Temples of Kerala-Part3

Temples in Kerala-3

We left Kozhikode next morning and headed straight to the Bagavathi temple at Kadampuzha. This is a famous pilgrimage centre in Malappuram  district. The deity is Goddess  Durga –a supremely radiant image. There are two main rituals in the temple. One is poomoodal-Covering the deity fully with freshly plucked flowers. Another ritual is called Muttarukkal-the breaking of coconuts before the Goddess by the priest on behalf of the devotees. It is said that the coconut breaks into two equal halves. The belief is that whatever obstacles are faced by the devotee are warded off  by this ritual.

According to legends, Adi Sankaracharya, when passing through the place could not proceed further at one point. He understood it to be the meeting point of Goddess Parasakthi in Her Parvathi incarnation and Lord Shiva and did the first Pooja to the Devi. At  present because of  renovation work, the temple closes by 10AM in the morning and 7PM in the evening.  Annadhanam is daily in the temple done.

From there we proceeded to the Hanumankavu temple at Alathiyur, near Tirur in Malappuram district. According to local myths, the idol of Lord Hanuman was consecrated by Vasishta, one of the Saptharishis 3000 years ago. Even though the main deity is of Lord Rama, the temple is famously known as Hanumankavu temple. The deity of Hanuman is in a standing posture with face turned to one side and both hands pressed together in a worshipping posture. It looks as if He is listening to something that Lord Rama is saying.

From there, we proceeded to Thirunavaya, one of the 108 Divyadesams of Lord Mahavishnu, on the banks of  Bharathapuzha river.13 Pasurams have been sung in praise of the Lord by Nammalvar and Thirumangaiazhvar. The temple is situated in Malappuram district, 7kms from Kuttipuram Railway Station. According to Puranas, Goddess Lakshmi and Gajendran worshipped Lord Mahavishnu with lotuses from a nearby lake. Because of this , the number of lotus flowers in the pond dwindled and at the request of Gajendran, the Lord took Lakshmi by his side and accepted the flowers from Gajendran.

Another legend is that 8 idols of Lord Vishnu were  installed by a group of Rishis here. The first 8 disappeared as soon as they were installed. The ninth one sank to its knees before it was stopped. Hence Lord Naavai Mukundan can be seen only from above the knees. The remaining part is said to be below the ground.  The temple closes by 11 in the morning .

From there, we proceeded to the famous Krishna temple of Guruvayoor in Thrissur district. We stayed there overnight and had several darshans to our heart’s content both in the evening and next morning. We also witnessed the traditional Seeveli in which the Utsavamoorthy is taken around the Praharam in caparisoned elephants with Shotachobacharam to the accompaniment of Nadaswaram and Kerala’s traditional Chendavadhyam. After the final round, the Lord is put to sleep by playing Raga Neelambari. It was a real treat to watch. The main deity is of Lord Guruvayoorappan with four lustrous arms carrying conch Panchajanya,Sudarsana chakra,Kaumodaki and lotus.The deity is  of Mahavishnu as revealed to Vasudeva and Devaki at the time of Krishna Avatar. The Pooja routines in the temple are as laid down by Adi Sankara and are followed with meticulous perfection.

Legend has it that on Lord Krishna’s Swargarohana (ascension to Vaikunta) the idol was given to Uddhava who in turn was to entrust it to Brihaspathi(Devaguru) for installation in a suitable place. Devaguru along with Vayu with the help of Parasurama found a suitable place which at that time was the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvathi. Lord Shiva agreed that this was the suitable place to install the idol and agreed to move to a place called Mammiyoor which is one kilometer away. The place is called Guruvayoor since Guru and Vayu installed the idol. Since Lord Shiva agreed to move away, to give place to Lord Krishna, the pilgrimage to Guruvayoor is considered incomplete without a visit to the Mammiyoor Mahadevar temple. We visited this temple also.

It is said that Vishwakarma, the divine architect built  Guruvayoor temple. It is designed in such a way that on Vishu day, the first rays of the Sun fall straight on to the Lord’s feet. On 30^th November 1970,a massive fire broke out in the temple and raged for nearly 5 hours, but miraculously, the main Vigraha, sanctum sanctorum and the sub shrines of Ganapathi, Ayyappa and Bagavathi remained  unaffected. Later, the temple was once again built to the glory of the Lord. The foundation for the renovation was laid by Jagatguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi  and  worship restarted on the Vishu day of 1973.