Mrudanga Saileswari temple at Muzhakunnu

Mrudanga  Saileswari temple at  Muzhakunnu  ,Thillangeri   Kerala- The goddess   who made  her thieves  helpless

(She is  the only Goddess originating   from Drum in India  )

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander

      Lord Parasurama   is supposed to have consecrated  108  BHagawathy temples  in Kerala  .Mrudanga Saileswari    also called  as Muzhakunnu BHagawai and and also as  POrkali Bhagawathi is one of them. The temple is  equidistant from   THalasery and  kannur towns of Kerala(both places have railway tations) , though appeoach from Kannur is easier 

     Mrudangam the   accompanying drum of the  carnatic music is supposed   to be the musical   instrument of devas. It seems once it fell down from  deva loka  in  this spot called  Mrudanga Saila  (The hill of Mrudanga) Legend has it that when the mridangam descended on earth from heaven, it was caught by Goddess Bhagavathi Saileshwari – the Aroopi, or the One without form, while she was in meditation, thus creating a pit in the sand, which remains to this day. The dropping of the mridangam onto the Goddess’s hand created echoes in the mountain. Hence, it came to be known as Mizha  kkunnu, which means a mountain  of drums . When one views the mountain from a distance, it appearslike a mridangam..Later  the local king made a  pancha  loha idol and consecrated  it there  .Devotees say  that the  Pancha loha idol   shines like gold

      Since Mrudanga  is called  Mizhavu  in Malayalam, the place   was called as  “Mizhavu kunnu”  (hill of Mizhavu)   initially which got corrupted   later  to become  Muzhakunnu..

      This Goddess  became the clan goddess  of Purali Rajas   who had their kingdom there  .It seems   before they went for a war   they worshipped in this temple  and at that time  , A person representing goddess   would  do a war dance  .War dance  translated  in to malayalam  becomes  “Por Kali”   and the goddess   was also called   as “Porkali  Bhagwathi”

    It is believed   the  Kerala  dance form of Kathakali originated here  and when KOdungallore  thampuran was  finalising it here , he was baffled as to how   the  female characters   should be dressed up.It seems the BHagwathi rose up from the temple tank and showed   him the present dress  of the female characters.

This a well maintained temple and people for all parts of kerala and elsewhere visit this temple for the blessings of DEVI. There is a well constructed pond with water all the time. Food( Prasad) is given to all the devotees who visit this temple , right through the day. There is a ground adjacent to the temple allocated for car parking conveniently. You can feel the devinely vibration while visiting this temple. Men are permitted inside the temple,without shirt only. Mundu( Dhoti) is not compulsory. You can go with the pant also.

     The mrudange Chakravarthy Karaikudi Mani Bhagwathar   has visited   this temple and has written about it.He has written “When I stepped into the temple I felt like Columbus — discovering a temple dedicated to mridangam! I offered my prayers by playing the mridangam in the sannidhi and felt truly blessed. More and more mridangam artists should make a trip to this temple and experience the divine vibrations.”

   Some thieves   tried to steal  the Pancha  loha  idol of the goddess  thrice but every time thety abandoned the goddess   and informed   the police the ; location where theu have left it says   Sri Alexander Jacob  retired DGP   who was working as ACP in Kannur ar  that time. Later  when one group of temple thieves   were caught they confessed that  they tried to steal  the idol of the goddess , they told that  immediately they lost all sense of direction and lost   their power to control their  calls of nature  and so they ran away from that place  baffled and scared

   The temple tree  is a strange  white   banyan tree    ,The darshan and Puja  timings are

DARSHAN TIMINGS

Morning hours: 05:00 Am to 01:00 Pm

Evening hours: 05:00 Pm to 08:00 Pm

PUJA TIMINGS

Usha Pooja @ 08:00 Am [Dawn Prayer]

Uchha Pooja @ 10:30 Am [Noon Prayer]

Atthazha Pooja @: 07:15 Pm [Evening Prayer]

Deeparadhana: Time aligned with Sunset

You can get in touch   with the temple

Muzhakkunnu Mridanga Saileswari Devi Temple
P.O. Muzhakkunnu, Peravoor (via)
Kannur (Dt), Kerala – 670673

OFFICE
 04902406408
Mob : 9400208034, 9400286777

STAY CONNECTED

 mridangasaileswari@gmail.com

Raja Thatha writes his story of the “kochu kutty” of Guruvayur

Raja  Thatha   writes his story  of the “kochu kutty” of Guruvayur

By

P.R.Ramachander

It was   a dull morning  in the island   of Dwaraka .

