Bhagavathy Temple (Mandaikadu, Tamil Nadu)

About

Devi Kanya Kumari, is Shree Bhagavathy in the form of an adolescent girl child. Devi is also known as Shree Baala Bhadra or Shree Baala. She is popularly known as “Bhagavathy” (Durga or Parvati) “Devi”. The Bhagavathy Temple is located in Cape Kanya Kumari in Tamil Nadu; the southern tip of main land India, there by located on the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. She is also known by several other names, including Kanya Devi and Devi Kumari. She is also worshiped as Shree Bhadrakali by devotees. Sage Parashurama is said to have performed the consecration of the temple. The Goddess is believed to be the one who removes the rigidity of our mind, devotees usually feel the tears in their eyes or even inside their mind when they pray to the goddess in devotion and contemplation.

This is the first Durga Temple created by Lord Parasurama and is also one among the 108 Shakthi Peethas in the world. Kanyakumari Devi Temple is situated in Tamil Nadu. Kanyakumari is a cape at the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula. During British rule, it was known as Cape Comorin. The closest major cities are Nagercoil, the capital of Kanyakumari district(22kms) and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala(85 kms).Kanyakumari got its name from the Kumari Amman or the Kanyakumari Temple situated at the shore on the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Devi Kanya Kumari, that is, the virgin goddess, is an aspect of Parvathy. She is known by several other names, including Kanya Devi, Devi Kumari, and Kumari Amman.

The Kanyakumari temple has been mentioned in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai and Puranaanooru. The name Kanyakumari stands for Kanya (Virgin) and Kumari (girl).

The demon king Banasura (grandson of Mahabali) did penance to get a boon from Lord Shiva. He obtained a boon from Lord Shiva that he could be vanquished only by a virgin. Later he became the emperror of the three worlds. His evil ways had caused much agony to Devas, sages and saints. Unable to bear the harassment of the demon king Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) and the Devas approached Lord Vishnu and requested him to kill Banasura. Mahavishnu advised them to worship Sathi (Parvathy) the Goddess of the universe to vanquish the demon. Answering the prayers of the oppressed, Shakti appeared as Kumari (a young virgin girl) and promised to annihilate the evil forces championed by Banasura. Asking the devas to be patient for the right time for the killing of Banasura, Devi travelled to the southern-most tip of India, where she began to meditate upon Lord Shiva. As time went on she grew into a teenager. This is how the southern tip of India got the name Kanya Kumari, as kanya kumari means “a virgin teenaged girl” at Kanyakumari and commenced penance with the desire of marrying Shiva at Suchindram.

Lord Shiva (from nearby Suchindrum) was so enchanted by the beauty of Goddess Kumari that he decided to marry her. The divine sage, Narada, felt this would endanger the chances of destroying Banasura, for it was preordained that the king of demons could meet his death only at the hands of a virgin. Therefore, Narada had to find someway to scuttle the marriage.

First Narada tried to confuse Kanya Kumari, telling her that Shiva is not powerful than Banasura. Narada told the goddess that she should ask Shiva to bring three items that could not be obtained anywhere in the world in order to prove his identity. These were a coconut without eyes, a stalk of sugarcane without stump-joints and a betel leaf without veins. But Lord Shiva easily fulfilled this difficult challenge and the marriage continued to be scheduled.

Narada, fixed the midnight hour as the auspicious time for the wedding. When Shiva’s procession reached a site by name Vazhukkumpaarai, Narada falsely heralded the break of dawn by assuming the form of a cock. On hearing the crowing of thr cock, Lord Shiva presumed the auspicious hour had past, turned back and returned to Suchindrum. Meanwhile, in Kanyakumari all waited for Lord Shiva’s arrival and eventually, when he didn’t turn up, the wedding ceremonies were cancelled. The rice and other grains meant for the wedding feast remained uncooked. It is said that in Kanya Kumari’s anger over Shiva not arriving that she scattered all the food items that had been assembled for the wedding. Today tourists can buy tiny stones which look like rice, in remembrance of the marriage that was never solemnized.

The disappointed Kumari Devi decided to do penance and continue with her quest to fight the evil forces of Banasura. The Devi resumed Her penance on the rock, now known as Sripadaparai, a few hundred metres offshore. Meanwhile, Banasura heard about the beauty of the girl and came to request Her hand in marriage. When Devi rejected the idea, the demon king decided to win her by force. This led to a fierce battle, which ended with Kanya Kumari slaying Banasura with her chakra (divine discus) in Mahadana Puram (4 km north of Kanya Kumari).

