Maa Kanyakumari Maa
This is the first Durga Temple created by Lord
Parasurama and is also one among the 108 Shakthi Peethas in the world.
Kanyakumari Devi Temple is situated in Tamil Nadu. Kanyakumari is a cape
at the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula. During British rule,
it was known as Cape Comorin. The closest major cities are Nagercoil,
the capital of Kanyakumari district(22kms) and Thiruvananthapuram, the
capital of Kerala(85 kms).Kanyakumari got its name from the Kumari Amman
or the Kanyakumari Temple situated at the shore on the confluence of
the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Devi Kanya Kumari,
that is, the virgin goddess, is an aspect of Parvathy. She is known by
several other names, including Kanya Devi, Devi Kumari, and Kumari
Amman.
The Kanyakumari temple has been mentioned in the
Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai and
Puranaanooru. The name Kanyakumari stands for Kanya(Virgin) and
Kumari(girl).
The demon king Banasura(grand son of Mahabali) did
penance to get a boon from Lord Shiva. He obtained a boon from Lord
Shiva that he could be vanquished only by a virgin. Later he became the
emperror of the three worlds. His evil ways had caused much agony to
Devas,sages and saints. Unable to bear the harassment of the demon king
Bhoomi Devi(Mother Earth) and the Devas approached Lord Vishnu and
requested him to kill Banasura. Mahavishnu advised them to worship
Sathi(Parvathy) the Goddess of the universe to vanquish the demon.
Answering the prayers of the oppressed, Shakti appeared as Kumari(a
young virgin girl) and promised to annihilate the evil forces championed
by Banasura. Asking the devas to be patient for the right time for the
killing of Banasura, Devi travelled to the southern-most tip of India,
where she began to meditate upon Lord Shiva. As time went on she grew
into a teenager. This is how the southern tip of India got the name
Kanya Kumari, as kanya kumari means "a virgin teenaged girl" at
Kanyakumari and commenced penance with the desire of marrying Shiva at Suchindram.
Lord Shiva (from nearby Suchindrum) was so enchanted
by the beauty of Goddess Kumari that he decided to marry her. The divine
sage, Narada, felt this would endanger the chances of destroying
Banasura, for it was preordained that the king of demons could meet his
death only at the hands of a virgin. Therefore, Narada had to find
someway to scuttle the marriage.
First Narada tried to confuse Kanya Kumari, telling
her that Shiva is not powerful than Banasura. Narada told the goddess
that she should ask Shiva to bring three items that could not be
obtained anywhere in the world in order to prove his identity. These
were a coconut without eyes, a stalk of sugarcane without stump-joints
and a betel leaf without veins. But Lord Shiva easily fulfilled this
difficult challenge and the marriage continued to be scheduled.
Narada, fixed the midnight hour as the auspicious
time for the wedding. When Shiva's procession reached a site by name
Vazhukkumpaarai, Narada falsely heralded the break of dawn by assuming
the form of a cock. On hearing the crowing of thr cock, Lord Shiva
presumed the auspicious hour had past, turned back and returned to
Suchindrum. Meanwhile, in Kanyakumari all waited for Lord Shiva's
arrival and eventually, when he didn't turn up, the wedding ceremonies
were cancelled. The rice and other grains meant for the wedding feast
remained uncooked. It is said that in Kanya Kumari's anger over Shiva
not arriving that she scattered all the food items that had been
assembled for the wedding. Today tourists can buy tiny stones which look
like rice, in remembrance of the marriage that was never solemnized.
The disappointed Kumari Devi decided to do penance
and continue with her quest to fight the evil forces of Banasura. The
Devi resumed Her penance on the rock, now known as Sripadaparai, a few
hundred metres offshore. Meanwhile, Banasura heard about the beauty of
the girl and came to request Her hand in marriage. When Devi rejected
the idea, the demon king decided to win her by force. This led to a
fierce battle, which ended with Kanya Kumari slaying Banasura with her
chakra (divine discus) in Mahadana Puram (4 km north of Kanya Kumari).
