Another Great Tantric who is not a Brahmin by Birth

Once, the right to perform tantric rituals was rested upon those who were Brahmins by birth. The time and the history have already proved that the status of Brahmin, as mentioned in the Hindu epics cannot be attained by birth. Still many people are reluctant to accept the truth. The effect of mesmerism, which kept generations under the Brahminical rule, may be the reason for such a situation.

Here is a legend of Manakkadan Gurukkal, who was a great tantric and at the same time a great scholar. He was not a Brahmin by birth; still he could master the art of tantra more than many Brahmins could. This great man lived in Karivalloor, in Kannur district in the northern Kerala and was an Ayurvedic physician too.

Many stories of his greatness spread across Kerala and there were many people who sincerely adored him as a personification of God. This created jealous in the minds of many people belonging to upper cast, especially Brahmins. The king of Kolathiri, a princely state existed in Kerala before the independence of India, planned to test Manakkadan Gurukkal’s expertise in Tantra. King planned to put Gurukkal to severe test. King and his cohorts believed that Gurukkal could not pass these tests and so he will get insulted and will run away from his country.

Actually, Gurukkal was undergoing some bad times in his life then; still he could not reject the invitation of King as it was an order. He was sure that he will have to face many hurdles before reaching the palace and even after reaching there. He prayed to his family goddess and then started his journey along with his disciple Puthiyodan Nair.

On those days, travelling was not so easy and they had to travel by walk from Karivalloor and had to cross three rivers before reaching king’s palace. They started their journey. When they reached near the first river, they could no see any boats to cross the river. Otherwise there should be many boats to help the travelers. Gurukkal understood that it was a test put up by the king. He did not speak anything, instead hold the hands of his disciple and asked him to close his eyes. Then, Gurukkal performed a particular tantric ritual known as “Jalasthambham” by which the water in the river stood still. Both of them walked over it and reached the other bank. Same thing happened with other two rivers, Pazhayangadi River and Valarpattanam River too. Finally they reached the palace.

The doors were closed when they reached Palace and there were no security persons too. It was another test. However, Gurukkal, did not taken aback. He caught hold of his disciple’s hand tightly and entered inside the palace with his tantric power. He went through the wall without breaking it. Once they reached inside the palace, Gurukkal saw many persons sitting on similar chairs with similar roayal dress. As he did not see the king before, everybody thought that he will get confused and will bow in front of some one among those. But Gurukkal identified the real king and bowed in front of him.

Then the king invited him for lunch. All others invited were belonging to upper casts and as per the system prevailed on those days, Gurukkal will have to take out the banana leaf which he used as the plate to have lunch. At the same time, those belong to the upper cast will not have to take it out as the servants will do for them. Sensing the insult well in advance, Gurukkal requested to serve the food on the leaf of cucumber and the same has been agreed. As the lunch is over, the leaf too disappeared. Thus, Gurukkal won all the tests.

On that evening King and his people enjoyed various performances done by Gurukkal. After finishing the performance, King gave him a list and asked to arrange all the forty “Theyyams” (A folk art form) by night. It was quite impossible for anybody to arrange all those theyyams within a short period, still Gurukkal did it even without moving out of the palace. Here the most important thing is that there was no communication facility such as cell phone etc on those days. When Gurukkal won in that test, King expressed his desire to visit the heaven and asked Gurukkal to help him. As they were talking, a rope came down from the sky just behind the king and Gurukkal asked king to hold it tightly. Slowly the rope went up as if some one is pulling it from up. Within a short time everybody heard the loud cry of King saying that he could not withstand the sights and he wanted to come down. Then Gurukkal brought him down. With that test, King felt that if he continues, it will be he who will have to eat the pea, hence he stopped testing and send Gurukkal after honoring him with many awards.

Many years have passed and one day, Gurukkal called his favorite disciple Puthiyodan Nair and nephews and informed them that it was time for him to go from this world. He insisted them to constructed an under ground cell with stone and leave a small hole for air circulation. He also instructed them to keep his books and pen inside the cell. After that he entered the cell and asked them to close it. He also asked them to pour water over the cell for the forty one days. Then cell has been closed after he entered inside.

Nephews, did according to his direction. On the thirtieth day, a nephew who was pouring water on the cell developed a curiosity to know what is happening inside the cell. He peeped through the hole meant for air circulation and at the same time, pen of Gurukal, which has been kept inside the cell, came near and pierced his eyes. From that day onwards, no one dared to go near that cell which exists even today.  

