It is not possible to tell whether the Krishna idol of the temple is made of stone or metal.
By
P.R.Ramachander
This temple of Lakshmi Narayana which is situated on the banks of Bharatha Puzha(Also called Neela Nadhi) is one of the most ancient temples of Kerala replete with history and several stories about it, This temple is situated 8 km away from Tirur town on the way from Shoranur to Kozhikode. On the opposite shore of the temple of Vishnu, there are temples of Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma. There is also a celebrated school of Vedas to the Namboodiris adjacent to the Brahma temple , which it is believed was consecrated by Lord Parasurama. So the devotes consider this place as equivalent to Varanasi (Benares) , The river near the temple also is considered extremely important to do Pithru Karmas(Worship of manes) especially in the months of Thulam(October-november) and Karkidagam( July-august) It is not clear whether the idol of the temple is made of metal or stone even to those who touch and worship it.
The temple was supposed to have been established by the nine occult yogis viz. Sathuvanathar, Saaloga nathar, Aadhinathar, Arulithanathar, Madhanga Nathar, Macchendira Nathar, Kadayanthira Nathar, Korakkanathar and Kukkudanathar. It seems the idol of Mukunda was consecrated by one of these yogis and as per the custom, the temple was shut for seven days. But when they opened the temple after seven days , there was no trace of the idol. Then the second yogi did the consecration. The same story was repeated till the eighth yogi. So when the ninth yogi consecrated the yogis did not wait for the stipulated seven days but opened the temple after three days. They were surprised to see that the idol has already sunk up to the knee. They immediately used occult manthras and stopped the further sinking of the idols. So even today , you can see the idol sunk up to the knee. It is believed that in spite of it the idol is sinking and when it has completely sunk, Kali Yuga will come to an end the final deluge will take place then . In course of time the first eight yogis attained salvation but the ninth yogi , prayed God and wanted him to send those great yogis back to the temple , The god replied to him that the eight yogis were still there worshipping the God and showed them to him, The ninth yogi also wanted to join them. The God fulfilled his wish and it is believed that al the nine yogis are always there worshipping the god.
It seems there is a bottomless pit behind the present idol and once upon a time a priest wanted to measure its depth. He tied his ring to a very , very long thread and slowly introduced it in side the pit . But in spite of keeping on adding fresh threads, the ring seemed not to touch the bottom. Hurriedly he withdrew the thread and was surprised to find that the ring was missing.
The Great yogis and Thanthris do not stand on their foot in this temple but kneel down before the deity in the belief that underneath the entire floor several God’s idol (which were lost) lay buried.
Just behind the temple there is a lotus pond and it seems the great devotee of Vishnu Gajendra( king of elephants) and goddess Lakshmi used to pluck the lotus flowers from the tank and offer it to Lord Mukunda. At one particular time the lotus flowers were about to be over and the upset Gajendra petitioned the Lord. To solve his problem, Lord Vishnu drew Goddess Lakshmi inside his temple and gave her a separate sanctum inside the temple compound and requested her to make the place prosperous.
Another story is about the connection of sage Markandeya to this temple. It seems when Markandeya attained the age of 16, Yama , the God of death started chasing him. Markandeya ran in side the Nava Mukunda temple. It seems then the God gave him one handful of mud and instructed him to rush through the west door to the Shiva temple at Thirprangode , make a shiva linga out of the mud given to him and worship it. As soon as Markandeya crossed the west entrance, Lord Vishnu closed it by putting a big stone there.(Even to this day , that door is blocked). Markandeya did as instructed and was saved by Lord Shiva, who killed , Yama , the God of death.
Apart from the main temples of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi there is also a temple dedicated to Ganesa in this temple.
The rituals to the manes (Pithru Kriya ) is supposed to be very propitious, if done on the Amavasya of Karkidaga month(July-august) and if it is done at this temple because , it is believed that on that day Goddess Saraswathi, Gayathri , Lakshmi, Parvathi , Planet Shani, sage Markandeya and rivers Ganga and Jamuna are supposed to assemble at this temple .
Mahamaham (Maha magma) used to be celebrated in this temple during olden times. The Zamorin (Samudiri) of Calicut used to come along with his army by the side of the temple. Warriors of the king used to take a vow of fight un to death and march against the zamorin. They were called Chaveru pada(Suicide squad) and were killed by the warriors of Samudiri and thrown in the big well there . Though this well still exists , this aspect of the Mahamaham festival has been discontinued..
. The annual festival of this temple falls on the month of ‘Meenam’ (March-April), lasts 10 days. The festival starts with the ‘Kodiyettam’ ceremony (Flag of) and ends with ‘Arattu’ (bathing of the idol).
. The worshiping time here are from 5.00 am to 11.00 am and from 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm.
Another very interesting aspect of the temple is the puzzles in this temple. Some of them are
1. It is not possible to say whether the river flows from north to south or from South to North.
2. The outside Pazhukka Mandapam of the temple is so made that it is not possible to tell whether it is inside or the outside the temple.