Sree Krishna    knew   that it is time for him to go,

And he knew  Vali whom he    had killed   as Rama ,

Was hiding   some where  to send an arrow  to kill him.

Among all   the treasures    that he   wanted to save,

Was a  black  idol  of a boy wearing  a loins cloth ,

Whom he    used    to play as well as  worship    as a little child ,

And he wanted  him safely  installed  to be worshipped.

He called   the  teacher   of devas    to come there ,

Entrusted   the little black   child  god to him,

And  told him, “Consecrate  him   in such a place ,

Where   all people , would love him  like their child.

He also told him, “Even if they consider  him as their little boy,

They should   consider   him as their father  who will protect them.”

Guru agreed but said “How do I travel    from this place ,

Which is an island  carrying   that  dark little darling?”

Krishna said, “ not to worry “ and summoned  his friend,

The wind God  and told him, ”Carry Guru  and his child,

To a place   where he wants to go , though   they are little heavy.”

And   wind god   took   Guru  and his child  and reached Gujarat.

Wind asked Guru  “Shall   we fix hum here , seem to be good people”

Guru said “These people even though   Good are   essentially  ,

People    who do business   and I do not want  my child to be here.”

They reached  the Mahratta   shore  , Guru felt  they were  warriors.

Wind God was tired   and said  , let us go inside   but Guru said “no”.

Let us go through   the beech only   because Krishna  loved  ,

His Dwaraka    with a great beech” and so they    flew further ,

And reached   the  land of  the devout people of Karnataka.

Guru told him . “seems to be okay    for me   , but there  is already,

A butter eating  Krishna here and I do not want  this baby   also here”

And so they entered   the God’s own land   recovered   from the sea ,

Seemingly populated  by people  , who loved their temples   greatly .

When they  flew for some  more time   they saw   an adult  ,

Grazing  cattle   near  a temple   and they  asked him   , who he is,

And what is this  temple and he replied  , “I am lord    Shiva  himself,

And this is Mummiyoor , which Guru explained  as land of  his Mummy

Lord Shiva promised   them that   he would  look after  the new baby,

If all pilgrims   who go to visit  the”Kochu” , should also see   him.

And the wind was  happy at the decision because  he can take rest,

And  Guru    consecrated   that  little one  , who is  the father  of all there.

The king   Janamejaya    heard    about   the arrival   of the child in Kerala  ,

And built  a temple for him    and that child   , became a  child,

In every home   all  over  Kerala  and when  they were  in trouble,

They  did not call    any other  God but call “Ende Guruvayurappa(Oh my  father living in Guruvayur”

  Adhi SAnkara   who was  born   to a couple  in Kalady   as a result  of prayer,

To Lord Shiva at  Trichur was passing  near the temple  without entering it,

Seeing a Bhootha Bali  being   conducted   there  , but he fell down on the way,

And realised it fault   and sang about   that baby  in his “Octet to the   cowherd.

As per the orders of God he systematized     the worship procedures there,

Did  mandala  Bhajanam for forty  one days  and established  the Mandala Vilakku,

For forty one days  and then came the Vilwamangalthu Samiyar  ,

Who had the good fortune  of  seeing the    God himself  playing in the temple.

Then there   was a childless  Widow called   “Mother  of Kurur”

Who was blessed  by the Lord of Guruvayur as   her servant boy,

Then came one of the greatest  devotees of  the child of Guruvayur,

Called Bhattathiri  , who wrote the story of the child   and got rid of his pain.

Along with Bhattathiri came   another   simple   Brahmin    who loved,

The child in side the  temple as his own   which was lost  on his first birthday,

And he wrote that “when the child of Guruvayur   is dancing  in our hearts,

Why   there   was a need     for  another child too love at home.”

There   was   no home  in Kerala   which did not love   their child in Guruvayur,

Even if his poor or rich  , Brahmin or Dalit   and  Hindu  or Non Hindu.

When any   of them  are in trouble  , even   before  calling their mother  ,

They would call “Ende  Guruvayurappa”   and the child   reached there  to help them.