Legend of Thrissur Pooram

Kerala is known as “God’s Own Country” not just because of the beautiful landscapes and greenery spread across the state but also because of the rich cultural heritage. Temple festivals are quite unique events, probably can be seen only in Kerala. Unlike many other religious festivals such as Deepavali or Shivarathri, these festivals are rather social celebrations than religious rituals. When a temple celebrates its own festival, people from the neighborhood gather there irrespective of caste and religion. In other words, the temple festivals are not confined to the temples but to the entire locality.

Thrissur Pooram, the largest temple festival in Kerala, which is regarded as the celebration of the state itself is held once in every year on the Pooram star day of Malayalam month Medam (April 14th to September 14th). The legend behind this festival is very interesting.

Earlier, “Arattupuzha Pooram” was the largest temple festival in Kerala. Arattupuzha temple is located about 10 kilometers south to Thrissur and the deities of all temples in and around Thrissur used to be taken to this temple on a specific day with a procession of caparisoned elephants. There at Arattupuzha, all such individual processions will join together and the people gathered there used to enjoy the traditional drums by hundreds of artists.

Once, some temples located in Thrissur could not reach at Arattupuzha on time due to heavy raining and they denied the chance to participate in the festival. Hurt by the denial, they came back and approached the then King of Princely State of Cochin, Raja Rama Varma (Better known as Sakthan Thampuran). Known for his bold decisions, the king arranged another festival on the premises of Thrissur Vadakkumnatha Temple.

He divided ten temples located in and around Thrissur town into two groups lead by two major temples, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi. These two groups will assemble in the premises of Thrissur Vadakkumnatha Temple on the Pooram Star Day of Malayalam month for Thrissur Pooram.

Details of Thrissur Pooram

Thrissur Pooram is a seven-day festival and as many other temple festivals will start with flag hoisting. On the fourth day, there will be a “Sample Vedikkettu” which is a miniature display of firecrackers that are supposed to be displayed on Pooram Day.

The main festival is on the sixth day when the senior-most person of the Cochin Royal Family or his representative along with the chief priests of two temples, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi visit the Vadakkumnatha Temple in the early morning and pray to Lord Shiva to remove all obstacles. By that time, small processions from different temples will start coming to Vadakkumnatha Temple. By noon the major participants, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi will come to the Pooram venue in a procession of caparisoned elephants. Each will have fifteen elephants in their procession.

Now, both the team will get themselves arranged in the venue with 15 elephants on both sides facing each other. As the drum beats gain momentum, the mood will change from that of a festival to a competition. Both the sides will compete in displaying their artistic talents and imagination through the display of different types of umbrellas over the elephants. Once this event which is popularly known as “Kudamattam” or change of umbrellas is over, the pooram will conclude temporarily.

As midnight passes, the sky over Thrissur starts shining with the fireworks from both the teams. It will last until dawn. When the spectators start moving out of Thrissur on the seventh day morning, denizens of Thrissur started gathering there for the Mini Pooram which is considered as an exclusive festival for Thrissurians.

Legend of Thrissur Vadakkumnatha Temple

No introduction is needed for Thrissur Pooram, the grand festival which has become the symbol of Kerala culture and tradition. Procession of caparisoned elephants, the mind-boggling performance by hundreds of drum artists, and the sparkling fireworks of Thrissur Puram attract people from across the globe. This world-famous celebration is being organized at Thrissur Vadakkumnatha Temple every year.

The legend behind Thrissur Pooram and various rituals and customs related to the Puram festival will be discussed in another article. This is exclusive to talk about the legend behind the temple.

As told in many articles in this blog, Kerala has been carved out from the ocean by Lord Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and he donated the entire land to Brahmins as a solution to escape from the clutches of the sin of murdering his own mother.

After donating the land, Lord Parasurama visited Kailash. His intention was to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva for the people of Kerala. He requested the Lord to come to Kerala and to stay back there to protect the land and its people. Pleased with the devotion of Parasurama, Lord Shiva agreed. As soon as Parasurama left Kailash, Lord Shiva, along with his disciples and his companion Vrishabha started their journey to Kerala.

On the way, they traveled through a dense forest. The forest was so dense that even the sun rays will not enter inside even during mid-noon. All types of wild animals were enjoying a free life inside and the cruel animals became calm and bowed down on their knees as soon as they saw the lord traveling through the forest.

