Vilwadrinatha Temple
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Vilwadrinatha Temple | |
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Thrissur | |
Deity | Rama and Lakshmana |
Festivals | Ekadashi, Niramala |
Location | |
Location | Thiruvilwamala |
State | Kerala |
Country | India |
Geographic coordinates | 10°44′26″N 76°25′52″E / 10.7406°N 76.4311°E |
Architecture | |
Type | Traditional Kerala style |
Specifications | |
Temple(s) | One |
Elevation | 121.92 m (400 ft) |
The Vilwadrinatha Temple is a Hindu temple in Thiruvilwamala, a town in the city of Thrissur, Kerala, India.[1][2][3] The principal deities are Rama, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu, and his brother, Lakshmana.[4] It figures among the Abhimana Kshetrams in Vaishnavite traditions. This is one of the four major Rama temples in Kerala — the other three are in Thriprayar, Kadavallur, and Thiruvangad. The temple houses an idol of Lakshmana, which is rare in India. Vilwadrinatha Temple is located in the centre of the community of Thiruvilwamala, atop a 100-foot-high hillock. Visible from the temple is Bharathappuzha, the second-largest river in Kerala, which flows past the temple's northern side from around 3 kilometres away.
History
In the early days, Vilwadrinatha Temple was under the control of five
Later, the temple came under the control of the Zamorins (Samoothiri) of Kozhikode.[note 2] Later, the King of Kochi[who?] took the charge, after continuous revolts with the Zamorins.
The temple has burned thrice: first in 1827, and then twice in 1861. After the second fire, there were plans to renovate the temple, but before any work was done, the temple burned again. The eastern sreekovil was not damaged, and the idol was removed. The western sreekovil was burnt completely, but the idol was undamaged. The current temple was built in 1883 by the King of Kochi.
The temple is now administered by the Cochin Devaswom Board.[5]
Legend
Parashurama, the sixth avatar of the god Vishnu, killed 21 Kshatriya clans with his axe in retaliation for the murder of his father, the sage Jamadagni.[note 3] Repentant of the way he retaliated, he gave all the land he had gained to religious Brahmins, but some opposed Parashurama because he had killed thousands of Kshatriyas. He then retrieved from the Indian Ocean parts of what is now known as Kerala because it was filled with kera (coconut trees). Parasurama built 108 Shiva temples, 108 Durga temples, and five Shasta temples. He then gave the land to the Brahmins and engaged himself in meditation.
Nonetheless, he was still unhappy. One day, while he was meditating, the ghosts of the Kshatriyas killed by Parashurama appeared before him and begged him to grant them redemption. They stated that if they did not receive salvation, they would pose problems for the people. Parashurama then began to pray to Vishnu. While he was praying, he heard a voice informing him that the god Shiva had arrived at Vilwadri (the Sanskrit name for the town of Thiruvilwamala) with his retinue and Parashurama should meet the God. On meeting Parashurama, Shiva gave him an idol of Vishnu and said that he should worship it at Mount Kailash. Parasurama found a good place nearby to put the idol so that all ghosts could have darshan (an opportunity to see a holy person or image of a deity).
At the same time, a sage named Amalaka, the son of the sage Kashyapa, did penance to please Vishnu. When he was doing penance, the devas thought he wanted to take them out of their paradise. They tried to get him to stop his penance by sending heavenly damsels and setting off explosions near him, but he remained undisturbed. When they told Kashyapa about what had happened, he said that his son didn't care about worldly pleasures.
The asuras also arrived in succession to end Amalaka's penance. As soon as Amalaka opened his eyes, flames erupted from them. The asuras were all consumed by fire and transformed into a massive rock known as Rakshasappara.
Amalaka maintained his penance to please the gods. Vishnu appeared before him with his wives, Sri and Bhumi, with the serpent Ananta, as an umbrella. He expressed his desire that the god remain there forever for the sake of humanity. So, Vishnu transformed himself, together with his consorts and Ananta, into a swayambhu idol.