These  great devotees  made  people    all over   the world realize,

That  the child  in side the temple  of Guruvayur   would take care off,

Problems  of each and every one  who came   there  with a packet of misery ,

And would return it to him as   a packet   of joy     as well as pleasure

Temples of Kerala- an over view

Temples of Kerala- an over view

By

 

Present day Kerala, "God’s own country", is the ribbon-like green stretch of land placed between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats - a chain of high hills which begins from south of Thiruvananthapuram (also colloquially referred as Trivandrum) to the small town of Kasargode on the border with Karnataka state. Legend says that Parasurama, an incarnation of Maha Vishn, gifted all the land he conquered from Kshatriya kings, as per instruction of Lord Rama. When he found that he did not have any place to live, he came to a place called Gokarna near the Western Ghats mountains and threw his marble axe into the sea. The land reclaimed by him from the sea is the present day Kerala, although Gokarna and a large stretch of land, said to have been reclaimed by Parasurama, are now in the state of Karnataka. The transliteration of the name 'Keralam' is “Garden of coconuts”, but some people believe that the name came from Cherala (the garden of Cheras-the first kings of Kerala).Keralas or Udra Keralas were also mentioned in the Mahabharata Epic as a kingdom which took part in the Kurukshetra War on the side of the Pandavas.

Legends say that when Parasurama started living there he could not find any Brahmins among them. Hence, he seems to have brought in Namboodiri Brahmins, who remain the original Kerala Brahmins, and also consecrated 108 Shiva temples, 108 Bhagawathi (Shaktam) temples and 18 Ayyappa temples. The list of such temples, founded by Parasurama, are available in a few folk songs.

The first known rulers of Kerala were the Cheras and the first known language was Tamil. The first inscriptions were written in archaic scripts called Kolezhuthu and Vattezhthu. One of the greatest among the Chera kings was Cheran Chenguttuvan. His brother Elango wrote a great Tamil book called 'Silappadikaram'. Kannagi was the heroine of the book and has many temples in Kerala dedicated to her. After the Cheras, Kerala split in to several smaller principalities constantly at war with each other.

The first temples of Kerala were called Kavu (places of security or protection). Most of them were temples under a tree in the forest, with no buildings or roof. Similar temples exist all over Tamil Nadu as well. In a majority of such places of worship, the gods consecrated were the guardian deities of the village, who were supplicated to guard the village from enemies, both natural and supernatural. In some cases, a hero who defended the village, or Mariamma (the goddess of Pox) and Lord Ganesa were revered as the deity of the village. In the case of Kerala, most of these 'Kavus' housed the temple of Goddess Parvathi or Kali. Slowly these Kavus became transformed into temples. Side-by-side, large numbers of temples mushroomed up for Lord Shiva, and Lord Vishnu and his Avatharas. Unlike Tamil Nadu however, temples dedicated to Lord Subrahmanya were very few. There are a large number of temples for Lord Ayyappa, who was a prince of a small princely state called Pandalam, and he was considered an incarnation of Dharma Sastha (the son of Lord Shiva and Vishnu), whose temples are still popular in the Thirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

Unlike temples in Tamil Nadu, most of the temples were neither of granite structures nor were they gigantic. In fact, brick and laterite stones were used in building these temples and they were comparatively small. The sanctum called the “Sree Kovil” was either square or round. The roofs were mostly clad with copper sheets or unbaked clay tiles. They were in the shape of a pyramid in the case of square temples and conical in the case of round temples. Some temples have 'Kalasam', which is an ornamental piece made of either brass, or in a few cases gold, embroidered near the edge of the roof. A very large majority of temples did not have entrance gopurams or Vimanams over the deity, like those in Tamil Nadu. Temple architectures similar to those in Kerala are also found in the coastal Karnataka districts. Many archaeologists are of the opinion that these structures closely resemble the Himalayan temples. The Sree Kovil was surrounded by a Prakaram (an enclosed space, sometimes with a small corridor). Just outside the Sree Kovil was the Namaskara Mandapam, which was used by the learned Brahmin males for reciting slokas and Vedas. In most cases, there was only one outlet from this enclosed space. On the south western corner, a kitchen was normally constructed, and some temples have sub-temples in this first Prakaram itself. Inside the prakaram there are several 'Bali peedams', which represent deities like the Nava Grahas. Outside this Prakaram, there normally is a Dwaja Sthambham (flag pole) and a big Bali peetam (stone for sacrifice). Big temples often have several small sub-temples outside the Prakaram. Some temples have a Koothambalam, where religious dramas are enacted.The outside walls of the 'Prakaram' are normally fitted with several oil lamps called Vilakku Madam. The structure with the prakaram and the Sree Kovil is called 'Nalambalam'. Very few temples have any sculptures. Some temples also have murals and small sculptures carved in wood.