In between, they reached an open place, where there was a banyan tree standing alone. Many small birds were taking shelter on its branches and many small animals were eating the grass-grown beneath the tree. It was dusk and the birds, who have returned to their nestles after a long day’s flying in search of food started humming praises of Lord Shiva. Cows and rabbits enjoyed the song by moving their heads to both sides. A group of peacocks appeared there from nowhere and started dancing to the tune. Lord Shiva loved to be there in that serene atmosphere.

Understanding his master’s thoughts, Rishabha stopped there and the lord got down from Rishabha and sat beneath the banyan tree. This Banyan tree was believed to be there at the place which is known as “Srimoola Sthanam”. Even now there is a banyan tree there and the devotees will pay their respect there before entering the temple.

Parasurama came to know about the incident and he rushed to the spot. He constructed a temple in the open place near the banyan tree and consecrated the Idol inside it. He removed the power of Vishnu from it and placed it in a different sanctum sanctorum beside the one where the Shiva Linga has been placed. Then the divine power started emitting from both Vishnu and Shiva. Parasurama, blended both the divine powers with his tantric power and placed in another sanctum sanctorum in between the two and called it as Lord Sankaranarayana (Having power of both Shankara or Shiva and Narayana or Vishnu).

After a few days, Parasurama observed the divine power of Goddess Durga on the eastern side of the temple. He constructed one temple and consecrated Devi inside that. He also constructed another small temple on the northern side of the temple and placed Lord Vettakkorumakan (believed to be a partial incarnation of Lord Vishnu) for the protection of the temple.

It is believed that Jagad Guru Adi Shankara attained salvation at this temple. The legend says that after conquering the Gyan pita by defeating all scholars, he returned to his native place Kaladi and on the way back he visited Thrissur Vadakkumnatha Temple. He spent some days here. It is believed that he wrote the famous “Vishnu Padadi Keshasthavam” when he was here. One evening he was writing the 43rd of the line of the book. As he wrote the word “Padma” he breathed his last breath and attained salvation. It happened at Srimoola Sthanam. That is another reason for many to believe that Shankaracharya was a partial incarnation of Lord Shiva.

Ashwathama, son of Drona is an immortal being who did not have death. It is believed that he is visiting this temple regularly to get the blessings of Lord Shiva.

Legend of Thaipooyam (Thai Poosam) and the Purpose of “Kavadi Attam”

Thaipooyam or Thaipoosam in Tamil is a festival associated with Lord Subrahmania (Lord Murugan). Although this festival is originated from Tamil Nadu, it is being celebrated widely in Kerala, especially in Temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya.

The name “Thaipooyam” is derived by blending two words. “Thai” is a Tamil month (Jan- Feb) and Pooyam is the star (It is called Poosam in Tamil). Although some people believe that this is the birthday of Lord Subrahmania, this is not true according to Skanda  Purana.

The most popular legend behind this festival is as follows.

Gods and Demons were engaged in continuous fights and on many occasions, Demons won the war. This worried Gods and they all approached Lord Shiva. When Lord Shiva appeared in front of them, gods told him about their plight and requested to help them in winning the war against demons.

Lord Shiva created Skanda out of his own divine power. Skanda grew younger soon and take the commandership of the army of gods. Under his leadership, Gods won many wars against demons but still, there was a demon called Soorapadman whom they cannot defeat. Worried about the fate of the war, Skanda (Lord Subrahmania) approached Goddess Parvati to find out a solution.

Goddess sat for a while with her eyes closed. She was aggregating all her power to a single point. Suddenly when she opened her eyes, a spear appeared there. She handed it over to Lord Subrahmania and told him that he will be known as “Velayudha”. (Vel means Spear and “ayudha” means weapon. The name Velayudha  means, the person who’s a weapon is a spear).

That spear has immense power as it is created with the divine power of Goddess Parvati. Lord Subrahmania went with that spear to fight the war. This time he could defeat the Demon and kill him. According to the common belief, it was the Pooyam star of Thai month that Parvati presented the divine spear to Lord Subrahmania.

Kavadi Attam

As mentioned earlier, Thaipooyam is celebrated in temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya. The main attraction of this festival is a form of dance called “Kavadi Attam”. There are two different myths about kavadiyattam. One tells that this is the dance of Lord’s servants encouraging him to start the war with the demon as he had the divine spear with him. According to this, the word “Kavu” means a temple or divine place, and “Adi” means servants.

