| He went North,
defeating and seizing kings who opposed him and brought a stone from the Himalayas to be
set up as her image. It was consecrated with great pomp and ceremony in the presence of
numerous kings and chiefs, including Gajabahu of Ceylon. 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. The idol of Siva faces east and that of Kali north. The mandapam, the platform for
devotees to sit and worship the main deity, who is an important characteristic of Kerala
temple architecture, is also located before the Siva shrine. In fact there is no such
mandapam for Kali at all. It is also the practice to offer pooja and naivedyam first to
Siva and then to the Devi. |
