[Rajarajeshwari_Kalpataru] Chottanikara Rajarjeshwari Devi and the Bhadrakali Connection

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plz post on Kodungalor Bhagavathy and Ujjaini MakaliSubodha <para_anuloma wrote:

 

 

Dear spiritual sparks of divine wisdom,

(Rajarajeshwari Devi in Chottanikara)Chottanikkara enshrines Bhagawati - the mother Goddess, one of themost popular deities in Kerala. The town of Chotanikkara is locatednear the city of Ernakulam. Enroute is the Poornatrayesa temple atTripunittura.

 

 

The Deity: Rajarajeswari is the presiding deity here. The image ofBhagawati (Rajarajeswari) is of laterite; untouched by the humansculptor, this image is of irregular shape. and is covered with agolden kavacam. The image has four arms. The upper right holds thediscus, the left a conch. This deity is worshipped in threedifferent forms - as Saraswati in the morning - draped in white, asBhadrakali at noon draped in crimson, and as Durga in the eveningdecked in blue.

 

Adjacent to this image in the sanctum is an image of Vishnu ingranite. Vishnu and Bhagawati together are referred to asLakshminarayana. The prayers here address the deity as AmmeNarayana, Devi Narayana and Lakshmi Narayana.

 

Interestingly, the image here is not fixed to the ground and ismounted on loose sand. Water offered during ablution ceremoniespercolates underground.

 

There is also a shrine to Sastha depicting him with his consortsPurna and Pushkala. In front of the shrine are the flagstaff andthe bali pitham. To the south is a platform known asPavazhamallithara where the deity is believed to have appearedfirst. To the south west is a shrine to Shiva. To the north eastthere is a flight of steps leading to the Keezhkaavu, a shrine toBhadrakali.

In the keezhkaavu shrine is a paala tree with hundreds of nailsdriven into its trunk, as a mark of devotees having been exorcisedhere. Worship here is believed to rid devotees of evil influences,psychological ailments, evil spirits etc.Much of the structure in this temple is a result of renovationcarried out by the government of Cochin, in late 19th century.Legend has it that a ferocious dacoit by name Kannappan whodominated this area, brought home a cow with the intent ofslaughtering it. The cow escaped his butchering knife, and set himrunning in hot pursuit. His chase in vain, Kannappan returned hometo find his beloved daughter playing with the very same cow.Complying with her request, he forsake the idea of killing the

cow.His daughter passed away, and this greatly grieved him. GoddessBhagawati appeared in his dream, and revealed to him that it was shewho had come to him in the form of a cow. To his surprise, he sawtwo images in the cowshed the following day; the images were thoseof Devi and Vishnu. Kannappan built a humble shrine and worshippedthe images in the cowshed. Eventually this shrine fell under repairand was discovered later and sanctified. It then grew into a shrineof the magnitude seen today, over a period of time.

The annual festival here is celebrated in the month of Kumbha orAquarius (Feb - Mar). Maasi Makam, coinciding with the full moon,during this festival attracts vast crowds. Legend has it that thedeity appeared in front of Vilvamangalam Swamigal a saint associatedwith this shrine and with Guruvayur. Vilvamangalam Swamy is saidto have discovered Bhadrakali enshrined in Keezhkaavu.

Yours yogically,

Subodha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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