In kavadiattam, the dancers will bear an arch-shaped structure decorated with flowers. Dancers will keep this heavy structure on their shoulders and will dance to the rhythm of drums. According to some other version, kavadi denotes burden and the dancers are taking all their burdens on their shoulders and dance to appease Lord Subrahmania. The dancers will have to follow certain rituals before participating in kavadi attam. They should observe penance for 41 days by avoiding alcoholic liquor, non-vegetarian food, etc.  According to this belief, the Lord will enjoy their dance and remove the burdens from their shoulders.

Famous Subrahmania Temples in Kerala

Harippad Subrahmania Temple Aleppy district

Kuzhur Subrahmania Temple  Thrissur

Vytila Subrahmania Temple Ernakulam

Perallassery  Subrahmania Temple Kannur

Legend of Mariamman and Mariamma Temples in Kerala

Mariamman or Mariamma is considered a pre-Vedic goddess related to rain. Goddess Mariamma is widely worshiped in Tamil Nadu and some parts of Karnataka and Kerala. According to many, Mariamman is an equivalent to the present day Goddess Parvathy and Goddess Durga. According to some legends, Goddess Mariamman has been worshiped by the Dravidians, and even now in most of the temples dedicated to Mariamman, there are no Satvik rituals being performed.

Goddess Mariamman is being considered the village deity in many remote villages in Tamil Nadu. The word “Mari” means “Rain” in the Tamil of Sangha period and the word “Amma” means mother. Hence the concept is that Goddess Mariamma has been worshiped by villagers, most of which are totally depending on the agricultural economy to survive for better rains. Mariamma is called Muthu Mariamman in some places and the argument is that the droplets of rain resemble Muthu (Pearl) and hence the name came.  

There is another belief that she is the incarnation of the North Indian Goddess Kali. Many people believe that Kali went down south where Bhairava followed her as Madhurai Veeran. Major festivals dedicated to Goddess Mariamman will be organized in the summer season. She is being worshiped for better rain and also to prevent diseases like cholera, chickenpox, and smallpox.

There is another legend behind Mariamman being worshiped for preventing diseases such as smallpox and chickenpox. The legend says that she was a housewife during the Sangha Period and got affected by smallpox. She has been thrown out of her house and hence she started visiting houses in the village and to beg for food. During her journey, she used to take a bunch of neems (Margosa) leaves along with her and fanning herself to keep the flies off. Soon she recovered from smallpox and the people started worshiping her for a speedy recovery from diseases such as smallpox and chickenpox.

In another legend, she has been depicted as the beautiful Nagavalli, the wife of Saint Piruthu. Once, the Holy Trinity visited her in the disguise of children to see her much-acclaimed beauty and charm. At that time the saint was not there and Nagavalli got irritated with the habits of children. She shouted at them without knowing they are the holy trinity. Annoyed with her behavior, they cursed to her to have scars such as the one created by smallpox on her face.

On his return, the saint saw her with an ugly face he got irritated and drove her away from the house. Before pushing her out, the saint cursed her that she will become a demon in her next life and cause diseases to the humankind with which the similar scars will appear on the faces of the human being as the scars on her face.  Later, the saint consoled her saying that people will worship her in her next generation to escape from diseases. Those who support this version of legend point out that the name Mari means the changed one in Tamil and hence the name Mariamman came.

Neem leaves are of great significance in all the rituals related to Goddess Mariamma. It is believed that the need leaves have the power to wade off many diseases including smallpox and chickenpox. Even today, you will find neem (Margosa) leaves hanging in front of the doors of houses in Tamil Nadu and in many other parts of South India.

There are four major Temples in Kerala that are devoted to Goddess Mariamman

Akkaparambu Mariamman Temple, Near Tiruvilvamala in Thrissur District

Batheri Mariamman Temple in Wayanad District

Meepadi Mariamman Temple in Wayanad District

Vythiri Mariamman Temple in Wayanad District

Pilakool Mariamman Temple,  near Thalassery in Kannur District.

In Kerala, the festivals in Mariamman Temples will begin in the Malayalam month of Kumbham. In most of the temples, the Goddess Mariamman will visit the houses in the nearby villages. Those who are invoking the divine power of Goddess Mariamma will have to undergo certain rituals for forty-one days. Then they will come to the temple clad in the yellow color dress and cover their face with tamarind powder and saffron powder. After performing several rituals there, the divine power will be invoked in their body. Then they will take a silver pot filled with bunches of neem leaves and start dancing to the rhythm of drums after keeping the pot on their head.

