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Bird's Eye-view of Shrines Superb
KOVALAM - THE BEACH PARADISE OF
KERALA
Just at a little distance of 14 km off Trivandrum, Kovalam
the world renowned beautiful beach spreads its vast expanse of
enchanting, soft, sunbaked shimmering sand dunes to enthral the
tourists and spiritualist alike at a mere glance. With boundless
blue of the Arabian sea raising in endless surf in front and
exquisite stalwart green tufted swaying palms behind, this
magnificent haven of Sun, surf and sea casts a spell on the spell on
the visitors. And lulls their senses with never-ceasing roars and
ever- surging hisses of the waves. As if to adorn this marvellous
Nature-made spectacular paradise, there lie many grand buildings,
the architectural mod specimens giving asylum to rest seeking bodies
and agitated souls, A well-equipped modern Health centre nestled in
the shady grove is a star attraction due to carrying on multifarious
activities like attending to the decadent or decaying physique,
enlightening on the dynamics of Yoga and rejuvenating the aching
bodies with Ayurvedic massages and oil-baths, in addition to lifting
the soul with the colourful performance of dance drama -Kathakali,
the unique luscious Kerala dish to the eyes and ears. Watching
spectacles of the sports of the Sea-god, the visitors feel enthused
to taking to swimming, surfing and cruising, And lo! facilities for
such ventures as catamaran riding, swimming and water sports await
their bidding too. All these luxuries are made available to the
visitors lodged in the grand air-conditioned cottages called Kudis,
Kovalam Hotel, Halcyon castle, built on the beautifully curved
beach-line affording a panoramic view of both ocean line before and
the intruding hill range behind, Provision for -accommodation in the
luxury suites with conference halls and mini-parties is an
additional attraction for business magnets and ministerial
dignitaries.Hence a miss-not places either for sightseeing or
mind-lifting.
BHAGAWATHI OF CHENGANNUR
UNIQUENESS
"Inscrutable are the ways of God...", Exclaims the seer in
ecstatic rapture; "Admit first thy insignificance against God's
infinite might for a shower of bliss" exhorts the godman with
conviction born out of total realisation; "Behold the miracles and
learn to retrieve the Paradise lost"; preaches the Acharya,
obstructing the impudent arrogance falling into the abyss etc. -al1
these well- wishers, of course, are from the cream of intelligentsia
renowned for their humanism and are striving ever with one aim, one
voice, and one goal -"Sarvesamastha Sanmagalanibhavanthu". But the
irony of it, some highly educated, West -oriented and best placed
are looking down upon theism; and denigrating the adorable, rather
pooh-poohing the ancient traditions. under the garb of some "ISM".
And what is more, trying to put the Divinity in the test tubes. What
a fun! In the end, poor creatures find the tables turned -the
highest wisdom concentrated, again .in the test tubes are endorsing
the existence of that mightiest, invincible, invisible, infinite,
immutable power. Openly and unconditionally at it ..ut some
half-baked, perverted publicity-mad psuedo-brains are continuing to
label the Deism as inconsistent, absurd, insane, incongruous,
non-sensical stupidity worthy to be consigned to dust-bin. Yet
theism is sprouting, flowering, progressing, and increasing. In
strength and sustaining power. Above all, it is demonstrating
through miracles of infinite variety, changing the static into
dynamic, or reverting it to original form or position.
These miracles have successfully ended in the conversion of
the remorseless, haughty, ego-centred, debased nature into ever
smiling, all-blissful divine humanism, spilling peace and grace at
every step, sweetness in every word, and light through the benign
broad eyes. Even the deriding devilish ones too unconsciously gaping
bent heads down; but some stale, colourless, unripe fruits are still
rotting in their decomposed debris. It is for such, in some sacred
shrines, the All-Compassionate Omnipotent God is producing some
miracles, like emptying gallons of beverage everyday by the stone as
seen in the Narasimhaswami temple at Mangalagiri, menstruating by
the panchaloha female image Exclaims the. periodically at Changannur
etc. If enumeration goes on, it consumes tons of paper and barrels
of ink. One with only a few details is found expedient at this
stage, and that single is enough to drive home the truth of the
existence of superior power that alone sets in motion every object
of the creation, nay, even the Creator supposed to have unlimited
sway over all, and all of all.
