| Temples & Legends Of Kerala |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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THE TEMPLES OF PADMANABHA |
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Majestic
Form
Overawed by the majesty and the size of the divine form which
manifested itself before him, the Sanyasi prayed that the Lord condense himself in size so
that it would be possible for him to see Him within his limited field vision and offer
puja. Accordingly, Shagawan Vishnu shrank in size and ordained that pujas to Him should be
conducted by Tulu Brahmins from the same part of the country from, where Divakara Muni
hailed. To this day half the number or pujaris in this temple continue to be drawn from
the Tulu country in Karnataka.
Another generally accepted version of the origin of the temple relates to the
Vilwamangalathu Swamiyar whose name is linked with the history of several temples in
Kerala. This legend is almost identical with the Divakara Muni story related above. It is
said that the Swami, a great Krishna bhakta, while offering prayers to his favourite deity
used to close his eyes in meditation. Once, when he did so, a child annoyed him by
disarranging the articles of his worship. And when the sage opened his eyes he
disappeared. Enraged at the prank, he gave a blow to the child while his eyes were closed.
At this, the child who was none other than Vishnu Himself ran away saying that he could be
found only in the forest of Ananta. |
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