3. The leafs of the banyan tree in the temple look the same on both sides and after picking it is not possible to tell which is the top or bottom of the leaf.
4. It is not possible to tell whether the Krishna idol of the temple is made of stone or metal.
Rajadhi Raja Temple Of Thaliparambu
Rajadhi Raja Temple Of Thaliparambu
By
P.R.Ramachander
(I have used the material given in Wikepedia in writing about the temple with modifications in several places)
By
P.R.Ramachander
(I have used the material given in Wikepedia in writing about the temple with modifications in several places)
The Rajarajeswara temple is a Shiva temple located at
Thaliparmba of Kannur districh of Kerala. This temple is also called
Thiruchellur and god as Chellur nadhan.The deity is also called Rajadhi Rajan.
The temple is regarded as one of the existing 108 ancient Shiva Temples of Kerala. It also has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in South India. It is as famous as the Siva temples at Vaikom, Ettumanur and Vadakkunnathan temple at Trichur.. It had the tallest shikhara amongst the temples of its time. The Rajadhi Raja temple has a top a stone of about 90 tonnes. If any problem is encountered in any other temples of Kerala , the devotees seek a solution in this Temple through a prasna, a traditional method of astrological decision making .The prasna is conducted on a peedha (a raised platform) situated outside the temple.
It is believed that when Goddess Sati devi self immolated herself in the sacrificial fire of her father Daksha Prajapathi. The furious Shiva took her body and started dancing as if it was deluge. Understanding that things will go out of hand , Lord Vishnu cut her body in to pieces and it is believed that her head fell in Thaliparambu , and this temple was supposed to commemorate that event.
The temple is regarded as one of the existing 108 ancient Shiva Temples of Kerala. It also has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in South India. It is as famous as the Siva temples at Vaikom, Ettumanur and Vadakkunnathan temple at Trichur.. It had the tallest shikhara amongst the temples of its time. The Rajadhi Raja temple has a top a stone of about 90 tonnes. If any problem is encountered in any other temples of Kerala , the devotees seek a solution in this Temple through a prasna, a traditional method of astrological decision making .The prasna is conducted on a peedha (a raised platform) situated outside the temple.
It is believed that when Goddess Sati devi self immolated herself in the sacrificial fire of her father Daksha Prajapathi. The furious Shiva took her body and started dancing as if it was deluge. Understanding that things will go out of hand , Lord Vishnu cut her body in to pieces and it is believed that her head fell in Thaliparambu , and this temple was supposed to commemorate that event.
Origin of the three
Shiva lingas
The story of the temple
A major legend about this temple begins with the visit of
the Puranic sage Parashurama, one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Seeing
there an ancient shrine of vibrant spiritual power in a dilapidated condition,
the sage was grief-stricken and wanted to know its history. Thereupon, sage
Narada appeared there and related to him the story of the temple.
According to it, sage Sanaka and others, the sons of the
creator Lord Brahma, churned the disk of the Sun to lessen its fierce heat.
They mixed the dust, which was formed while churning, with the divine nectar of
immortality, Amrita, and out of it gave shape to three spiritually to Lord
Brahma presented them to Goddess Parvathi, the consort of Lord Shiva. And these
were the ones that were given by Lord Shiva to the three kings.
And so the temple was built by Sage Parashurama long before the Kali yuga commenced., the architect being Viswa Karma, the architect of the devas. It is believed that sage Agasthya was the one who consecrated this temple. . It was renovated in the eleventh centaury and was renovated later by the the Kolathiri Dynasty Kings. The quadrangular sanctum has a two tiered pyramidal roof, in front of the sanctum is the namaskara mandapam but the temple has no kodi maram (flagstaff), unlike other temples in Kerala.
And so the temple was built by Sage Parashurama long before the Kali yuga commenced., the architect being Viswa Karma, the architect of the devas. It is believed that sage Agasthya was the one who consecrated this temple. . It was renovated in the eleventh centaury and was renovated later by the the Kolathiri Dynasty Kings. The quadrangular sanctum has a two tiered pyramidal roof, in front of the sanctum is the namaskara mandapam but the temple has no kodi maram (flagstaff), unlike other temples in Kerala.
Consecrations of the three Shiva linga by
king Mandatha King Muchukunda and
king Shatasoma
There are also other stories about the origin of the temple.