Dancing all the way, they visit all the houses in the village and bless the people.

Legend of Erumeli Ayyappa Temple and Petta thullal

Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple is standing alone among the Hindu Temples in Kerala with its unique rituals and procedures. The devotees have to undertake continence for 41 days before visiting the temple. Devotees should avoid alcohol consumption and non-vegetarian food for all these forty-one days and they are prevented from sexual relations also.
There are many other conditions such as wear only a black dress, should not wear footwear, etc are also included in the continence. Erumeli Sri Dharma Sastha Temple is an important temple on the way to Sabarimala and it has an important place in the rituals related to Sabarimala. The most important one among those is “Erumeli Petta thullal”.
Before going into the details of “Petta thullal, the legend of Erumeli Sri Dharma Sastha Temple will be told. There are two temples in Erumeli, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa or Sri Dharma Sastha. They can locally be called Valiya Ambalam (Big Temple) and Cheriya Ambalam (Small Temple) The Valiya Ambalam is believed to have constructed by Alambillil Millakkaran, an official working under the local feudal lord Ranni Katha.
Alambillil Millakkaran went to participate in the temple festival of Thiruvambadi Temple and got humiliated by the temple authorities. He decided to construct a temple of his own as an act of revenge. As he was planning to construct a temple, he had a dream in one night in which a saint came and asked him to go to the holy River Pamba the very next day early morning and to take a bath dipping in it. The saint further told him that he will see an idol of Lord Ayyappa there.
The very next day, Alambillil Millakkaran left to have a bath in River Pamba and he got a divine idol of Lord Ayyappa. He brought it to his house. On that night the saint once again came in his dream and asked him to cultivate brown peas in his courtyard and when they ripe send a cow to eat the entire peas. The saint told him that he should let the cow go anywhere after eating the pea and he is instructed to follow the cow. Saint instructed to construct a temple at the place where the cow takes rest.
Being a staunch devotee, Alambillil Millakkaran obeyed the words of the saint, and the temple has been constructed at the place where the cow took rest. He consecrated the idol that he got from River Pamba inside the temple.

Cheriya Ambalam or Kochambalam is located about half a kilometer from the valiya ambalam and that is also dedicated to Lord Ayyappa or Sri Dharma Sastha. The legend is that there was an old lady called Puthen veettil Ammoomma who was highly religious. She belongs to the Vellala community. Hearing the stories of Ayyappa killing Demon Mahishi, she realized that Ayyappa is an incarnation of divine power and he asked his son Perusseri Pillai to construct a temple and to consecrate the idol of Lord Ayyappa.
Erumeli Petta Thullal starts from Kochambalam or the small temple and ends at Valiyambalam or the big temple. There are two legends behind the Petta Thullal. One is that Lord Ayyappa with the support of the Ambalapuzha Army, Alangattu Army, and his compatriot and warrior Vavar conquered Sabarimala which was the hideout of Udayanan, a cruel robber. Petta Thullal is considered as the celebration of victory by Ayyappa and his soldiers. The second legend says that it is to commemorate the victory of Lord Ayyappa over the demon Mahishi.

In old days all the Kanni Swamis (the devotees visiting Sabarimala for the first time) used to participate in Petta thullal and it begins on 1st of Malayalam month Dhanu and ends on 30th of Dhanu. Pettathullal by the devotees will continue day and night all these days. However, the petta thullal of the Alangattu group and the Ambalapuzha group is more popular.
Pettathullal is a ritual and it starts from the Kochambalam. The devotees start the ritual with prayer and then pay respect to Guru Swamy, the leader of the group. Then they will apply sandal paste, ash, etc on the body. This costume is to get a look that resembles tribal warriors. They will wear crowns made with leaves and creepers too. Once the rituals at the temple are over they all march to Kottapadi to the tune of drum beats. From there they will come back to Kochambalam and then visit the Vavar Mosque. Finally, the procession will end at the Valiya ambalam. There they will take round around the temple and through the leaves and sticks over the roof of the temple and will take a bath in the nearby rivulet.

As mentioned earlier the pettathullal of the Alangadu group and the Ambalapuzha group are more popular. Ambalapuzha group will begin their Pettathullal on the morning of the 27th of Dhanu month. Alangattu group will start their thullal afternoon. It is believed that Vavar will go to Sabarimala along with the Ambalapuzha Group. Hence the Alangattu Group will not visit the Vavar mosque, on their way to valiya ambalam.

