Complete Guide about Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
About Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
Given that women make up the majority of its devotees, the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, one of South India’s ancient temples, is sometimes referred to as the Sabarimala of the Women. The goddess in the Attukal temple is revered as the Supreme Mother, the one who created all living things and is both their mighty preserver and destroyer. Without a stop at the shrine of the supreme Mother Attukalamma, the pilgrims from all over the nation who come to Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple to worship the Lord do not consider their visits to be complete. In order to eradicate evil and defend the good in the world during the current era, known as the Kaliyuga, Vishnumaya took the form of Bhagavathy.
According to legend, Attukal Bhagavathy is the divine embodiment of Kannaki, the well-known protagonist of Elenkovadikal’s Chilapathikaram, the Tamil poet. According to legend, after the ancient city of Madurai was destroyed, Kannaki left the area, travelled to Kerala via Kanyakumari, and stopped in Attukal on her way to Kodungalloor. Parvathy, Paramasiva’s wife, is said to have taken on the form of Kannaki. Attukal Bhagavathy, the all-powerful and kind deity, rules supremely forever there and tends to her followers like a mother tends to her children. Numerous thousands of followers come to the temple from near and far to make prostrations before the goddess in awe and reverence in an effort to find relief from their suffering.
The Pongala Mahotsavam is the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple’s most significant festival. Pongala offerings are a unique temple custom that are practised in Tamil Nadu and some areas of southern Kerala. It is a ten-day event that starts on the Karthika star in the Malayalam months of Makaram and Kumbham (February and March) and ends with the nighttime sacrifice known as Kuruthitharpanam. The renowned Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam occurs on the festival’s ninth day. a 5-kilometer radius around the temple that includes open fields, roads, commercial establishments, government office buildings, and homes belonging to people of every caste, creed, and religion.emerges as a sacred space for Pongala rituals for the thousands of female devotees who have gathered from all over Kerala and beyond. The ceremony is only for women, and the large crowd that assembles in Thiruvananthapuram on this auspicious day is reminiscent of the Kumbhamela Festival of North India.
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Official website Link
www.attukal.org
History and Mythological Background
According to legend, the Goddess Bhagavathy revealed herself to a devoted follower of the Mulluveettil family, a prominent family. It is said that one evening as the family patriarch was offering sacrifices in the Killi river, a young girl asked him to assist her in crossing the water. The elderly man was moved by her charismatic demeanour and bowed in awe and reverence before her as he assisted her in crossing the river and led her to his house nearby. She mysteriously disappeared as the family members were getting ready to give the young girl a warm welcome.
She visited the elderly man in his dream that very night in the form of an icon and commanded him to build her a home in the nearby kavu (sacred ground of shrubs and herbs), at a consecrated spot delineated by three lines. The old man visited the location he had been shown in his dream the following morning, and much to his great surprise, he did discover three indentions on the ground.
He wasted no time in building a temple to house the Goddess on this holy site. The local devotees renovated the building many years later. A stunning and imposing image of the Deity with four arms holding destructive weapons like a spear, sword, shield, etc. was also installed. The high priest of the Badarinath Temple presided over the consecration ceremony for this Exalted Being.
Embodiment of the goddess
India has long been considered the sacred home of gods and goddesses. Since ancient times, men and women, kings and emperors, saints and sages have worshipped the Lord in this place, not only as the omnipotent and absolute “one,” but also as the “one” who manifests in various and numerous ways and who has a variety of names, forms, and divine qualities. As a result, Almighty the Eternal God was worshipped in a variety of forms, including Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and their consorts, each of whom stood for a particular divine quality of the Lord.
The Architecture:
Anyone who visits the Attukal temple is initially mesmerised by its exquisite architecture. The temple’s building is a tasteful fusion of Tamil and Keralan architectural styles. Unquestionably the work of a talented artist, the exquisitely carved figures of Mahishasuramarddini, Goddess Kali, Rajarajeswari, Sree Parvathy with Lord Paramasiva, and various other depictions of the Goddess in and around the temple include Mahishasuramarddini, Goddess Kali, Rajarajeswari, and Sree Parvathy. The representation of various other Gods and the epic tales of the ten manifestations of Lord Vishnu, known as the “Desavathara,” are both presented equally well in the hallways that surround the temple.
The icons depicting the tale of Goddess Kannaki are located on either side of the elegant front gopura. The puranic tale of “Dakshayaga” is portrayed in sculptures on the southern Gopura. By itself, the elaborate gate at the temple’s entrance is a superb illustration of beautiful architecture.
The sanctum sanctorum contains two Goddess idols. The original idol has been kept in all of its original splendour, covered in ornamental gold that has stones set into it.
In addition to the first idol of the Goddess, a second one has been placed. Additionally, there are carvings and sculptures of Lord Ganesan, the serpent God, and Lord Shiva installed inside the temple’s corridors. The idol of the Goddess Attukal Bhagavathy, who radiates light and lustre to all, is installed at the centre of the Sanctum inside the Sreekovil, at a consecrated spot.
Kannaki’s Story
The mythology holds that Attukal Bhagavathy is the divine embodiment of “Kannaki,” the well-known heroine of Chilappatikaram, a classic work of Tamil literature by ilamkovadikal. Following the destruction of the historic city of Madurai, Kannaki departed from there, travelled to Kerala via Kanyakumari, and stopped in Attukal en route to Kodungalloor. The story of Kannaki serves as the basis for the hymns of the “Thottampattu” sung during the annual temple festival. Additionally, the Gopuram temple’s architectural representations of Goddess Kannaki support this mythology. So it should come as no surprise that Sri Vidyadhiraja Chattambi Swamy, a famous saint from Kerala, found the temple grounds to be the perfect place for his meditations.
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