This
temple is also called as Muppandal avvayaramman temple. Muppandal
is a small village which is 25 km North of Naagarkoil
town of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.People believe that the
Goddess was originally called “Iyakki” meaning she makes things
work and this over time became Esakki,. The temple has a
statue of the great ancient poetess of Tamil Nadu and hence
it is called also as avvayara amman temple .
There are two stories about
this temple, one about its recent origin and another about
its ancient origin. Another interesting fact about the temple is
that the Goddess remains under a cactus plant here.
Story of
the recent origin of the temple
In a place called Panakudi of Tirunelveli district a lady devotee was greatly
suffering due to unbearable stomach acheThough she consulted many
doctors nobody was able to cure it..Then she thought of her clan Goddess
and shouted crying “Amma(mother)”.That night in her dream her clan God
Esakki Amman came , sat neat her and massaged her stomach
and asked her, “ I am now below a cactus plant. Can you not build a
thatched shed for me?” and then vanished.The pain of the
lady vanished and she ran to the temple of her Clan Goddess and she saw
The mother Goddess in the form of a already made stone below a
cactus plant .The villagers immediately built a thatched shed for the
Goddess there itself..several people whose prayers were answered
slowly improved the temple by making it in to a built
temple.This temple is in a valley whose three sides are
covered by mountains of the western ghats and one side is a
plane.Possibly this lead the place to be named as Muppandal( Three temporary sheds),There is also a story that The chera, Chozha
and Pandya kings of ancient Tamil Nadu , met at this temple to
solve their problems.When they came for meeting they erected three
different temporary sheds and lived there. This again could have lead
to the name Muppandal(Three temporary sheds).”
Ancient
story - origin of the temple
There was an ancient temple of Lord Shiva in a nearby
village called Pazhavur, He developed relation with a Prostitute
of the village. She being a great devotee of Lord Shiva , protected
her virtue by being faithful to only the priest. When the priest
lost all his wealth, the other prostitutes were trying to get her separated
from the priest..The priest who was interested in getting back all
his wealth murdered the Lady Prostitute m, near a cactus bush,.The
ladies elder brother who saw her dead also died there itself and
the priest who tried to escape was bitten by a snake and he also
died. That girl and her briother to take revenge were born as a Yaksha
boy and girl called Neelan and Neeli and lived in Chozha kingdom. When
the people found out that they were not human beings, they ran away from their
residence and reached a Cactus bush. The brother turned in to a
neem tree and the girl lived under that neem tree., The priest was
born as a merchant and when he came once near the cactus bush, , she
created a baby , followed him and told people that he had cheated
her and when he came back with her , she killed him near the cactus bush..When
with great anger she was going away from the great poetess
Avvayar who was an old lady, told her that since her mission is
over, she can stay near the cactus bush itself. When Lord Shiva , the
friend of Yakshas took pity on Neeli and requested Goddess Parvathi
to help her , the Goddess gave her the great power called Veera
Shakthi.From that time Neeli , then known as Easkki started the
protecting Goddess of the villages nearby. In that Cactus shrub even today
there is a neem tree and a Temple of a Goddess.People call
that place as Adhi Moola sthanam(The ancient sanctum) ,There the goddess
statue made of baked clay is still there.Even today people who want
to be blessed with children keep cradles at The mantapam at the
Aadhi moola Sthanam.
In the other temple built as per the words of Avvayar, the
Goddess Esakki has a very peaceful look.On her right side there is
the Goddess Kalyani called Piranathi Amman., The temple is guarded near
the gate by the two brothers of Esakki Amman called Sudalai Madan and
Pattavarayan , There are separate statues of Durga, Vaishnavi and
Avvayar in the outside corridor of the temple,Outside the
temple there is a 33 feet tall Statue of Esakki Amman in the I open
ground.
In the temple a protective sacred thread is tied so
that evil spirits and black magic does not give any trouble to the
devotees of the temple. They offer White Pongal and Payasam to the
Goddess and distribute it to people as Prasada. There is a huge
crowds of devotees at the temple on full moon days. People believe that
if they worship on that day, the unmarried girls would get
married soon. After the worship on those days, the priests tie an
yellow thread on the hands of the girls.It is also a practice of the farmers
to offer a part of their harvested to the temple. The Goddess is
also offered a sweet made of jiggery and Gingelly .
All the vehicles passing in front of the temple stop their for a minute
and drivers pray for their safety.The last Tuesday of the Adi month
is celebrated in a grand way in the temple.On the second Tuesday, the Amman is
anointed with turmeric water..There is also a ritual of walking on fire
by the males who do penance for 41 days at the temple on that day, . There is
another prayer when the devotees offer scented flowers and cover
up the Amman statue.
The
temple is open daily from 6.30 Am till 8 PM. Tuesdays , Fridays and
Sundays are considered as special days to worship the Goddess.