It seems king
Mandatha did great penance to please Lord Shiva and when Lord Shiva came in front
of him, he presented the lking with a great Shiva Linga and ordered him to
consecrate it in a place where there was no cremation ground. After great
search, king Mandatha located Thaliparambu and consecrated there and after his
death that Shiva LInga was covered by earth. Later King Muchukunda did penance
to please Lord Shiva and at the end Lord Shiva gave him a Shiva linga with the
same condition that was imposed on Mandatha. He also consecrated it in
Thaliparamba and after his salvation that Shiva Linga also vanished. Later
a king(sage) called Satha soma also pleased Lord Shiva by penance
, and Lord Shiva blessed him saying that the Shiva Linga with the same
instructions. As per the earlier practice when this idol was also sinking in
earth, Sathasoman lit a lap of Ghee and then the God stood firm. Due to this
the most important offering to God in this temple is a pot of Ghee. This pot
could be earthern or made of silver or gold. The ghee has to be left on the
steps of the sanctum sanctorum and is used to keep burning the ghee lamp before
the Lord..This was the idol which is being worshipped in Rajadhi Raja Temple of
Thaliparamba.
Another story is
that after this has taken place
naturally Shatasoma also came to the
same spot where Maandhatha had installed the first Shivalingam. He installed
his Shivalingam at the same spot. This Shivalingam was also eventually
dissolved into the earth again reinforcing the spot spiritually. While
installing, this Lingam also began sinking into the earth. King Shathasoman
there upon prayed for Sage Agasthya's help. The sage appeared and after
lighting a ghee lamp prostrated before the Shivalingam twelve times and when he
begun the thirteenth prostration, the Lingam got firmly fixed on the earth
therefore the number of prostration the Sage Agasthya performed for his purpose
came to be known as twelve and a half. Thus with the installation of the third
Shivalingam has sacred spot became spiritually vibrant threefold.
Lord Rama’s visit
to the temple
It is believed that when Sri Rama after killing Ravana was returning back to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka Vimana, his plane stopped just above the Thaliparamba temple , Relising the presence of a divine power Sri Rama got down and did Sashtanga Namaskaram to Lord Shiva in the Namaskara Mandapam of the temple. So no one including Brahmins are permitted to climb up this Namaskara Mandapam.,
It is believed that when Sri Rama after killing Ravana was returning back to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka Vimana, his plane stopped just above the Thaliparamba temple , Relising the presence of a divine power Sri Rama got down and did Sashtanga Namaskaram to Lord Shiva in the Namaskara Mandapam of the temple. So no one including Brahmins are permitted to climb up this Namaskara Mandapam.,
Visit of the great scholar Udhanda Sastrigal
Another interesesting story of the temple is that about the visit of Udhanda Sastrigal(a great scholar from Tamil Nadu) to this temple. This learned man from Tamil Nadu did not fold his hands in salute before any God because he was a strict follower of Advaitha. But when he visited the Raja raja temple, seeing the great power oozing out of the God, involuntarily , his hands folded in salute .
Here Lord Shiva worshipped in this sacred temple is known as Rajadhi Raja or Sree Rajarajeswara, which means the Emperor of Emperors or the Lord Supreme. The name signifies the supreme transcendental power in the background of mysterious drama of the boundless universe. That power is invoked here as Lord Rajarajeshwara. Devotees address the lord with such royal appellations as Perumthrikovilappan, Perum-chelloorappan and Thampuraan Perumthrikkovilappan.
Another great practice of this temple is recognizing great writers and scholars and presenting them with a gold armlet
Traditional way of
visiting the temple
According to the traditional system of visiting this temple the devotee first worship Lord Krishna at the shrine of Vasudevapuram located at the southern bank of the vast temple tank known as Aashraamath-chira, where there is a beautiful idol of Krishna playing the flute. The sweet melody from Krishna's flute symbolizes the supreme spiritual harmony that prevails in the background of the universe of diversities, which one can experience by spiritually elevating oneself. Worship of lord Krishna before entering the great temple of lord Shiva symbolizes the essential unity of lord Vishnu and lord Shiva as two aspects of the supreme reality. There are other special features also in this temple that highlight this unity. It is believed that there was an Aashram of sage Agasthya on the bank of this temple tank. The tank was reconstructed in the present stage, it is said about 460 years ago by a devotee, Chittoor Namboodiripad.
Then, proceeding towards Sree Rajarajeswara temple one worship at the shrine of Sree Bhoothanatha (Kumbhodhara), who is the chief lieutenant of lord Shiva. Kumbhodhara is also known as Aravathappan. The two deities mentioned above, Sri Krishna and Sri Bhoothanatha, are considered as the accompanying deities of lord Rajarajeswara.
Sree Rajarajeswara temple is located in the centre of very spacious compound of about six acres surrounded by a compound wall with two Gopurams, located on the eastern and western sides. The ancient compound wall itself is a wondrous architectural marvel built of huge cut stones just placed one above the other without any cementing mortar, board at the base and tapering towards the top.
The main gate is on the east before one enters the temple one turns eastwards and offers prayers to lord Vaidyanatha (kanhirangaatt-appan), an aspect of lord Shiva worshipped as the lord of physicians, enshrined in temple about 6 km from Rajarajeswara temple.