The idols in these temples are normally made either of stone or wood, though in a very few cases they are made of Pancha-loha, an alloy of copper, gold, silver, brass, and iron, with copper as the major constituent (thus making Panchaloha generically a cast brass or bronze). Unlike Tamil Nadu's temples, there is no 'Uthsava-Vigrahams' which are taken out of the temples during festivals. Instead, a 'Thidambu', or an elaborate artistically created arch-shaped mount with gilded frontage, having the image of the deity, is taken out and mounted on caparisoned elephants. 'Ratha" or Chariots, or floats etc are rarely seen in Kerala. In most of the Kerala temples, only one God is consecrated inside the sanctum although multi-deity temples are also present in some places. For example, it is either a Krishna Temple, or Parvathi temple or a Shivatemple. Of course, the idol of Ganesa can be seen in most temples, since he is regarded as the common factor for any worship.

Abhishekams (anointment) are performed only to stone or metal idols. In the case of wooden idols, the preferred wood was that of the jack fruit tree. Abhishekam is not performed for such statues but the statue is coated with saffron mixed in oil (Chandattam). This ensures a very long life for the wooden statues. The preferred form of worship in Kerala temples is based on 'Thanthra'. The priests who do worship are either Namboodiris (Kerala Brahmins) or Embranthiris (Kannada Brahmins) belonging to coastal Karnataka. Some of them are also called Potthis. Since the worship form is centered round Thanthra, it is very much different from the Agama form of worship practiced in Tamil Nadu temples. As an example, were a thanthri to come out of the sanctum even for a moment, he has to take a dip at the temple tank -- that is fully immerse himself and remain in the wet dress right through his time inside the sanctum. Tamil Iyer priests are not recruited in Kerala temples, since they follow the agama type of worship. Rather, Tamil Iyers have built their own temples in Agraharams where they live, and follow their own way of worship. Uthralikkavu near Wadakkancheri is perhaps the only Kerala temple where a Tamil Iyer is a Thanthri.

Most of the temples were owned by kings or noble families. With the coming of democracy, most of them are under the management of autonomous organizations called Devaswams, which are part of the government. Most of these temples had huge lands as property, but with the enactment of Land Reforms Act by the communist government, most of them became very poor. Nevertheless, today only a very small percentage of temples are dilapidated or neglected. This is because every temple is visited by the local population in the mornings after a bath as a part of their culture and tradition, as also they consider the temple as their own. This community awareness is so great that wherever they are in India or abroad, they make it a point to attend the festivals of the temple and contribute to its upkeep. This fact is a little strange, since the major politicians of Kerala are atheists.

Unlike other states of India, while the worship in the sanctum is performed by Namboodiris or Embrandiris, the management of these temples is done by the rich landlords, assisted by a few Hindu castes called Ambalavasis. (People who live or are dependent on the temples). They are normally strict vegetarians and have different roles to play in the upkeep of a temple. For example, the 'Poduval' caste is in charge of management, the 'Warrier' caste is in charge of looking after the garden of the temple and providing flower garlands for worship in the temple, the 'kurukkals' are in charge of supplying milk to the temple, the 'Marars' are in charge of playing of musical instruments for the temple, the 'Poduval' and 'Nambeesan' are in charge of singing in front of the deity and the 'Chakyars' are in charge of propagating the ancient stories about the temple. Castes with such delineation of responsibilities in temple affairs are not found outside Kerala.

Apart from the 'Agama' practice in contrast to the 'thanthra' practice, several aspects of temple activities are very much different in Kerala. In most of the temples, the custom of Sribali (Seeveli) is carried out, which involves taking the Lord around the temple. In poor temples, this is done on the head of the priest, but in rich temples, this is done on the top of elephants. Chariots are almost never present in Kerala temples, except in those managed by Tamil Brahmins. However, the deity is taken out of the temple on the top of elephants to the nearest river. There the deity is given the ritual bath (called Arattu in Malayalam). Apart from this, most of the temples have festivals called Poorams and Vela. Both these festivals  are held in honour of the deity by the local people. The population is normally divided on the basis of the locality they live in and each locality takes a pooram or Vela to the temple. There is virtually a competition among each locality to excel the others. Most of them have seeveli on the top of elephants accompanied by an instrumental ensemble called Pancha Vadhyam with its own typical instruments. Musical instruments like Nadaswaram of Tamil Nadu are not popular in Kerala temples, though it is widely used in family functions. In many temples, as a grand finale, in festivals like Pooram or Vela, a display of a huge quantities of fireworks is done for entertainment. In fact, some temple festivals like the Thrissur Pooram have attracted large numbers of visitors, from both within and outside the country. The fireworks are an offering to please the God inside the temple. In most of the temples where the presiding deity is a Goddess, an oracle called 'Velichappadu' is present. These Velichapadus go into trances and perform activities which are paranormal. They are especially active during festivals and many devotees consult them as representative of the deity to mitigate their personal problems.