It is said that at the moment of his death, Banasura repented for his adharmic acts and prayed to Parashakti to have compassion upon him and absolve him and anyone else who bathed in the waters off Kanya Kumari of their sins. Devi granted Banasura the boon, and this is why people come from all over the world to bathe in this holy confluence of seas. The relieved Devas returned blessed. Lord Parasurama and Sage Narada requsted to stay there till the end of Kaliyuga. The goddess agreed and remains at this place ever-dedicated to Lord Shiva and continues to perform austerities to this day with the hopes that he will one day unite with her.

Later Parasurama built a temple on the shores and installed a beautiful idol of Goddess Kanya Kumari. The beautiful image of the Goddess in resplendent glory, with a garland in her right hand doing eternal penance as she waits for Lord Shiva to come, bestows on the devotee immense wealth of spiritual energy and peace of mind.

One specialty of the idol is her diamond nose ring. The sparkling diamond nose-ring of the deity is said to be visible even from the sea. The temple’s legend says that the nose ring was obtained from a king cobra and that light reflects off it so brightly that once an ancient mariner mistook it for a lighthouse. Sailing his ship towards the beacon, he wrecked upon the Kanya Kumari rocks. In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, the eastern door of the temple is only opened on five special occasions throughout the year.

Lord Ganesha, Surya and Ayyappa have separate shrines. There are also shrines to Vijayasundari and Balasundari, friends and playmates of the Goddess in her youthful form. A well inside the temple known as Moola Ganga Theertham, provides water for the Devi’s abhishekam. The eastern entrance, facing the sea, remains closed throughout the year except for the Aaraattu rituals. The eastern door is opened also on new moon days in the months of Edavam, Karkkidakam (Capricorn and Cancer), during Navaratri and in the month of Vrischikam.

The poojas in this temple are carried out according to the Tanthrasamuchayam like the temples in Kerala. Kanya Kumari temple is considered as a Kerala temple and was once part of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom. The Vaisakha festival is celebrated in the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May) where an image of the goddess is taken around town in procession on various mounts. The car festival, the Aaraatu (when the eastern door to the shrine is opened) and the float festival here are of significance. The Kalabham (sandal) festival in the month of Aadi (Karkkidakam) is also of importance here, when the image is covered with sandal paste, and on the 13th day, ie. The last Friday of the month, vast crowds throng the temple as the image is covered with vast quantities of flowers brought in from several villages in the vicinity. An image of the deity is held in worship at the Navaratri mandapam throughout the duration of Navaratri, and processions mark the festive celebrations on each of the nine nights. The destruction of Baanasuran is enacted on Vijaya Dasami, the concluding day of the Navaratri festival, where an image of the deity is taken in procession on a horse mount to a nearby village – Mahadanapuram.

For thousands of years, this southern-most tip of the sub-continent has been one of India’s main pilgrimage sites, as bathing in Kanya Kumari’s waters is said to absolve one of all sins. The tradition here is to take a holy dip at the bathing ghat at the confluence of the three seas. There are about 25 Theerthams on the shores.

The Sripadaparai is now known as Swami Vivekananda Rock, where the holy feet of the Goddess is enshrined. Swami Vivekananda is said to have sat in deep meditation on this rock and obtained the blessings from Devi. A memorial built in his honor is accessible via ferry. There is also a recently built memorial to Tiruvalluvar, the author of the philosophical work Tirukkural – a treatise on the Indian way of life.

The worship of Devi Kanya Kumari dates back to the Vedic times. She has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai, Puranaanooru and Nārāyaṇa (Mahānārāyaṇa) Upanishad, a Vaishnava Upanishad in the Taittiriya Samhita of Krishna Yajur Veda.

As directed by his Guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, came here to seek Devi’s blessing in December 1892, as Devi is the goddess of Sanyasa. It is in this location he decided to embark on the Missionary Work to a higher level of action rather than being passive like the usual Sanyasis’. Swami Brahmananda (1863–1922) and Swami Nirmalananda (1863–1938), another two disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Parama hamsa also worshiped Devi Kanyakumari. In fact, Swami Nirmalananda brought several small girls from many parts of Kerala to worship Bahagavathy in 1935-36 period. To the surprise of all, seven girls later became the members of the first batch of Nuns of the “Sarada Ashrama”, a Hindu Nunnery started later in 1948 in Ottapalam, Palakkad, Kerala by Swami Vishadananda. The rites and rituals of the temple is organised and classified by following Sankaracharya’s treatise.