On entering the eastern gate the devotee makes a circumambulation of the whole central shrine before stepping inside the shrine. Towards the northern side there is a small shrine of a guardian deity called Yakshi. Usually a Yakshi is considered to be a female spirit with malevolent propensities, but the Yakshi installed here represents a prosperity-giving and benevolent spiritual power. The figure is a life size wooden sculpture of unique charm. The Yakshi is represented as one who is intently into a mirror.
After worshipping this guardian deity the devotee, proceeds towards the front of the central shrine and worships the Rishabha, the bull – mount of lord Shiva out side the central shrine facing the lord. Near Rishabha is the Balikkallu of huge proportions, made of granite with many figurines and intricate carvings. Because of its great antiquity it calls for replacing it with a new one, maintaining its exact proportions and carving.
While circumambulating the Naalambalam (the outer structure around Sree Kovil, the sanctum sanctorum), one walk towards the left side and from the Nirarithikonam (south-west corner) worships Goddess Annapoorneshwari of the famous shrine in Cherukunnu, a few kilometer away, and standing on the west one worships Goddess Bhadrakaali enshrined in another renowned shrine of divine mother in Maadaayikkavu. Originally, it is said, that goddess Bhadrakaali was worshipped in the western Gopuram of Sri Rajarajeswara temple and later the idol was taken and installed in the shrine at Maadaayikkavu.
After making the circumambulation outside the Nalambalam the devotee enters the inner space around the sanctum sanctorum to worship lord Rajarajeswara's Jyothirlingam. As usual in the temples of lord Shiva, the circumambulation is performed only up to the theertha-channel and it is completed with a reverse circumambulation up to the channel.
As the custom, only men enter the Naalambalam during the day time, while women standing outside. Women can enter the Naalambalm all days after the Athazha pooja is over in the evening. It is assumed that after Athazha pooja the lord is in an aspect of a very pleased and gracious disposition accompanied by his consort goddess Parvathi and this is considered to be the most auspicious time for women to enter the Naalambalam as they get the occasion to worship the divine couple.
Inside the Naalambalam
The sanctum sanctorum with its majestic proportions is a fine example of the temple architectural style of Kerala. The two-tiered sanctum sanctorum is rectangular in shape with copper sheets laid on the roof. The roof tapers to culminate in a beautiful gold Kalasham.
The sanctum sanctorum has four doors, one on each side. The doors on the east and south only are opened. The eastern doors opens to the presence of lord Rajarajeshwara, represented by the majestic Jyothirlingam. An array of ghee lamps dangle on both sides of the Jyothirlingam. The Bhadradeepam, a ghee lamp lighted by sage Agasthya, the most auspicious lamp with a conspicuous flame is seen on the left side of the Jyothirlingam. On the floor there are rows of silver nilavilakku the ghee lamps, on both sides of the Jyothirlingam.
Most of the time the Jyothirlingam is decorated with the insignia of lord Shiva – the thrinethrams –the three eyes, the crescent moon and the Nagaphanam. In the background is a golden Prabha and above is a Vyaalimukham, the face of a mythical being. A Balibimbam or Uthsavamoorthi, which represents the Jyothirlingam, and taken out for worship during special ceremonies, is placed in front. Both these are jointly decorated with an embossed golden sheet, ornaments and with a Navarathna pendant of precious stones.
Only on two occasions every day one can have the direct sight of the Jyothirlingam. In the early morning, at 5.30, during Nirmalyam, when the decorations of the previous day are removed for the first abhishekam, the devotee can have the direct darshanam of the Jyothirlingam which is covered on the top with a golden cup called Golaka. The base of the Jyothirlingam is also covered with a gold sheet. This Nirmalya darshanam is known as Kani, which is very auspicious. One can also directly see the Jyothirlingam again at 9.30 AM when the decorations are removed again after the third pooja of the day for the Navakaabhishekam, also knows as kalashaabhishekam.
The door on the southern side of the sanctum sanctorum is also opened. At this seat is lord Shiva is worshipped as Sri Dakshinamoorthi, the first preceptor. There is no idol here, but only a mural painting of Sri Dakshinamoorthi.
On the west of the sanctum sanctorum is the seat of divine mother Pravathi, the consort of lord Shiva. The door here is permanently closed. There is a symbolic legend regarding the permanent closure of this door. This legend is related to the active presence of both Shiva and Vishnu aspects of reality in this shrine.
Other legends
about the temple
Like many a temple legend this aspect is also symbolized by a very personalized legend relating to lord Shiva and lord Vishnu through an interesting story. According to it, once Goddess Mahalakshmi, consort of lord Vishnu, came to the shrine to pay obeisance to lord Rajarajeshwara. On seeing the arrival of Mahalakshmi, the lord decided that there should be her prosperity-bestowing presence also in the shrine. Therefore, the lord immediately assumed the form of Mahavishnu and goddess Mahalakshmi entered the sanctum sanctorum presuming that it was her lord and seated beside him. And only when lord Shiva assumed his original form did Mahalakshmi realize the mistake. After paying her respects to the lord, she was about to make a hurried exit through the back door when lord Shiva ordered his attendants, the Bhoothaganas, to permanentely close the door on western side at the seat of goddess Parvathi so that the aspect of material prosperity which goddess Mahalakshmi represented should also be vibrant in the shrine for the benefit of the worshippers.
