Legend of Attukal Devi Temple

Attukal Pongala is a famous festival in Kerala when millions of women gather at Attukal Devi Temple to offer pongala to the goddess. Pongala is cooked rice mixed with ghee, jaggery, coconut, and many other ingredients. Women will bring all the material and will cook in public and will then offer it to the goddess. This festival has been regarded as the largest gathering of women on a single occasion. It is a world record too.

The legend behind Attukal Devi Temple goes back to the period of Kannaki and Kovilan. Kovilan was a rich businessman in Madurai and he married Kannaki. Although they were leading a happy married life initially, the interference of a beautiful dancer in their life turned everything upside down. Kovilan used to spend more time with the dancer and he spent all his earnings on her. When he became bankrupt, the dancer threw him out of her house and he had to come back to Kannaki. By that time almost all wealth has been spoiled and only a pair of anklets was left with Kannaki. She is a loving and caring wife who did not mind supporting her husband. She asked him to sell one of the anklets and to start a new business with that money.

Kovilan went out to sell the anklet. Unfortunately, on the previous day, a theft happened at the palace of Madurai King and the queen's anklets were missing. Those anklets were similar in shape with that of Knnaki. Hence the jeweler whom Kovilan approached to sell the anklet suspected him as the thief and informed the king. King’s army men came and took him to the palace along with the anklet. Even without enquiring about the truth, the King ordered to behead him and his people did the same.

Hearing the news of her husband Kannaki came to the palace in anger and threw the other anklet in front of the king. It broke and rubies have come out of it. Actually, there were pearls in the queen’s anklet. Now everybody realized the innocence of Kovilan. Anyhow, Kannaki was not in a mood to forgive the king and his kingdom. She cut one of her nipples and threw it towards the city. The entire city gutted in fire suddenly and the goddess of city appeared in front of her and gave her salvation.

A scene from Attukal Pongala

Now she decided to move towards Kerala and to be there in Kodungalloor. On the way to Kodungalloor, she passed through Thiruvananthapuram. At that time she was disguised as a small girl. Reaching on the banks of a river, she saw an old man there and requested him to help her to cross the river. Seeing a small girl, he took her to his house instead of helping her to cross the river. Suddenly the girl disappeared. On that night the goddess Kannaki came in the dreams of that old man and asked him to construct a temple in his compound and install her idol there. That temple later came to known as Attukal Devi Temple.

Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala State has shot into fame after the discovery of vast treasure stored inside the secrete chambers beneath the temple. However, it has been attracting thousands of devotees even before this incident. It is considered one among the 108 holy temples of Vaishnavites in India. And Thiruvananthapuram, which was known as Phalguna during Dwaparayuga has earned a status as a holy place even at that time. According to Bhagavatha, Balarama, elder brother of Lord Krishna has visited this place as a part of his pilgrimage and had taken bath in the ‘Panchapa Saras’, now ‘Padma Theertha’.

Although it has been designated as a holy place the legend of the temple says that it has been established later, during the period of Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar, also known as Divakara Muni. On those days he used to stay near the Ananthapuram Temple in Kasargode. He used to pray to God to appear in front of him. One day Lord Padmanabha appeared in front of him in the disguise of a naughty boy. He played with the materials stored by Swamiyar to perform various rituals. He even broke the ‘Salagramam’ a holy stone used in many rituals.

Angry with this, Swamiyar scolded him and tried to catch hold of him to punish. But the boy ran fast and suddenly disappeared. Realizing that it was Lord Padmanabha, Swamiyar repented his action and prayed the god to appear once again. At that time he heard a voice from nowhere asking him to come to Ananthan Kadu, the Anthan Forest to see him. Swamiyar has no idea about this place and he started his journey to Ananthan Kadu. He asked many people on the way about this place and nobody could help him.

When he was walking along the shores of Arabian Sea, he heard a fisherwoman scolding her son saying that she would throw him inside the Ananthan Kadu had he not stopped his naughty behaviors. Curious to hear the word, Swamiyar asked that lady about Ananthan Kadu and went there based on her directions. To his surprise, he saw the same naughty boy there, but he went merged to an Indian Butter Tree which is locally called ‘Illupa Tree’. Suddenly the tree fell down and turned to the figure of Lord Vishnu sleeping over the great Serpent God Sesha Naga.