The author of Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (60-80 A.D.) has written about the prevalence of the propitiation of the deity Kanyakumari in the extreme southern part of India; “There is another place called Comori and a harbour, hither come those men who wish to consecrate themselves for the rest of their lives, and bath and dwell in celibacy and women also do the same; for it is told that a goddess once dwelt here and bathed.”[3] [4] Kanyakumari was under the rule of the Paravar Kings [citation needed] till the downfall of Pandyas, and later by kings of Travancore under the overall suzerainty of the British until 1947, when India became independent. Travancore joined the independent Indian Union in 1947. Later in the state partition Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu.

According to monotheistic philosophies like Advaita, in Hinduism there is reference to only one God (Addressed as Para brahma, Parameshwara or Parashakti by different sects) but for the purpose of idol worship different forms of The Almighty are considered as avatar or representation of the Almighty., [6] the supreme one, the form less and with different forms, the nirguna, the unbiased and the ubiquitous,. However, as the Veda and similar literature of ancient times are of Shruthi nature (i.e. there is no written documents and students need to lean it from a Guru by memorising), these literatures are in poems nature with well defined Rhythm (Poem meter) known as Chandass (E.g. Gayatri is one of the chandass as well as; the basic mantra of Gayatri chandass, Surya gayatri is also called Gayatri Mantra) so as to easily memorise. So for using similies, and satyres for a poem they personified many manifestations of the supreme almighty for better understanding. When Upanishads were created in the later years it changed into Smruthi (written literature), however the similies used in Brahmanas, Samhitas and Aranyakas were developed as stories. The personifications of the similes became characters in the Puranas’ (Upanishads’).

During the later stage of Vedic era, when Purana, Vedanta and Itihas (Epics Ramayana and Maha Bharath) literatures emerged the importance of the basic nature elements Agni, Varuna, Vayu and Indra in the literature decreased. The worshiping of The Supreme Almighty gradually became more developed and cultured along with the literature like Bhagavat Gita. So there on rather than worshiping the natural forces Hindu worship redirected to one Supreme Almighty, they addressed The Almighty in different names Para brahma, Parameshwara or Parashakti even though all words meant The Almighty, who is ubiquitous and undefinable, as this form of The Almighty is intangible or unapproachable, the Avatars of The Almighty were believed to be the visual representation of the Almighty for making idol worship, So Hinduism on one end of philosophy is a monotheistic one but on the other end of worship is polytheist.

Different Vedantas (Advaita, Vishista advaita, Dwaita e.t.c) resulted in the formation of various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism) and communities addressed the Almighty in different names. The literatures became more focused on creating guides for leading a better way of life and a better society (e.g. Bhagvad Gita).[1][6] Different forms of worship arose and different avatars arose, however the worship was more or less directed towards The Almighty (in manifested or un-manifested form depending on the one who worships). The nature in which we are part of is defined as the manifested (material) un-manifested (non-material) form of the Almighty. The material or manifestation is everything in the universe we can feel with our senses (E.g. Earth, flowers, humans, stars, light, sound, taste of mango, smell of jasmine). The non material or un-manifested form of the Almighty is that things which we cannot feel by our senses (E.g. Knowledge, Creation, Prosperity, Sustain, Power, Consciousness and Control)

The feminine aspects of The Almighty (in its manifested and un-manifested forms) are called as Prakriti and the male aspects called as Purusha. The Prakriti is addressed in different names by different Hindus communities as Adi-parashakti, Bhadra, Shakti, Devi, Bhagavathi, Amman, Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi; in different locations. All the material manifested aspects the Nature around us is classified as feminine and is the Prakriti or Mother Goddess and also the un-manifested forms Knowledge, Prosperity and Power is considered as feminine Prakriti and it is source of energy for Creation, Sustain and Control, which is the male aspect (Purusha) of Prabrahma.

In Tantra, the worship of Prakriti is done in different methods Dakshinachara (Right-Hand Path) (Saatvika rites), Vamachara (Left-Hand Path) (Rajas rites) and Madhyama (Mixed) (Taamasa rites) in different temples. The name of Devi in temples during Saatvika or Dakshina rites is ‘Shree Bhagavathy’ and Vaasa (left method) rites is called ‘Maha Devi’ similar to Maha Vidya.