This incidentally takes us to the famous pilgrimage town of
Chengannur, where Mother Parvathi and Her Lord Parameswar - the
Creator and Creating force are enshrined in an imposing shrine,
popularly known as Mahadev temple, lying on the Ernakulam - Quilon
section of the Southern Railway, In the Aleppy district of Kerala
State. Here the panchaloha idol of Mother Parvathi is menstruating
to the wonderment of sceptics periodically with unbroken regularity
at it. Moreover, it has several distinctive features that narrates
many episodes, all but proving the positiveness of the prevalence of
the Supreme power, responsible for the moment of a single blade of
grass in the wor1d. It is at this Punya thirtha, Mother's Sati's
reproductive organ fell, when her corpse was cut into pieces by Sri
Mahavishnu with his Sudarsana Chakra while being carried by Lord
Siva that turned out to be the prime cause of periodical bleeding by
the panchaloha image. It is here the Swaymbhu linga of Lord
Parameswar is worshipped in the fore of the shrine, and the Mother
in the name of Bhagavati at the rear, i.e. both the august deities
in one place, yet in separate independent shrines; it is here the
Adidampatis dwelt for one month after their wedding to fulfil the
promise given to Agasthya, who was staying on the Sondri to keep the
tilting earth in equilibrium; it is here
the chaste Kannaki did tapas after the disastrous event of
burning Madurai, consequent on the death of her Lord Kovalan; it is
to celebrating of Triputtu festival, colonel Munro, the Resident
Diwan of Travancore donated Rs.700/- in 1811 A.D. and allowed the
continuance of the same ritual every year at his expense, which is
in force even today; it is to the building of this temple, the
famous architect Perunthachan -renowned as Kerala Viswakarma was
appointed, and who deliberately incorporated certain forbidden
practises, so was punished fittingly by the presiding deity; it is
here in the dim past, thousands of Nambudri families brought by
Bhargava Raffia lived and carried on the Vedic activities in
uninterrupted continuity; it ,is here lies the much-hallowed Sakti-
kunda thirtha, where a homa for Mother Parvathi was performed; it is
here the offering of Pushpanjali ritual is made for the fulfilment
of desires; it is the west Nada of this temple deemed an august spot
for taking oath; it is here in this campus, a sacred/Stone is
relieving fear from a snake bite by mere standing on it and praying;
it is the deity of this shrine that wards off the evil spirits and
it is this Mokshapuri that enshrines the images of Parvathi and
Parameswar, installed one behind the other in the same Srikoil -Lord
Siva facing the East and Mother Parvathi the west, and are
worshipped with equal fervour proving the existence of perfect
equality between Siva and Sakti, a unique feature in temple
architecture, though literature abounds in abundant proof to this
truth.
Enshrining with such several breath-taking wonders;
beautified by excellent sculptural marvels; eulogized in the
scriptures, sanctified by the penance of Agasthya; propitiated by
the English dignitaries, along with permanent annual donations;
honored fittingly by history with a covetable place and ardently
adored by millions of devotees since the solemnization of the
wedding of Parvathi and Parameswar, this thirtha kshetra is
conferring solace and salvation to the contentment of asthikas in a
unique way.
ANTIQUITY
Associated with Uma and Maheswari's sports and Sage
Agasthya's tapas, this kshetra occupies a place in several legends,
and hence many versions are available with variations, though aiming
at the glorification of the presiding deities through episodes of
unearthly splendour and glamour. The wedding of Parvathi and
Parameswar is the Principal cause of Agasthya's advent to Sonadri,
an integral part of Sahyadri range of mountains. Lord Parameswar
felt elated at the sight of the entire Devaganas -Mukkoti devatas at
Kailas on his wedding day, but found to his dismay the earth was
tilting towards the North due to the presence such huge congregation
at one time. And sure the south would be lifted aloft resulting in a
great catastrophe soon. To avoid that disaster, he solicited the
celebrated sage Agasthya to go to South and stay there for
maintaining the equilibrium of the raising earth. Finding Agasthya's
discontent at missing the auspicious celestial wedding, he promised
to meet him with his consort in his hermitage itself after the
marriage, besides bestowing the gift of divine sight to see
everything from his own seat itself. Satisfied at this unexpected
fortune, Agasthya moved anon to the South, humbling the Vindhyas on
his way and settled down at Sonadri being the ideal, sequestered,
spot for meditation and ascetic life. And this Sonadri, if
translated into Malayalam becomes Chenkunni and if 'Ur' is added to
indicate town, it turns out Chenkunnur - its corrupt form being
Chengannur perched in records and popular in common parlance.
As promised, Lord Parameswar visited with Parvathi at his
asram and blessed him for doing that Jagadodharan Karya. While
staying there, Parvathi had her menses. The divine couple,
therefore, dwelt there till the purificatory bath. To keep this
alive in memory a temple wash built later, and the image of Lord
Parameswar and Parvathi were installed and worshipped with reverence
due. To mark this event, Triputtu Arattu – bathing ceremony is
conducted regularly since then. On account of the occurrence of this
here, the Panchaloha Vigrah representing her figure menstruates even
today. So the tradition is maintained with great reverence. Normally
the priest who attends to the Nirmalayam -removing or the previous
day's flowers etc. at the opening of the temple doors examines the
petticoat of the deity. If he finds the signs of bleeding on the
petticoat, it is sent to the priest's house for confirmation by the
chief lady -the priest's wife. On confirmation, the Srikoil is kept
closed for three days" During this period, a small Vigraha is
installed in a secluded room, and regular worship is offered to it.
On the' fourth day Triputtu Ceremony -bathing ritual is performed
with great fanfare. The image then is taken out to the nearby Pampa
river on a female elephant. Thousands of devotees, particularly
ladies attend this. This returning of the deity to the temple is
awaited by Lord Parameswar mounted on elephant. Receiving her at the
portal, they go back to their respective seats. Then regular pujas
are conducted. This is a monthly occurrence, yet asthiks attach
great sanctity and celebrate it with utmost devotion. If nasthiks
belittle it, or deliberately denigrate, they are punished forthwith.
History with abundant evidence recorded the consequences of
desecration of this practice along with names and dates. Besides,
the petticoat that bears the marks of blood is sold in auction, and
the bidders being many including intellectuals and officials, it
fetches thousands of rupees. Among the buyers, one may be surprised
to find the names of ex -president V.V. Giri and Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy
Iyer to quote a few.
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