The figure was too large as the head was at Thiruvallam, navel at Thiruvananthapuram, and the feet at Thrippappur. As he could not see the entire figure, Swamiyar requested the god to shrink to a smaller size, and the lord shrunk to a smaller size. Even then he could not see the entire figure as many other trees were there. He had separate Darshana of the head, middle trunk, and the feet. He offered rice soup and small mango pieces mixed with salt to the deity and then approached the owner of the land. With the help of Kooppakkara Potti, the landlord, and the local king he constructed a temple there and made Potti the Tantri of the temple. Later the Tantri rights have been transferred to Tharananallur Nampoodiris of Irinjalakkuda.

Ananthan Kadu Serpentine Temple is still there very near to the Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple and so is the final resting place of Viluamangalathu Swamiyar. Later a Krishna Temple has been constructed at this place and now it is known as Vilwamangalam Sri Krishna Swamy Temple.

Later the temple came under the control of Ettarayogam, and the infamous Ettuveettil Pillais, members of a feudal family of the locality. Later, they tried to conspire against the Travancore royal family and sensing the danger, King Marthanda Varma started a battle against them. After killing all of the male members in that family, he made the women in the family to marry fishermen. Thus he put an end to that feudal family. Since then the administration of the temple came under the Travancore royal family. King surrendered all his wealth in front of the lord and ruled the country with the name ‘Padmanabha Dasa’.

The platform in front of the place where the deity is kept is carved out of a single stone and is called as ‘Ottakkal Mandapam’. Only the eldest member from the Travancore royal family has the permission to prostrate on this mandapam. It is believed that one has to surrender everything in front of the lord to get that right and as the King of Travancore has done it already, he can prostrate there.

Inside the temple, there are two other shrines belong to Lord Narasimha and Lord Krishna. This Krishna Temple has the status of an independent temple and considered to be older than the Padmanabha Swamy Temple. There the lord is in the form of the holy charioteer of Arjuna (Parthasarathy) and it is believed to have brought from Gujarat by two Vrishni Kshatriyas. Vrishnis are related to Lord Krishna and the successors of these families are now known as ‘Krishnan Vakakkar’.

Tirumantamkunnu Temple

Tirumantamkunnu Temple in Angadippuram in the Malappuram district of Kerala has historical importance also. The famous suicide squad of Valluvanokkathiris used to start from this temple to participate in Mamankam and to fight the mighty army of Zamorins. Even now there is a ‘Chaver Thara’ or the platform of suicide squad which is being preserved as a memorial of hundreds of warriors who died to uphold the prestige of their land.

Tirumantamkunnilamma

The legend behind this temple goes back to the period when ‘Surya’ the dynasty was ruling this area. There was a king called Mandhata in the dynasty and he was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. After many years of ruling the kingdom, he decided to hand over the power to his heir and to lead the rest of his life in worshiping Lord Shiva. Thus he underwent a penance seeking blessings from Shiva. Pleased on his devotion Shiva appeared in front of him and took him to Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. There Shiva asked the king about his wish. King, who was happy to visit Kailash asked to provide him with one Shiva Linga to worship. Shiva took out his favorite Shiva Linga which has been worshipped by Goddess Parvathy and presented to him.

King returned back holding the Linga on his head. On the way, he reached the place where the present-day Tirumantamkunnu is located. The valley of this hillock was beautiful with different types of plants and flowers. The place seemed to be a unique place because a lot of animals including tigers, lions, elephants, and rabbits were living there, forgetting their natural enmity. By the time the king felt tired and the weight of the Linga seemed to be more. He placed the Linga on the top of the hillock and sat nearby to take a bit of rest. The Linga got stuck to the earth as soon as it placed there.

Meanwhile in Kailash Parvathy was a bit worried as she could not find the Linga she used to worship. She was out for a bath when Shiva presented the same to King Mandhata. On inquiry, Shiva told her the truth. She was very fond of that Linga and was not able to leave it. She sent her daughter Bhadrakali along with some demons to retain that Linga from the King.