After both idols were consecrated, the power of Vishnu spread throughout the village. Hearing this, the asuras became again furious, and one was sent to destroy the idols. He went to the temple disguised in the form of a holy Brahmin during the daytime. But at night, he changed his form, and ate the cows donated to the temple, throwing their bones northwards. Thus, the place came to be known as moorikkunnu (moori means 'cattle' and kunnu means 'hill' in
Temple structure
Vilwadrinatha Temple is situated on the exact centre of Thiruvilwamala village, situated on the top of a hill 100 ft above the sea level. On every side except the east, there is some population. The main gate to the temple is from the west. There are more than 50 steps to reach the temple. Bharathappuzha, one of the major rivers in Kerala, flows 3 km away from the temple on the north side, and as the temple is situated on the top of a hill, the river can be clearly seen from the temple.
Grounds
On the west and east sides are the remains of two huge seven-storied
On both sides of the main gate are two idols of
On the northern side, there is a large pond named 'Bhagavathichira', and there are steps proceeding to it. It is in this pond that the priests and devotees take bath before entering the temple. Previously neglected, the pond was cleaned by devotees and devaswom in 2015. On the northeastern side, there is a small well, once a pond named 'Nairchira', the same size of Bhagavathichira. It is from this well that the water for daily poojas is taken.
Interior
Inside the in his four arms. The popular belief is that the idol in the west-facing sreekovil is Rama, and the other one is Lakshmana. As both deities have equal importance, poojas and offerings are done in the same way in both sreekovils. Both deities have separate priests. It is also believed that worshipping the eastern sreekovil first results in salvation, and worshipping western sreekovil first results in material pleasure. There is no namaskara mandapam (prostration hall) in front of both sreekovils. In both sreekovils, the idols are installed in the third room. There are no special decorations on the walls of the sreekovils.
The idol of Rama is a
The idol of Lakshamana is around 3 ft tall and is also made of Pathalanjana Sila. This is one of the rare shrines in India where Lakshamana is constructed. This idol is believed to have been consecrated by Parasurama for the welfare of the ghosts. There are no special decorations on this idol. This sreekovil is considered to be the older one of the two.
There are two vathilmadams (raised platform) on both sides of the western entrance. On the northwestern corner of the nalambalam, there is a storeroom and a dark room. There was a
Unlike many temples, there are three
Other sites
Outside the nalambalam, on the southeastern side, is the shrine of the god Hanuman. Here, Hanuman resides as a temple gatekeeper, and has his own importance. The legend says that after killing the asura who tried to destroy the temple, the remaining asuras came to Vilwadri, and began to attack the temple from afar, as they could not approach it. To prevent their attack, Rama sent his faithful servant Hanuman to Vilwadri, who then resided there permanently to prevent further attacks. The idol of Hanuman is around 5 ft tall and is in a sitting posture. Near this shrine is another storeroom and a stage for various festival entertainment programmes.
On the southern side, there is a shrine dedicated to the god
There are shrines dedicated to serpent gods and
. Once she heard that Rama had reached there, she jumped into the nearby pond, which had kept its 'mouth' open. That pond is now called 'Vaikattichira' (lit. 'the pond which showed its mouth'). Later, a temple appeared there. The temple is constructed facing east towards Vaikattichira.There was a huge
Outside the temple complex, on the eastern side, there is a huge
It is believed that the bottom of the temple is also a cave, and a golden
Temple Customs
Daily pooja timings
There are five poojas and three seeveli (procession of caparisoned temple elephants) daily in Thiruvilwamala Temple.