The confluence of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean at the temple

The mythological story dates back in the Vedic period. Bana an asura by birth was the ruler of his land. He was a very powerful king. He took penance and obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that his death will only be with the hand of an adolescent girl. [4]

With this powerful boon, he became fearless and wreaked havoc on the entire world. He went to conquest and oust Lord Indra from his throne. He banishes all the devas’ from there. They veiled themselves from the universe. The devas’ who were the personification of the basic natural elements, Agni (fire), Varuna (water), Vayu (air) went uncoordinated and havoc spread in the universe, As Indra (ether) was not able to administer and coordinate the Pancha bootha.[4]

Bhagavathy, the unbiased Prakriti, will only balance the nature; she does not favor or bias, as she itself is the nature where all living beings is a part of. Bhagavathy manifested herself in the Southern tip of the Aryavartha, to kill Bana and recur the balance of nature.

As an adolescent girl she had immense devotion towards Lord Shiva. The Lord decided to marry her. All arrangements were made for the marriage. Lord Shiva started the journey from Shuchindram for the marriage. Sage Narada realized Bana could only be killed by an adolescent girl and interrupted Shiva’s marriage with Bhagavathy, The marriage muhurat (muhurtam or auspicious time) was in the Bhahma muhurtam early in the morning. Narada made the sound of a cock and send wrong information that the Sun has already risen and the auspicious time passed. The marriage procession returned.

The poor Devi waited for the Lord and finally she thought that she has been snubbed. With unbearable insult, pain, grief and anger she destroyed everything she saw. She threw away all the food and broke her bangles. When she finally gained her composure she chooses to be a Sanyasin forever and took penance. Ages later Bana, tried to lure and approach the goddess without realizing who she was. The infuriated Bhagavathy, who was the Bhadrakali herself, slaughtered Bana at once. Moments before his death Bana realized that the one before him is the Bhagavathy, the Almighty itself. He prayed her to absolve him of his sins. Bhagavathy maintained her divine presence in the place, in the Devi Kanyakumari Temple.

This pilgrim center derives its name from the Virgin goddess Kanyakumari, to whom the temple is dedicated. According to a legend, goddess Parashakti, in one of her incarnations as Devi Kanya, did penance here to secure Shiva’s hand in marriage. As she could not achieve her ambition, she vowed to remain a Virgin (Kanya) ever after.

According to the legend, once upon a time, the Asuras got supremacy over the Devas, leading to Adharma, ignorance and injustice. Banasura, the king of demons, was playing havoc, driving away Devas from heaven and meting out cruel punishments to saints and rishis. Unable to stand the agony, Mother Earth sought the help of Lord Vishnu, the Protector of the Universe. The Lord advised that the Devas should propitiate Parashakti, who alone was capable of destroying Banasura. Accordingly, the Devas performed Yagna to propitiate the Goddess, who appeared before them and promised to annihilate the evil forces headed by Banasura. She came to Kanyakumari in the form of Virgin girl and began her penance. Meanwhile, Lord (of nearby Suchindram temple) fell in love with her, and arrangements were made for their marriage.

The divine sage Narad realized that this marriage would destroy the chances of annihilating Banasura, because it was pre-ordinated by Brahma that the demon king could be killed only be a Virgin. Narad decided to frustrate this marriage proposal. He met both Goddess Kanya and Lord Shiva and asked them to prepare for the marriage, which was to take place at an auspicious hour at midnight on a particular day. Overjoyed at the prospect of his cherished desire being fulfilled, Lord Shiva left Suchindram for kanyakumari, eager not to miss the auspicious time. But it was not to be. As the Lord reached Vazukkamparai, five kilometers south of Suchindram, Narada assumes the form of a cock and crowed, falsely heralding the break of dawn. Thinking that the auspicious hour for this marriage was past, the Lord returned to Suchindram, disappointed. The Goddess also decided to remain Virgin ever after. All the food items prepared for the divine wedding were turned into sands. Small pebbles, resembling rice, and the multi-coloured sands, found abundantly on the shore, are attributed to the above incident.

Bansura heard about the beauty of the Virgin Goddess and came to request her hand in marriage. When the Goddess spurned the idea, the demon king decided to win her by force. As she drew out his mighty sword, the Goddess too unsheathed her deadly sword. A fierce battle ensued, the Goddess killed the demon with her Chakrayudha. The relieved Devas expressed their gratitude to the Goddess and returned blessed. After this, Parashakti resumed her penance.

Kanyakumari is indeed a unique place – the Land’s End of India where the three mighty oceans – the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea mingle their waters and roar in an incessant paean of praise to the divine. The Divine Mother chose this special place at the very tip of the peninsula of India for her special abode. She is the virgin goddess – Kanya Kumari, who came to stay here centuries back.  In course of time the place came to be known by her name.