Although they reached the valley they could not climb the hill as their eyes were blazed with the powerful light emitting from the Linga. Hence they fought with the army of the king from the valley. The army did not have enough weapons; still, they fought with Kali and her army by throwing Athanga nuts which were very common in that area. By the power of Shiva, each and every athanga became an arrow. Demons found it difficult to fight. Fearing a defeat, Kali showed her cosmic figure and seeing the same as the warriors of the king fainted.

Kali went up the hill and try to take over the Linga. At the same time, the King caught hold of the Linga tightly. When both were fighting for the Linga, it got broken and a powerful light emitted from it. Within that light, there appeared Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva along with Parvathy. She told the king that as his devotion is unique and powerful, she did not want to take the Linga back. At the same time, she could not live without worshipping the same. So she will live inside the Linga.

A scene from Athanga Eru

Saying this Parvathy disappeared into the Linga. Before going she instructed the king to install her daughter Bhadrakali too in the premises along with Lord Ganesha.

Now athanga eru or throwing of Athanga is a major offering here along with the marriage offering or Mangalya pooja at the premises of Lord Ganesha.

Rajarajeswara Temple Thaliparamba

Rajarajeswara Temple at Thaliparamba in Kannur district of Kerala is one of the greatest Shiva temples in South India. It commands equal respect as great Shiva temples such as Vaikkom, Ettumanoor, Vadakkunnathan Temple etc.

The legend behind the temple starts from Thretha yuga. It goes like this. Sanaka and other sons of Lord Brahma once churned the Disk of Sun God to reduce the heat. They collected the dust thus formed and mixed it with Amruth (divine honey that helped gods to be immortal) and formed three Shiva Lingas. They presented those lingas to their father Brahma who in turn presented it to Goddess Parvathy, the consort of Lord Shiva.

During Thretha yuga, there was a king called Mandhata who was a staunch devotee of Shiva. He underwent penance to appease Lord Shiva. Pleased with his devotion and dedication, Lord Shiva appeared in front of him along with Goddess Parvathy. Then Parvathy presented one of the lingas presented to her by Lord Brahma to the king. She asked him to install the linga at a place where no death has taken place so far and no dead body has fallen so far. He started his journey in search of a place as directed by the Goddess. Finally, he reached a place where he could find a place which is just enough to accommodate a plate where no death has taken place and no dead body has fallen. He installed the linga at that place.

Later this place has come to known as ‘Thaliparamba’ which means the place which can accommodate thalika or plate. However, the linga got disappeared into the earth after the death of the king. Later, another King of the same dynasty called, Muchukundan too underwent penance and received the second linga from the goddess. He too found this place as the ideal one as per the instruction of goddess and installed the linga, which eventually disappeared like the previous one. Then, the king Sathasoman received the third linga from the goddess. Naturally, he too got attracted to the same place and starting installing the linga. To his utter surprise, the linga started going deep down into the earth. He prayed Sage Agasthya, who came there are lighted a lamp in front of the linga and prostrated (Danda namaskaram) for twelve times. When he was supposed to complete the thirteenth one the linga got fixed to the surface of the earth.

This linga gained the power of two other lingas too. King spent the rest of his life there worshipping this powerful linga and after his death, everybody forgot this linga. Once Parasurama was coming in that way and saw a powerful linga in a neglected state. He tried to know the story behind it. Then Sage Narada appeared there and told him the story. Then he took the initiative to construct a temple there and to install the linga inside there. Later it has been renovated so many times and the last recorded major renovation was in the early 11^th century.

It is believed that Lord Rama has visited this temple during his way back from Sri Lanka and worshipped here. Devotees believe the presence of Rama is still there in the namaskara mandapam. Hence nobody is allowed inside the namaskara mandapam. There is a big temple pond there which is called Ashrama Chira. It is believed that the Ashram of sage Agasthy was there. Just beside this pond there is a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. Whoever is coming to worship Lord Shiva should visit this Krishna Temple first.

Vadakkunnathan Temple and Thrissur Pooram

Vadakkunnathan Temple in Trichur (Presently Thrissur) is more famous for the festival associated with the temple, Trichur Pooram. Procession with caparisoned elephants accompanied by the traditional drumbeats is the most attractive among various rituals during Pooram. ‘Kudamatam’ or changing the decorative umbrellas placed on the elephants participating in the procession is another attraction. Fireworks in the early morning also attract many people to this temple during the Pooram day.