Later, when lord Vishnu arrived at the temple in search of his consort, lord Shiva's attendants prayed to him to allow the presence of goddess Lakshmi also in the temple for the benefit of the devotees, which lord Vishnu gladly conceded to before taking his consort along with him.
The legend thus signifies in a way interesting to the common people the special message that the spiritual presence in the shrine benefits the devotees for their material and spiritual well being. Signifying this combination of the Shaiva and Vaishnava aspects in the shrine, twice a year, during Shivaratri and Vishnu, the Uthsavamoorthi of the nearby renowned Srikrishna temple of Trichambaram is ceremoniously brought to Sri Rajarajeshwara temple.
The place Taliparamba is also known as Lakshmipuram and it is believed that the name is related to this legend. In some hymns to lord Rajarajeshwara the lord is also addressed as the Aishwarya prabhu, the lord of prosperity and Lakshmi Puraadheeshwaran the lord of Lakshmipuram.
The Uniqueness
According to Hindu philosophy, Lord Vishnu symbolizes the aspect of maintenance of the universe and lord Shiva its dissolution. Both these aspects are represented in the Jyothirlingam in this shrine and therefore the lord is called Rajarajeshwara, the lord supreme.
Because of the combination of these aspects there are deviations in the mode of worship of lord Shiva here. Here the lord is worshipped in the most transcendental aspect of Shiva known as Sadaashiva. Unlike in other Shiva temple where the Bilwa leaf is an important item for worship, it is not used here for the poojas, instead the Tulsi leaf is used. The Rudrabhishekam, which is common in most of the Shiva temples is not performed here. Insead of Monday, Wednesday is the important day of worship here. Unlike in other Shiva temples pradosham is not observed with special significance here. There is no dhaara, the constant pouring of holy water, for the lingam here in other Shiva temple. Some of the other distinctive features of this shrine are there is no Dwajasthambha here and there is no annual festival or ritualistic annual bath. The deity is never taken outside of the precincts of the temple.
Worship at the temple
On the northern side of the sanctum sanctorum is the sea of sage Parashurama. The door here also remains always closed. Daily five poojas are performed in this temple as in all Mahaakshetras. Early morning at 5.30 the floral decorations of the previous day are removed and Abhishekam takes place with the sacred water ceremoniously brought from a well-guarded sacred temple tank considered to be the Ganga theertham, specially maintained for this purpose. After the Abhishekam around 6 am the deity is adorned with flower garlands. This is locally known as the poochaarthal. The first pooja called natravat is around 7.30 am. The next pooja called pantheeradi pooja is around 9 am. After this, the decorations are removed and the Kalashaabhishekam with sanctified water is performed before the next pooja called Navaka pooja. The Navaka pooja is performed at the Mandapam, in front of the Srikovil. In most of the major temples this second Abhishekam and Navaka pooja are performed only on special auspicious days. In this temple these rituals are conducted every day. The next pooja, the Uchha pooja is performed at 10am and the Mahaa Naivedyam is offered.
Devotees offer Nai-amrithu and Nai-vilakku and pattrom all these poojas. Ponnumkudam and Vellikkudam, filled with ghee are offered from Natravat pooja onwards. Special prostrations known as Yaamanamaskaaram and Ashwamedha namaskaaram with appropriate manthras from Rigveda are very important offering for the lord. However, prostrations to the lord are not made at the namaskara mandapam. According to a legend, Sri Rama on his return from Lanka to Ayodhya prayed at this temple and offered prostrations to the lord at this namaskara mandapam and to commemorate this great event thereafter no one made prostrations in the mandapam. Devotee receive Thulasi and Vibudhi as the prasaadam. Thaali, the wedding pendant, is an important offering for goddess Pravathi. Turmeric powder is the prasaadam of the goddess.
With Uchha pooja, the morning poojas are over and the temple will be closed at 12 AM The temple opens again at 5 PM. The Deepaaraadhana is performed at 6.30 PM the last pooja, the Athazha pooja takes place at 8 PM.
There are four Thanthris belonging to four Illams such as Poonthottathil Pudayoor Mana, Eruvesi Pudayoor Mana Edavalath Pudayoor Mana and Naduvath Pudayoor Mana. The present Thatris are Brahmasri P.P.Vasudevan Namboodiri, Brahmasri P.P.Pandurangan Namboodiri, Brahmasri E.P.Harijayandan Namboodiri, Brahmasri E.P.Kuberan Namboodiripad and Brahmasri N.P.Narayanan Namboodiri
Shivarathri is the important and auspicious day celebrated with festivities. Several special poojas are performed on this occasion and the Balibimbam is carried on a caparisoned elephant and taken around the temple premises with the accompaniment of instrumental music and the recital of hymns. The Uthsava Bimbam of lord Krishna of the Trichambaram Sri Krishna temple will also be brought here and the Sankaranaarayana pooja, the worship of a combined from of lord Shiva and lord Vishnu will be performed.
