Kerala
| Author : K. R. Vaidyanathan |
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Shri K. R. Vaidyanathan, retired Senior Commercial Officer, Central Railway, is well known to readers through his earlier works, Sri Krishna, The Lord of Guruvayur and Pilgrimage to Sabari.
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| Author's Preface |
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As the author of books on two of the most prominent temples of Kerala Sri Krishna,The Lord of Guruvayur and Pilgrimage to Sabari- which were fortunately well received by the public.
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| Introduction |
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Of Kerala temples, Stella Kramrisch once wrote: "In this beauteous, bountiful country, between sea and mountains, green in the density of high trees and fertile land.
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| The Temple of Sri Padmanabha
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In our younger days - and that was some fifty years ago - poor Brahmins who could not subsist themselves went to Trivedrum, the capital of the princely state of Travancore.
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| A Temple For Serpents |
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The origin of snake worship goes back to remote antiquity. But in no part of the world is snake worship still such a live tradition as in Kerala.
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| The Goddess Who Has Periods |
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This writer set out Chengannur from Alleppey on a December morning.The scenic beauty of Keralais particularlyenchanting during this 60 k.m. drive.
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| Aranmula Parthasarathi |
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The Lord Krishna at Aranmula, is depicted as Parthasarathi, the divine charioter. Aranmula, a beautiful and picturesque village, is about 9 km. from Chengannur.
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| Ambalapuzha Krishna |
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Once Pooratam Thirunal Thampuran,the Brahmin ruler of Champakasseri was travelling in boat accompanied by sages Vilwamanagalam Swamiyar.
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| Sabarimala |
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The Ayyappa temple of Sabarimala in the Western Ghats in south Kerala.While Sri Krishna is a living deity to every Hindu home from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Ayyappa, the beloved god of Keralites.
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| Ettumanur |
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Nalamkal Krishna Pillai in his essay on Ettumanur in his book. Mahakshetrangalku Mumpil, narrates the following incident: An acquaintance of his did not have an issue for several years after marriage.
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| Vaikom |
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Vaikom is 33 k.m south of Ernakulam and 40 km. north-west of kottayam. It can be reached by bus or by rail. There is also the inevitable launch for those fond of cruising on the scenic backwaters (of Vembanad).
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| Chottanikara |
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Today the temple is under the administrative control of the Cochin Devaswom Board. It can easily be reached by bus from Ernakulam or Tripunithura.
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| Kaladi |
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Kaladi is "a pre-eminent centre for inspiration on the banks of the Purna river that purified every man in thought, word and deed," said the Sankaracharyas in a joint message.
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| Kannaki |
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This, in short, is the story of Silappadikaram and the consecration of Kannaki at Kodungallur, However, certain features of the structure of the Kodungallur temple point to the fact that, originally, it was a Siva shrine and that the image of Kali was installed later.
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| Bharata |
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The Story of Bharata in the Ramayana portraying a character of unrivalled purity and sublime selflessness is something more than an episode, and stands out by itself even in that noble epic, as holy shrines do on the banks of the Ganga.
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| Sri Rama Temple At Triprayer |
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Triprayer temple is situated in what is called Chetuve island which was formerly under the Zamorins.In 1719 it was annexed by the Dutch. Then the Mysore Sultan defeated the Dutch and annexed the territory.
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| Vadakkunnathan Temple |
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No visitor to Trichur can miss theVadakkunnathan temple, "one of the most unique, ancient and important" of the sacred shrines of Kerala. The name Trichur is derived from Tiru-Siva-Perur, The holy place was also called Vrishachala.
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| Guruvayur |
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The glory of Guruvayur - the place has also come to be justly known as the Dwarka of the South - thus rests on the divinity of the idol installed there which represents the full manifestation of the Lord Mahavishnu as was revealed to Vasudeva and Devaki at the time of Krishnavatara.
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| Rama And Lakshmana |
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Tiruvilwamala is an important temple, consisting of two shrines side by side - one dedicated to Rama and the otherto his brotherLakshmana. It is a mountain shrine easily accessible by road on the west side.
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| The Historic Tali Temple |
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The Tali temple at Calicut (Kozhikode) is redolent of some of the glorious chapters in the history of old Kerala. Tali is a term generally applied to a Siva temple.
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| Tiruvangad Perumal |
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The Tiruvangad Sri Rama Temple in North Kerala is in deed considered veryimportant with unique characteristic of archi- tecture. There are ever so many temples in Kerala dedicated to Siva, Krishna and Devi. But for Rama there are only three great Temples.
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| Taliparamba |
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Taliparamba is 25 km. from Cannanore, head quarters of Cannanore district. A hisoric place like Calicut or Tellicherry, its neighbourhood is sanctified by three temples - Siva or Rajeswara at Taliparamba.
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| Trichambaram |
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Comparing Trichambaram temple with othertemples in Kerala, Nalamkal states it is not as big as the temples at Vaikom, Ettumanur, Haripad, Kutalmanikayam or even Taliparamaba.
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| A Round-Up |
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"Kerala," it is rightly said, "is a land of temples as it is a land of hills, back waters and spices ." An attempt is made here to make a quick survey of some more temples by rapid circum- ambulation, or ottapradakshi- nam, as they say in Kerala.
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Copyright © by Hindu Books Universe All Right Reserved. Published on: 2003-02-06 (20006 reads) [ Go Back ] |
