| Temples & Legends Of Kerala |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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THE TEMPLE FOR SERPENTS |
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The local
tradition has it that a member of the Mannarsala illam married a girl from the Vettikad
illam where the serpents were hold in great veneration, The girl's parents, being Poor,
had nothing to give by way of dowry except one stone idol of a serpent of which there were
plenty in the house. The girl took ra the idol and worshipped it daily. Soon she be
pregnant and gave birth to a male child and a snake The snake child grow up and gave rise
to numerous progeny. These were all removed to a spot where present grove is.
According to an estimate there are some 4,000 stone idols or nagakals in the grove. They
have every imaginable shape crowned- with one, five or seven cobra heads. Within the
cloister are, however, human figures Nagaraja and Naga Lakshmi or Sarpayakshi. Those are
not able to maintain sarpakavus in their house bring them here and install in the
compound. The visitor will also often find live serpents in the grove but are not known to
injure anyone. |
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