Legend of Thiruvathira, an Exclusive Festival for Women

Thiruvathira Kali

Thiruvathira star in the Malayalam month of Dhanu is regarded as the birthday of Lord Shiva. It is also believed that Goddess Parvathy joined him on this day after a long penance. The legend says that the Goddess could not influence the mind of Lord Shiva and took the help of Kamadeva, the god of erotic desire. Kamadeva shot his arrow of flowers to Lord Shiva and changed his mindset. Shiva was meditating all this time and became angry when the arrows of flowers disturbed his mind. Furious Lord burned down Kamadeva into ashes and then he accepted Parvathy as his partner.

As per the belief prevailing in the state of Kerala, this happened on the Thiruvathira star of Malayalam month Dhanu and hence, the women started celebrating the festival of Thiruvathira. Rather than a festival, it is a ritual where the women start observing continence since the Revathi star that comes seven days before Thiruvathira. Women will have only one-time rice food and will have fruits all other times. On the seventh day, i.e. on Thiruvathira day, rice food will be avoided completely and will have only fruits. In some areas, they will cook porridge using powdered arrowroot and will have it. In central Kerala, people will make a special dish on that day called, “Thiruvathira Puzhukku” using raw banana, cowpeas (Black Eyed Peas), Chinese Potato (Koorkka), Greater Yam (Kachil), Yam and Colocasia. All these will cook well and then will mix with a paste of Green Chilly and Coconut. After mixing it will be heated for a while and pour a few teaspoons of coconut oil before letting it cool. This dish will be the main food on Thiruvathira day in central Kerala.

Thiruvathira Puzhukku

It is believed that it was Goddess Parvathy who observed continence like this for the first time and her aim was to get Lord Shiva as her husband. Hence, it will be girls who observe the ritual mostly. Even married women will observe it for the well being of their spouses.

On Makayiram Star, the previous day of Thiruvathira another special dish will be made which is called “Ettangadi”. This is made with eight varieties of tubers, raw-banana, dried coconut, etc. At first, eight varieties of tubers and raw-banana will be roasted in live coal and then they will be cut into pieces. Dried coconut, plantain fruits, and sugar cane also will be cut into small pieces. Then the Jaggery will be melted. These small pieces of tubular, banana, etc will mix with the jaggery liquid along with cowpeas, sesame, and Bengal gram. Once, the “Ettangadi” is prepared it will be offered to Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvathy, and Lord Moon before having it. Usually, this will be done on the previous night of Thiruvathira, and on the Thiruvathira day, rice food will be avoided.

On the Thiruvathira day, the women and girls who are observing Thiruvathira Continence will wake up in the early morning and will have the bath. In the old days, they used to go to the nearby pond or river to take bath in groups. They used to spend a lot of time in the water with different water sports and swimming. No men will be present nearby. Then they will visit the nearby temple. They have to visit Shiva temples on Thiruvathira day and offering of tender coconut to the lord is an important part of the ritual.

Ettangadi

As mentioned earlier, Thiruvathira is an exclusive women’s festival and women are allowed a lot of freedom on that day. They can spend the whole day by swinging, playing traditional group dance form “Thiruvathira Kali” and singing devotional songs. They are not supposed to sleep in the night and the celebrations will get extended to the early morning the next day. Then they will have the bath and visit the temple to conclude the continence. Adorning the hairs with ten varieties of flowers which are called “Dasa Pushpam Choodal is also an important part of the ritual.

In the old days, only the women belong to the upper cast of then prevailing Hindu caste hierarchy used to celebrate Thiruvathira but today it has become a Hindu festival, and women from all castes celebrate it. When the rituals related to Thiruvathira are more of spiritual types, the festival has great significance in the social perspective also.

Dasa Pushpam (Ten Varieties of Flowers)

Probably this may be the only women festival and on this day, women enjoy enormous freedom. They do not have to get engaged in daily household duties; instead, they can enjoy the festival. Thus, this festival celebrates womanhood.

Legend of Thiruvairanikkulam Temple Where the Temple of Goddess Parvathy Opens only for 12 days in a year

Thiruvairanikkulam temple is located near Aluva in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. Although the presiding deity is Lord Shiva, the Temple belongs to Goddess Parvathy attracts more devotes because of its unique feature. The temple of Parvathy will open only for 12 days in a year starting from the Thiruvathira star of Malayalam month Dhanu (mid-December to mid-January). Even the temple festival is being celebrated during these 12 days.