Another practice in Kerala temples is that males are allowed entry into the temple only if they do not wear a shirt or a vest - that is, they are uncovered above the waist. Most of them enter bare chested but some drape a towel. Women  devotees have to wear Kerala-centric dresses like Saree, Mundu or Pavadai (petticoat). They are not allowed inside the temple without these typical Kerala-type dresses. Most of the temples do not allow non-Hindus, and photography inside the temple is strictly prohibited.

As a reminder of the nature of worship practiced in this region in the past, there are temples dedicated to snake Gods, Para Brahmam, the individual Pandavas, and to Brahma, who normally is not worshiped. There is a temple near Kottayam, where the Goddess is considered to have menstrual periods. In Kodungallor, people believe that the Goddess would only be pleased by singing of very vulgar sexually explicit songs during the Kodungallore Bharani (a major festival).

Yet another interesting aspect of Kerala temple is the 'Ashta Mangalya Prasnam'. This is an astrological investigation to ascertain whether a particular decision by the temple management has divine approval or to seek specific remedy for calamitous happenings around the temple. For example, if the temple wants to find out whether a new idol can be consecrated or acquire one more elephant etc, an ashta mangalya prasnam is resorted to. A group of very capable astrologers carry out the Ashta Mangalya Prasnam, where there is a sustained debate as to what the position of each star means. The majority opinion is taken as the divine interpretation and the decision is finalized and carried out. Both the people as well as the Devaswoms strictly follow the recommendations of the astrologers.

Temples of Pallipuram Agraharam , Palakkad

Temples of  Pallipuram  Agraharam  , Palakkad

By

Rajeswari Ranganathan

(My heart felt thanks to Smt Rajeswari for  permitting this  great  write up to be put in my blog.God bless her)

Pallipuram Agraharam ( my native agraharam) in the heart of Palakkad town is a settlement of Vaishnavites.. The Lakshmi Narayana Swamy temple in the agraharam is one, believed to be constructed by the immigrants who came here presumably 700 years ago. Inside the prakaram of Lakshminarayana Swamy temple, Poorna-Pushakalamba sameta shri Hariharaputra ( Ayyappa) sannidhi was also built years ago.The natives of pallipuram are followers of Sri Ahobila Mutt and Vaikanasa panchangam.

The temple is unique in its construction because the rising sun's rays on the mEsha Sankramam Day, falls on the lotus feet of the Deity. The unique "jala Pradhishta" of the murthy might have been done realising the difficulty in providing a sea bed to lord Narayana. The Deity is in a sitting posture with Mahalakshmi seated on the left lap". Kodiyettam for ( flag hoisting in Dwajasthambam) begins on the first day of mEsha sankramam ie on Vishu. And Rathotsavam is celebrated on the 9th day.

"Legend says that centuries ago when the village houses had thatched roofs, there were frequent fires and the villagers were put to lot of hardships. They did not know what to do and decided to perform Sahasrannama japam for a mandalam period at Brahma Muhoortham after taking holy bath in the temple tank.

During the course of the parayana, one of the villagers suddenly got inspired and said " to remedy this fire havoc, go to kurichimalai (2 kms away from Pallipuram) and bring the idol of Lord Ayyapa which is visible on the foot steps of the hill and install the idol on the right side of Lakshminarayana Swamy inside the prakaram." The villagers immediately rushed to the spot and found the idol and installed it".

Here Ayyappa is worshiped as Hariharaputra along with Purna and Pushkala. Every year in the month of Dec/Jan, the agraharam celebrates ShAshtaprIti (Ayyappa Festival) At the time of main DeepAradhana, the entire Payasam ( 2 different types of Kheer/pudding) is offered as naivedyam.

Until 3 decades ago, majority of the settlers were in business, banking in particular.As a result, the agraharam is known for it's hospitality and the Rathotsavam in the month of April and Ayyappan festival feast of the Pallipuram agraharam is quite popular. Majority of the natives lost their land holdings after the Land Tribunal Act.Slowly they began moving out in search of better opportunities.

The annual Shastapriti festival ( Ayyappan festival) falls today. Lord Ayyappa is offered the two payasams ( pudding) as Naivedyam. Thereafter the payasams are served during Anna-dAnam.

PS: The picture was snapped during last year's festival.