Vishnu, the auspicious day, which is considered to be the beginning of the original Malayalam year, will be, celebrated from the previous evening, and at the night the presence of lord Krisnha of Thrichabaram temple will also be there for a few hours. Seeing the Vishnukani is very auspicious, which will have a protective influence for the whole year.
Puthari, a festival of the harvesting season, Karkadaka Sankramam (July) and Nira are other important days are specially celebrated in the temple.
The Rajas of Chirakkal in Kannur and the Zamorins of Kozhikode have been pious devotee of Sri Rajarajeshwara and some touching incidents are told relating to the intensity of their devotion. The Maharajas of Travancore used to make an offering of an elephant to the temple before ascending the throne.
A revealing incident is told about the celebrated logician of the 15 century, Uddhanda, Shastrikal, who considering himself as the worshipper of the attributeless reality, Nirguna Brahmam only, never used to fold his hands in salutations to any deity, a personalized representation of reality. When he happened to come to this temple and stood before the sanctum sanctorum, unknowingly as if by magic his arms folded and the palms closed together in obeisance to the lord, which in his own words "like a lotus flower closes itself on seeing the moon."
The temple has a tradition of bestowing honours by giving a golden wrist-band and title by the chief priest to outstanding people in their respective fields of work. Many persons in various fields have been awarded such honours.
Today, to this great shrine of lord Rajarajeshwara arrive many people the world over to worship the lord and to seek his blessings in their endeavours and professions and for the spiritual fulfillment of life.
The place is considered as most sacred for performing koodiyattam and Chakyar Koothu Whenever a new Koodiyattam is being directed, it is first performed at this temple. Only the "Mani (Māni)" family of Chakyars solely possess the right of performing Koodiyattam here. Legendary Koodiyattam & Chakyar koothu maestro, One of the greatest appreciation or award that an artist/scholar can get is the "Veerashringhala" (Vīrasringhala)- Golden Bracelet, from the temple, given by the unanimous approval of the scholar body of the temple. Guru Mani Madava Chakyar is the youngest and last person to get the Vīrasringhala from here. Ghee in small pots are offered to the presiding deity Shiva and are placed on steps leading to the sanctum. These are called Neyyamrithu in Malayalam anguage. Men are allowed to enter the shrine at any time, but woman are allowed only after 8 PM.
Though it is not practised as widely as it was in the earlier days, it is still a religious custom among many local Hindu women to visit three prominent temples in Taliparamba when they are pregnant. Apart from Rajarajeshwara temple, the other two temples are Sri Krishna at Trichambaramand another temple of Vaidyanastha in KanjirakkaD WHICH IS about 6 km from Taliparamba. It is believed that Shiva at Rajarajeshwara temple assures the child a high status, Sri Krishna of Trichambaram bestows it with good nature and mental qualities and the deity at Kanjirangad temple gives the child long life.
The Temple also had an ancient and large seven storey Gopuram (tower) that was destroyed by Tipu Sultan in the late Eighteenth Century.[4] The relics of this Gopuram is seen today lying all around the Eastern Entrance in the form of debris. Astrologers in nearby town of payyanur like Shri.Chithrabhanu k Poduval always finds this demolition in the horescopes/rashi charts of the people living in surrounding areas of this temple. It is believed that a snake bit the commander of the army who was about to destroy the temple, and following this, the temple was spared from destruction. However, several namboodiri families left Taliparamba and settled in Travancore.
Controversy
In July 2006, Malayalam actress Meera Jasmine was found to have visited the temple despite the fact that non-Hindus are banned from entry. She was made to pay Rs.10,000 to cover the costs of the resulting purification pujas.
On the northern side of the sanctum sanctorum is the sea of sage Parashurama. The door here also remains always closed. Daily five poojas are performed in this temple as in all Mahaakshetras. Early morning at 5.30 the floral decorations of the previous day are removed and Abhishekam takes place with the sacred water ceremoniously brought from a well-guarded sacred temple tank considered to be the Ganga theertham, specially maintained for this purpose. After the Abhishekam around 6 am the deity is adorned with flower garlands. This is locally known as the poochaarthal. The first pooja called natravat is around 7.30 am. The next pooja called pantheeradi pooja is around 9 am. After this, the decorations are removed and the Kalashaabhishekam with sanctified water is performed before the next pooja called Navaka pooja. The Navaka pooja is performed at the Mandapam, in front of the Srikovil. In most of the major temples this second Abhishekam and Navaka pooja are performed only on special auspicious days. In this temple these rituals are conducted every day. The next pooja, the Uchha pooja is performed at 10am and the Mahaa Naivedyam is offered.