The legend behind the temple goes back to the period of “Parayi Petta Panthirukulam”, the most popular myth of Kerala depicting the story of a woman belongs to a lower cast who gave birth to twelve children. On those days, Airanikkulam has been reigned by Akavur family who was Brahmins. As time passed there aroused a dispute among the family members and a section of Akavur family moved to nearby Vellarapilly village. During these days Akavur Chathan of Parayipetta Panthirukulam came to this family as a dependent. He stood with the section of the family that moved to Vellarapally and moved along with them to the new place.

There is a Shiva Temple in Airanikkulam which has been regarded as the family deity of Akavur Family. Even after moving to Vellarapilly, they used to visit this temple. Once a Brahmin belongs to this family planned to visit the Airanikkulam Temple and to spend the rest of his life there. He asked Chathan to accompany him and to help him with day to day affairs when he is staying back in the temple. They reached the banks of River Periyar and got disheartened to see no boats for crossing the river.

Akavur Chathan took a large piece of granite and made a boat using the same. They crossed the river and reached the temple. Days have passed and years too. The Brahmin became older and developed a strong desire to go back to his home and to be with his family members but at the same time, he felt sad that he will have to leave the temple and Lord Shiva to be with his family. However, he decided to go back and went to the sanctum Santorum. He prayed with a heavy heart to Lord Shiva to allow him to go back. He heard a divine voice permitting him to move.

He took his umbrella made of palm leaves and started his journey. He felt that the umbrella is heavier than it used to be. However, he did not tell anything about it. They took the granite boat to travel back and on the way the Brahmin had to answer nature’s call. Chathan moved the boat to the nearby forest.  The Brahmin stepped out of the boat taking his umbrella. To his surprise, the umbrella was lighter then. When he asked about it, Akavur Chathan told him not to worry. After a few minutes, they started their travel, and as soon as they reached the Manakkaparambu, the place where the present-day temple is situated the Brahmin got down from it and Chathan overturned the granite boat. Even now the stone is there and used to be called Chathan Para (Stone of Chathan in local language Malayalam).

hat area was a dense forest on those days and after a few days of the arrival of Brahmin from Airanikkulam Temple, a woman belongs to a lower caste rubbed her sickle on the stone to sharpen and shocked to see blood oozing out from it. Being informed by the locals, The Brahmin from Akavur Mana reached there along with Chathan.  On being asked, Chathan told the Brahmin that it is none other than Lord Shiva of Airanikkulam Temple. According to Chathan, Lord Shiva, pleased with the devotion of the Brahmin, came along with him sitting on the umbrella. As soon as it has been placed in the boat, the lord too shifted his place from the umbrella to the boat. That is why the Brahmin felt the umbrella heavy at first and then lighter.

Then a Brahmin priest from Punalloor Mana did rituals to please the Lord. Then a temple has been constructed and consecration has been done.

The temple is with round sanctum sanctorum and just behind that, there is a temple dedicated to Goddess Parvathy. This temple will open only for twelve days and the twelve-day festival is called Nada Thurappu uthsavam or festival of Temple Opening.

Legend Behind Nadathurappu utsavam

It is believed that none including priests were allowed inside the temple kitchen after a specific time. It is believed that Goddess Parvathy will enter the kitchen during that time to cook food for her husband Lord Shiva. Once, a priest became curious and he intended to check whether it is true or not.

When the priest came to the kitchen in the night, he saw Goddess Parvathy in her full costume and shouted “Amme… Devi…. (Oh.. . Mother Goddess…) out of devotion. Hearing the voice the Goddess turned back and saw the priest. She became furious as the priest broke the tradition. Out of anger, she told the priest that she does not want to stay back there and she is leaving the place.

The priest could not bear those words. He fell on her feet and requested wholeheartedly to stay back there. Pleased with his devotion she told him that she will visit the temple only on the birthday of her husband Lord Shiva and will stay back for only twelve days. Thiruvathira star in the Malayalam month of Dhanu is considered the birthday of Lord Shiva and hence on that day every year, the Goddess will visit the temple and stay back for twelve days. All these twelve days, nobody will enter the temple kitchen after a specific time as it is believed that the goddess will be busy there for cooking food for the lord.