The temple opens at 4 AM, in a peaceful and auspicious atmosphere made by blowing conch seven times. The first darshan on the day is called 'Nirmalya Darshanam' (meaning 'darshan with the decorations of the previous day'). After removing those decorations, 'Shankhabhishekam' (a special
During sunrise, Ethirettupooja and Mahaganapathy Homam are performed. During Ethirettupooja, the sub-deities of the temple (Lords Ganapathi, Hanuman, Shiva, Parvati, and Ayyappa) also get food offerings. After this starts the morning seeveli. The concept of seeveli in Kerala temples is that the Lord watches offering food to his bodyguards, represented by each
After seeveli, at 7:30 AM starts 'Navakabhishekam' (abhishekam with the water in nine pots). After this, the idol is again decorated and at 8 AM, when the shadow reaches 12 ft height, Pantheeradi Pooja is conducted, during which vella nivedyam (rice cooked without jaggery) is offered.
At 11 AM, Uchapooja (noon pooja) starts. Palpayasam (milk pudding) is offered to the Lords at this time. After Uchapooja, there is Uchaseeveli too. The temple closes at noon after all rituals.
The temple reopens at 5 PM. Deeparadhana is conducted at the dusk according to the sunset of each day, during which a special act called 'Sandhyavela' is also performed by the devotees, who chant the names of the Lord many times. At 7:30 PM, Athazhapooja (night/dinner pooja) is conducted. Appam, ada, and betel leaves are offered to the Lords at this time. Later, Athazhaseeveli is also conducted. After this seeveli, the final darshan called 'Thrippuka', in which the sreekovil is filled with holy smoke (the name itself has that meaning), is conducted. The temple closes at 9 PM.
Peruvanam Kunnath Kizhakkedath and Padinjaredath Bhattathiris are the Tantris (chief priests) of the east and west sreekovils, respectively. Namboothiris from five illams are Melsanthis (head priests).
Darshan
Devotees coming from the west nada should not enter directly into the nalambalam. First, devotees can take a bath or wash their feet in the temple ponds, and after reaching the temple, they worship Lord Rama from outside. Later, they proceed to the east nada via north nada. At that time, while reaching northwest, they have to worship Lord Navamukunda. They worship Lord Hanuman before going into the nalambalam. Only with his permission can they enter the nalambalam. Afterwards, they proceed to the Lord Ganapathi shrine. Then only they can worship Lord Rama. After that, they should circumambulate both sreekovils before exiting.
After coming out of the nalambalam, devotees proceed to Lord Ayyappa's shrine. After worshipping the Lord—who resides here with Lord Shiva and his consort (Goddess
Dress code
Men: Traditional mundus are allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum; lungis, shirts, and vests are not permitted. Women: sarees, set mundus, salwar kameez, skirts, and blouses are allowed.
Main offerings
Palpayasam, udayasthamana pooja, sankhabhishekam, and sahasranamarchana are the main offerings for the main deities. Lord Hanuman's main offering is avil (beaten rice). Mahaganapathy homam is the main offering to Lord Ganapathi. Lord Ayyappa has neerajanam and neyyabhishekam as his main offerings.
Location
The temple is located around 50 km from
Notes
- ^ Only three Moosad families still exist today: Kandanath illam, Changanath illam, and Vavath illam. The other two Moosad families no longer exist: Kizhakkillath illam and Kandangath illam.
- excessive detail?]
- ^ Jamadagni was killed by the sons of the evil king Kartavirya Arjuna, as revenge on Parashurama who assassinated their father.
- Guruvayoor Temple, situated 50 km southwest of Thiruvilwamala.
References
- ^ "Another Padmanabha temple-like treasure trove in Kerala?". OneIndia. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ "Vilwadrinatha Temple". PampadyDesam. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ "Vilwadrinatha Temple". MustSeeIndia. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ "Thiruvilwamala Vilwadrinatha Temple / Sree Rama Temple – Hindu Temple Timings, History, Location, Deity, shlokas". Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Nara-Narayana Image of Vilwadrinatha Temple, Kerala and Its Significance". Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Architecture of Kerala Temples". vaikhari.org. 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "Kerala Temples in Thiruvilwamala - Vilwadrinatha Temple".