Devotees offer Nai-amrithu and Nai-vilakku and pattrom all these poojas. Ponnumkudam and Vellikkudam, filled with ghee are offered from Natravat pooja onwards. Special prostrations known as Yaamanamaskaaram and Ashwamedha namaskaaram with appropriate manthras from Rigveda are very important offering for the lord. However, prostrations to the lord are not made at the namaskara mandapam. According to a legend, Sri Rama on his return from Lanka to Ayodhya prayed at this temple and offered prostrations to the lord at this namaskara mandapam and to commemorate this great event thereafter no one made prostrations in the mandapam. Devotee receive Thulasi and Vibudhi as the prasaadam. Thaali, the wedding pendant, is an important offering for goddess Pravathi. Turmeric powder is the prasaadam of the goddess.
With Uchha pooja, the morning poojas are over and the temple will be closed at 12 AM The temple opens again at 5 PM. The Deepaaraadhana is performed at 6.30 PM the last pooja, the Athazha pooja takes place at 8 PM.
There are four Thanthris belonging to four Illams such as Poonthottathil Pudayoor Mana, Eruvesi Pudayoor Mana Edavalath Pudayoor Mana and Naduvath Pudayoor Mana. The present Thatris are Brahmasri P.P.Vasudevan Namboodiri, Brahmasri P.P.Pandurangan Namboodiri, Brahmasri E.P.Harijayandan Namboodiri, Brahmasri E.P.Kuberan Namboodiripad and Brahmasri N.P.Narayanan Namboodiri
Shivarathri is the important and auspicious day celebrated with festivities. Several special poojas are performed on this occasion and the Balibimbam is carried on a caparisoned elephant and taken around the temple premises with the accompaniment of instrumental music and the recital of hymns. The Uthsava Bimbam of lord Krishna of the Trichambaram Sri Krishna temple will also be brought here and the Sankaranaarayana pooja, the worship of a combined from of lord Shiva and lord Vishnu will be performed.
Vishnu, the auspicious day, which is considered to be the beginning of the original Malayalam year, will be, celebrated from the previous evening, and at the night the presence of lord Krisnha of Thrichabaram temple will also be there for a few hours. Seeing the Vishnukani is very auspicious, which will have a protective influence for the whole year.
Puthari, a festival of the harvesting season, Karkadaka Sankramam (July) and Nira are other important days are specially celebrated in the temple.
The Rajas of Chirakkal in Kannur and the Zamorins of Kozhikode have been pious devotee of Sri Rajarajeshwara and some touching incidents are told relating to the intensity of their devotion. The Maharajas of Travancore used to make an offering of an elephant to the temple before ascending the throne.
A revealing incident is told about the celebrated logician of the 15 century, Uddhanda, Shastrikal, who considering himself as the worshipper of the attributeless reality, Nirguna Brahmam only, never used to fold his hands in salutations to any deity, a personalized representation of reality. When he happened to come to this temple and stood before the sanctum sanctorum, unknowingly as if by magic his arms folded and the palms closed together in obeisance to the lord, which in his own words "like a lotus flower closes itself on seeing the moon."
The temple has a tradition of bestowing honours by giving a golden wrist-band and title by the chief priest to outstanding people in their respective fields of work. Many persons in various fields have been awarded such honours.
Today, to this great shrine of lord Rajarajeshwara arrive many people the world over to worship the lord and to seek his blessings in their endeavours and professions and for the spiritual fulfillment of life.
The place is considered as most sacred for performing koodiyattam and Chakyar Koothu Whenever a new Koodiyattam is being directed, it is first performed at this temple. Only the "Mani (Māni)" family of Chakyars solely possess the right of performing Koodiyattam here. Legendary Koodiyattam & Chakyar koothu maestro, One of the greatest appreciation or award that an artist/scholar can get is the "Veerashringhala" (Vīrasringhala)- Golden Bracelet, from the temple, given by the unanimous approval of the scholar body of the temple. Guru Mani Madava Chakyar is the youngest and last person to get the Vīrasringhala from here. Ghee in small pots are offered to the presiding deity Shiva and are placed on steps leading to the sanctum. These are called Neyyamrithu in Malayalam anguage. Men are allowed to enter the shrine at any time, but woman are allowed only after 8 PM.
Though it is not practised as widely as it was in the earlier days, it is still a religious custom among many local Hindu women to visit three prominent temples in Taliparamba when they are pregnant. Apart from Rajarajeshwara temple, the other two temples are Sri Krishna at Trichambaramand another temple of Vaidyanastha in KanjirakkaD WHICH IS about 6 km from Taliparamba. It is believed that Shiva at Rajarajeshwara temple assures the child a high status, Sri Krishna of Trichambaram bestows it with good nature and mental qualities and the deity at Kanjirangad temple gives the child long life.