One of the fascinating things about this place which makes it not only a pilgrim centre but a tourist spot, is the fact that here at the tip of the holy land of Bharat one can watch the setting sun and the rising moon at the same time. This is an unbelievable scene especially if we are lucky enough to be there on a good day when the sky is clear. Another interesting thing is that we can see the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening from the same spot. The confluence of the three oceans as well as this phenomenon of the sun rise and sun set are said to give special spiritual vibrations to this place. It is a unique experience to watch the three oceans beating on the rocks and watch the sun set and moon rise at the same time.

The story of how the goddess chose this place is a most interesting one. The great king, Bharata who ruled the entire land of Bharat (ancient name for India), in ancient times, was the one who gave his name to the country. He had eight daughters and one son. He divided the country into nine equal parts and gave the southern portion to his beautiful and youngest daughter – Kumari. She was the incarnation of the Divine Mother and had taken birth at the bequest of the gods in order to kill the demon, Banasura who had been given a boon by Shiva that only a virgin could kill him. However she forgot her mission and fell in love with Shiva, the Lord of Kailasa. He agreed to marry her for after all she was, Parvati, his consort through eternity. A date was fixed for the wedding.

There was great dismay amongst the gods when they heard this news, since this romance would put a stop to all their plans. Banasura could only be killed by a virgin so they thought of a plan to thwart the divine wedding. They informed Shiva that the most auspicious time for the marriage was at midnight on a particular day. The goddess was also informed of this. Both of them started their preparations. The wedding banquet was ready and the bride was clad in all her finery. Shiva set out in good time from his Himalayan abode but when he reached a place which was about thirteen miles from Kanyakumari, Indra, the king of the gods took the form of a cock and started to crow, thus proclaiming the approach of dawn. Hearing this Shiva was most disappointed and decided that there was no point in continuing his journey since the auspicious time was over. He alighted from his bull vehicle and stayed put in that place which is now known as Suchindram and has a magnificent temple of Shiva.

As for the goddess she waited in vain. Morn came and still there was no sign of her bridegroom.  She was both unhappy and angry and upturned all the vessels containing the various food articles which had been prepared for the banquet. These are supposed to have calcified into the sand and pebbles on the beach. Even today you can see grains of sand looking like rice, pebbles looking like lentils and different coloured gravel and stones resembling many types of food articles. Kumari returned to her penance and vowed to remain a virgin – “kanya” forever.

Asuras are noted for their eye for beauty and Banasura soon came to know of the existence of this fascinating female at the tip of the country. He came to see her for himself and was totally captivated by her beauty and begged her to marry him. She said that she had vowed to marry only the one who could defeat her in battle. The demon was delighted to hear this since he was sure that he could overcome her easily. He drew his sword and rushed at her but she took on her terrible form as Kali, holding a trident and slew him easily. Thus the gods had their way. But Kumari was determined to remain a virgin forever and continued with her penance.

The origin of the temple is hidden in the hoary annals of the history of our land. There are many versions as to who was the first to consecrate her at this particular spot. One story claims that it was Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu who was supposed to have retrieved the land mass known as Kerala from the sea by throwing his axe into it. He begged the goddess to take her place there at the tip of Bharat forever and thus guard the holy land from all harm. The other story gives this honour to the great sage Agastya who is noted for the amazing deeds he did in South India. Apparently the sage desired to have a vision of Kali as a young girl and she was pleased to accede to his request and appeared in the form of Kanya Kumari – an enchanting young maid.

A third version gives a more historic aspect. In the third century BC, when Cheran Chenkuttuvan was the ruler of the land, there was no idol as such. There were only the bare walls of the sanctum on which the waves would come and beat. These walls still carry weather beaten marks on them. He is said to have got a special stone known as Rudraksha Shila which is found only in Himachal Pradesh and got the idol made. Priests have certified that the idol is certainly not made with the granite stone which is normally found in that region.

However since the temple has been mentioned in the Mahabharata it is to be supposed that it is actually much older than the 3rd century. During the Mahabharata war, Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna did not wish to participate in the war and decided to go on a pilgrimage. This is mentioned as being one of the temples that he visited.  This temple is also said to be one of the hundred and eight “Durgalayas” or temples dedicated to Durga. A 1st century book called “Periplus of the Erythrian Sea” carries a reference to Kanyakumari which was apparently a famous pilgrim centre even at that time. However the present temple was built in the 8th century y the Pandyan kings of Madurai and renovated and added to by the Cholas. She was the family deity of the Pandyan royal family. The temple is replete with many inscriptions both on the inner walls and on the pillars which proclaim its antiquity. A lot of valuable historical information can be got from these inscriptions.