A scene from Trichur Pooram

The deity in this temple, Lord Shiva in the form of Linga is believed to have been installed by Parasurama. The legend goes back to the creation of Kerala from the ocean. Parasurama went around the Bharatha Khanda and exterminated the kshatriyas 21 times. To get rid of the sin of killing so many people he conducted a special yagna and at the end of it, he decided to donate some fresh land to the Brahmins who participated in the yagna. He asked Varuna, the God of the sea to part with some land for this purpose and he agreed. Varuna told Parasurama to throw his ax from the top of Gokarna Hills (presently in the state of Karnataka) into the sea which was touching the foot of Gokarna on those days. He promised that he will withdraw from place expanded until the point where the ax falls.

Accordingly, Parasurama threw his ax into the sea and it fell on the pint where the present-day Kanyakumari situates. Varuna withdrew from there thus forming a fresh piece of land which is now called Kerala. After creating the land, Parasurama went to Mount Kailash to visit Lord Shiva. Parashurama was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and Shiva too respected his devotee very much. When asked about his indention for coming, Parasurama narrated the entire story and requested him to come and take abode in the fresh piece of land created by throwing ax. Shiva cannot reject the plea of an ardent devotee along with Goddess Parvathy, Ganesha and Muruka followed Parasurama.

When they reach at the spot where the present-day Trichur situates, Lord Shiva stopped walking and disappeared. Then Parasurama saw a divine Shiva Linga beneath a huge banyan tree. He started worshiping the same and asked the Brahmins whom he donated the land to worship that linga for their well being.

The practice of worshipping the linga under the tree continued for several centuries. Later Kochi King, under whose jurisdiction Trichur came on those days decided to build a temple and to shift the linga to that temple. The temple, which is an excellent example of the architecture of ancient Kerala, is believed to have built by Perumthachan of Parayi Peta panthirukulam. After the construction of the temple, when the process for shifting the linga started, they faced a great hurdle.

Some parts of the huge banyan tree had to cut to remove the linga from the place where it existed. The chances of falling the branches on the linga were more which should not happen. At that time a Brahmin, who has been taking care of the rituals for the linga so far came out with a unique idea. He agreed to bend above the linga so that the branches will fall on his top only instead of falling on the linga. To the surprise of everyone present there, not a single piece of the branch fell on that Brahmin. The linga has been shifted to the temple and started worshiping as Vadakkunnathan.

Although there are many festivals being celebrated in this temple including Maha Shivarathri, Trichur Pooram is the major festival that attracts visitors from all over the world. When most of the other festivals have legends associated with the concerned gods, Trichur Pooram has nothing. It has been started as a festival of people by the then Kochi King Shakthan Thampuran.

The surroundings around the temple (which is now famous as Thekkinkadu Maithanam) was a dense forest mostly with teak wood. People used to fear to go around the temple as there were many wild animals inside the forest. Besides, many antisocial elements also used this dense forest as their den. Shakthan Thampuran ordered to cut all the trees and thus to clear the ground so that people can move without any fear.

A legend associated with this incident says that when he started cutting down the trees, the oracle of the nearby Paramekkavu Devi Temple came there are asked him to stop the work. The oracle, who is believed to have evoked the divine power of Devi told the king that the forest is her father’s beard and it should not be cut down. Shakthan Thampuran, who was a daring king asked the oracle where she and her father was when the Tipu came there and looted many temples. This made the oracle angry and he started striking his sword on the forehead, a usual practice of oracles to show that the divine power has entered in them. Then Shakthan Thampuran told the oracle that oracle’s word is not sharp and better use his sword. Saying this, the king put his sharp sword on the head of the oracle and cut him into two vertical pieces.

After clearing the forest, he asked the local people to celebrate the pooram once in a year and everyone should contribute to make it a big festival. He instructed many practices that are to be followed during Trichur Pooram. Now the festival has become a festival of people of Kerala and it is being celebrated every year from April 14^th to May 15^th.