The Temple also had an ancient and large seven storey Gopuram (tower) that was destroyed by Tipu Sultan in the late Eighteenth Century.[4] The relics of this Gopuram is seen today lying all around the Eastern Entrance in the form of debris. Astrologers in nearby town of payyanur like Shri.Chithrabhanu k Poduval always finds this demolition in the horescopes/rashi charts of the people living in surrounding areas of this temple. It is believed that a snake bit the commander of the army who was about to destroy the temple, and following this, the temple was spared from destruction. However, several namboodiri families left Taliparamba and settled in Travancore.
Controversy
In July 2006, Malayalam actress Meera Jasmine was found to have visited the temple despite the fact that non-Hindus are banned from entry. She was made to pay Rs.10,000 to cover the costs of the resulting purification pujas.
Raghavapuram Hanuman temple
Raghavapuram Hanuman temple
By
P.R.Ramachander
This is possibly the most important temple of Hanuman in the Malabar area of Kerala. It is situated in the Cheruthazham village of Payyannur opposite the hills called Ezhimala. It can be approached from Kannur through Pazhavangadi. Though the main deity of the temple is Sri Rama , Hanuman is consecrated on the Vayu kon( North west corner) . It seems the form of Sri Rama is in the form after his killing Ravana. So since the temple is facing the east , the people who were having homes on the eastern side began to suffer. So after a prasnam(astrological query) to find out why it was happening, the eastern door was completely closed and a new door opened on the western side and apart from the Lord in the same pedestal , the idol of the Goddess and that of his younger brother Lord Lakshmana was also installed. From the western door we can see the Ezhimala which is supposed to be the mrutha Sanjeevini mountain that Lord Hanuman brought to wake up Lord Lakshmana killed in the war by Indrajit.
Though the main temple is of Rama, it is believed that Hanuman temple is more important and it is generally believed that Praying and worshipping Hanuman would only please Lord Rama, Due to this the temple is called “Hanumarambalam(Temple of Hanuman) . Just outside the temple of Lord Rama, there are separate temples for Lord Shiva and Lord Durga, It is believed that these temples were built by Kings of Mooshika dynasty long, long ago. In the eighth centaury the temple was renovated by a king called Sri Udayavarma Kolathiri. It is also believed that this king brought 237 families of Brahmin scholars, from a place north of Gokarnam and settled them around the temple. Most of them left that place during the conquest of Malabar by Tippu Sultan to a place near Thiruvalla ,
The temple festival is celebrated in the month of Makaram(January-February). During the festivals , the idols of Sri Rama, Sita , Hanuman. Lord Shiva and Duga are carried by Brahmins on their head and they perform a very special dance called “Thidambu Nrutham”.
Offering of Avil (Beaten rice) to Lord Hanuman between 4Pm and the evening Pooja is believed to make Lord Hanuman hear our prayers during that time and inform about them to Lord Rama. The temple is open between 5.30 Am and 10 Am and between 5.30 PM and 7 PM.
By
P.R.Ramachander
This is possibly the most important temple of Hanuman in the Malabar area of Kerala. It is situated in the Cheruthazham village of Payyannur opposite the hills called Ezhimala. It can be approached from Kannur through Pazhavangadi. Though the main deity of the temple is Sri Rama , Hanuman is consecrated on the Vayu kon( North west corner) . It seems the form of Sri Rama is in the form after his killing Ravana. So since the temple is facing the east , the people who were having homes on the eastern side began to suffer. So after a prasnam(astrological query) to find out why it was happening, the eastern door was completely closed and a new door opened on the western side and apart from the Lord in the same pedestal , the idol of the Goddess and that of his younger brother Lord Lakshmana was also installed. From the western door we can see the Ezhimala which is supposed to be the mrutha Sanjeevini mountain that Lord Hanuman brought to wake up Lord Lakshmana killed in the war by Indrajit.
Though the main temple is of Rama, it is believed that Hanuman temple is more important and it is generally believed that Praying and worshipping Hanuman would only please Lord Rama, Due to this the temple is called “Hanumarambalam(Temple of Hanuman) . Just outside the temple of Lord Rama, there are separate temples for Lord Shiva and Lord Durga, It is believed that these temples were built by Kings of Mooshika dynasty long, long ago. In the eighth centaury the temple was renovated by a king called Sri Udayavarma Kolathiri. It is also believed that this king brought 237 families of Brahmin scholars, from a place north of Gokarnam and settled them around the temple. Most of them left that place during the conquest of Malabar by Tippu Sultan to a place near Thiruvalla ,
The temple festival is celebrated in the month of Makaram(January-February). During the festivals , the idols of Sri Rama, Sita , Hanuman. Lord Shiva and Duga are carried by Brahmins on their head and they perform a very special dance called “Thidambu Nrutham”.
Offering of Avil (Beaten rice) to Lord Hanuman between 4Pm and the evening Pooja is believed to make Lord Hanuman hear our prayers during that time and inform about them to Lord Rama. The temple is open between 5.30 Am and 10 Am and between 5.30 PM and 7 PM.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)