The main shrine is located right on the ocean front and the goddess faces east towards the sea. However the main entrance is to the north. Before entering the temple, devotees take a dip in the triveni sangam (confluence of the three waters). Such confluences of rivers and oceans are considered to have high spiritual vibrations. It is also an auspicious place for doing the last rites for the dead.

The idol of the goddess is one of the most enchanting ones which we can ever see. The double row of prayer beads clasped in her right hand proclaims her to be an eternal anchorite. However she is always fabulously attired and adorned with garlands and necklaces. The lustre of her diamond nose ornament dazzles the eye of all who look at it. At one time the doorway to the east facing the sea used to be left open and apparently many ships mistaking the light coming from this jewel for a light house came and crashed on the rocks. Since then the door has been closed and is opened only five times during the year on special occasions.  Some say that this diamond is actually the famous Orloff diamond of Europe! Others claim that at some period of time, pirates came and stole many of the jewels including the diamond nose ring and the present one is a substitute made by one of the kings. Whatever the truth of these various claims, it is a fact that even today we can’t help but be dazzled by the brilliance of her nose ring which is highlighted by the various oil lamps which are lit in the sanctum. In fact it is a real delight to sit in front of her and drink in her amazing beauty.

Unlike other temples, the sanctum is actually almost on par with the adjoining mandapam (kind of dais). Thus the steps leading into the sanctum are very shallow. When we sit on the floor in front of her we can have a very close view of the goddess if we are lucky enough to go at a time when there is no crowd.

Even though the temple now comes under the state of Tamilnadu, the priests are still chosen from the Brahmin families of Kerala and they still adhere to the Kerala type of five pujas per day.

The most spectacular festival here is the Navaratri or nine days of worship of the divine mother in the month of September\October. This is the time when the Devi clashed with the demon Banasura. The tenth day is known as Viyajayadasami, or the tenth day of victory and the goddess is taken on a silver horse in a procession to a place called Mahadanapuram which is eleven kilometres from the temple. Here the priests enact the battle between her and the demon much to the delight of the devotees.

In the twentieth century another historical event took place in this most spiritual place. Swami Vivekananda, the great devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, the sage of Bengal came to this place and paid homage at Kumari’s feet. He was filled with a divine energy which propelled him to swim across the turbulent waters of the sea and cross to a rock on which he sat in deep contemplation for three days. This rock is now known as Vivekananda rock. The clear imprint of the Devi’s foot is also to be found here. It was from the feet of the virgin mother that he found the inspiration for his future work in India. Needless to say this is a unique place that has attracted many saints and sages from all over the land throughout the ages.

It is easily accessible both by road and rail. One can fly to Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala and then take a car to the temple. There are many other interesting places worth visiting en route like the ancient palace of Marthanda Varma which is noted for its unique Kerala architecture and the Shiva temple of Suchindram which has been mentioned earlier.

Thus Kanyakumari is the pride of India, guarding the entrance to the holy land from the south. Undisturbed by the ebb and flow of the seas as well as of the fortunes of humankind, the eternal virgin beckons us to perpetual beatitude.

Kanyakumari Temple is regarded as a Shakti peetha. The mythological story of Daksha yaga is considered to be the origin story of Shakti Peethas. Shakti Peetha means the peetha (abode) of Shakti (The divine place enshrined by Mother Goddess), due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it in sorrow. There are 51 Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. The Kalabhairava of the temple is called Nimish and the Shakti is addressed as Sarvani.

Timing

POOJA NAME	MORNING	EVENING
Temple Opening Time	4.30 AM	4 PM
Abhishegam	5.00 AM
Deeparathanai	6.00 AM
Abhishegam	10.00 AM
Deeparathanai	11.30 AM
Sayaratchai Deeparathanai		6.30 PM
Sribali		8.15 PM
Yeganda Deeparathanai		8.25 PM
Temple Closing Time	12.30 PM	8.30 PM

Distance

·         From Delhi it is 2805 KM away.

·         From Mumbai it is 16716 KM away.

·         From Kolkata it is 2371 KM away.

·         From Chennai it is 723 KM away.

LOCATION

SH 46, Mandaikadu,

Tamil Nadu 629252, India.