Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Muppandal Esakki Amman temple - Story- Origin of the temple



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.


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