It is said that at the moment of his death, Banasura
repented for his adharmic acts and prayed to Parashakti to have
compassion upon him and absolve him and anyone else who bathed in the
waters off Kanya Kumari of their sins. Devi granted Banasura the boon,
and this is why people come from all over the world to bathe in this
holy confluence of seas. The relieved Devas returned blessed. Lord
Parasurama and Sage Narada requsted to stay there till the end of
Kaliyuga. The goddess agreed and remains at this place ever-dedicated to
Lord Shiva and continues to perform austerities to this day with the
hopes that he will one day unite with her.
Later Parasurama built a temple on the shores and
installed a beautiful idol of Goddess Kanya Kumari. The beautiful image
of the Goddess in resplendent glory, with a garland in her right hand
doing eternal penance as she waits for Lord Shiva to come, bestows on
the devotee immense wealth of spiritual energy and peace of mind.
One specialty of the idol is her diamond nose ring.
The sparkling diamond nose-ring of the deity is said to be visible even
from the sea. The temple's legend says that the nose ring was obtained
from a king cobra and that light reflects off it so brightly that once
an ancient mariner mistook it for a lighthouse. Sailing his ship towards
the beacon, he wrecked upon the Kanya Kumari rocks. In order to prevent
such a tragedy from happening again, the eastern door of the temple is
only opened on five special occasions throughout the year.
Lord Ganesha, Surya and Ayyappa have separate
shrines. There are also shrines to Vijayasundari and Balasundari,
friends and playmates of the Goddess in her youthful form. A well inside
the temple known as Moola Ganga Theertham, provides water for the
Devi's abhishekam. The eastern entrance, facing the sea, remains closed
throughout the year except for the Aaraattu rituals. The eastern door is
opened also on new moon days in the months of Edavam, Karkkidakam
(Capricorn and Cancer), during Navaratri and in the month of Vrischikam.
The poojas in this temple are carried out according
to the Tanthrasamuchayam like the temples in Kerala. Kanya Kumari temple
is considered as a Kerala temple and was once part of the erstwhile
Travancore kingdom. The Vaisakha festival is celebrated in the tamil
month of Vaikasi (May) where an image of the goddess is taken around
town in procession on various mounts. The car festival, the Aaraatu
(when the eastern door to the shrine is opened) and the float festival
here are of significance. The Kalabham (sandal) festival in the month of
Aadi (Karkkidakam) is also of importance here, when the image is
covered with sandal paste, and on the 13th day, ie. the last Friday of
the month, vast crowds throng the temple as the image is covered with
vast quantities of flowers brought in from several villages in the
vicinity. An image of the deity is held in worship at the Navaratri
mandapam throughout the duration of Navaratri, and processions mark the
festive celebrations on each of the nine nights. The destruction of
Baanasuran is enacted on Vijaya Dasami, the concluding day of the
Navaratri festival, where an image of the deity is taken in procession
on a horse mount to a nearby village - Mahadanapuram.
For thousands of years, this southern-most tip of the
sub-continent has been one of India's main pilgrimage sites, as bathing
in Kanya Kumari's waters is said to absolve one of all sins. The
tradition here is to take a holy dip at the bathing ghat at the
confluence of the three seas. There are about 25 Theerthams on the
shores.
The Sripadaparai is now known as Swami Vivekananda
Rock, where the holy feet of the Goddess is enshrined. Swami Vivekananda
is said to have sat in deep meditation on this rock and obtained the
blessings from Devi. A memorial built in his honor is accessible via
ferry. There is also a recently built memorial to Tiruvalluvar, the
author of the philosophical work Tirukkural - a treatise on the Indian
way of life.
www.vaikhari.org/kanyakumari.html
Maa Kanyakumari Maa
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Oleh
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