The Great Evoor Sri Krishnaswamy Temple !!!

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna ! Danadavat Pranams to Bhagavan Sri Krishna and all His Vaishnavas !

Evoor is a village 40 Kilometers south of `Alappuzha' town and next to the `Cheppad' railway station . It is famous for the ancient Sri Krishnaswamy temple which had originated in the presence of Bhagavan Sri Krishna Himself.

Evoor temple is one of the most sacred (26) Maha-Vishnu shrines . It is linked to `Khandava-dahanam' ( burning of Khandava forest) described in `Mahabharata' . The remains of burnt trees being found widely in this area, confirm this event . Further evidence are the nearby temples , Mannarasala , Pandavarkavu , etc .

The great Kanva Maharshi (one of the top 7 Rishis) , had been living in this area . His `Ashramam' (hermitage) was located at a spot known now as `Kannamangalam' (Kanva-mangalam) .

Agni-deva (Fire God) had been suffering from a severe stomach ailment . As a remedy , Lord Brahma advised him to consume the herb-rich Khandava forest . But , Takshaka the serpent-king a close friend of Lord Indra, was residing there . Whenever Agni tried to consume the forest , Lord Indra's thundershowers dutifully extinguished the fire .

Once, Sri Krishna was visiting this place with Arjuna . Agni-deva approached them in the form of a Brahmana and sought their help to cure his ailment .

Then , Kanva Maharshi arrived there seeking protection of his `Upasana Murthy' ( a four armed image of Maha-Vishnu) . Bhagavan Krishna granted a boon that the `Murthy' will be unharmed by fire .

Soon, Agni started consuming Khandav forest . Lord Indra used thundershowers furiously but as advised by Krishna , Arjuna constructed "Sarakoodam" (shelter of arrows) to complete the task .

Thus Agni-deva's ailment was cured . A visible pleased Agni-deva, expressed his wish to install that "Murthy" in a new temple there to facilitate worship .

As instructed by Sri Krishna, Arjuna fired an arrow to determine the auspicious location of proposed temple . The place were the arrow landed was used to construct the new temple . (Evoor is the shortened form of Eythoor) .

Bhagavan Krishna Himself infused His divine power into the `Murthy'. And Arjuna performed the first pooja .

A lively image of `Bhoothanathaswamy' ( `Kiratha Murthy' form of Lord Siva) together with `Yakshi Amma' ( Devi Parvathy) were consecrated as the Sub -Deities . The ancient trees covering them are the surviving ones of Khandava-forest .

Fire and Renovation

About 125 years back, this temple was destroyed in a fire . When the `Sri Kovil' ( Sanctum sanctorum) was caught fire , many people tried to remove the Deity , but failed . Then , an old Brahamana-devotee of the adjacent house , after taking a dip in the temple tank, entered the raging flames and brought out the Deity, safely .

Sri Mulam Thirunal , then king of Travancore , was in Kasi at that time . Sri Krishna appeared in his dream as a Brahmana-boy and asked him to re-construct His temple at Evoor . Immediately , the king retuned home and constructed a huge temple complex . It included elite facilities such as in-built security trenches atop the roof all around and underground drainage system to enable flow of sacred water from `Srikovil' to adjacent temple tank .

The renowned ` Tharananalloor Tantri ` ( whose ancestor had been originally brought to Kerala by Bhagavan Parashurama) was appointed as the traditional `Tantri' . Also , immense wealth (including lands and other assets) was put in place to ensure the ensure the temple's self reliance . Even, neighborhood facilities were made to accommodate traditional temple staff .

"Prayoga Chakra Prathishta"

Evoor Bhagavan's Deity is the unique Prayoga Chakra Prathishta" :

v `Panchjanya Sankha' in rear left hand .

v `Sudarshana Chakra' in rear right hand .

v Frontal left hand is held on the hip as a `mani-bandham' .

v Butter in the frontal right hand .

Bhagavan is in a combative mood ready to release `Sudarshana Chakra' . He is the 72 year old Sri Krishna at His peak glory and power .

The unique presence of "Sri Chakra" has been confirmed on the Deity, by Vedic experts . Therefore , "Raktha-pushpanjali" is a special offering here which cannot be found in other Vaishnava temples .

Evoor Bhagavan's Miracles are innumerable.

Space does not permit me to mention all miracles of Evoor Bhagavan, experienced by myself . Let me, list a recent one .

Bhagavan's Visit to our home .

"Para-Ezhunnallippu " is a yearly ritual in which Bhagavan's Deity is mounted on an elephant to visit the devotee homes to see them and to accept their offering of rice and a small amount . Devotees serve Bhagavan and His servants with Feast , Snacks , Tea , Lemon water , a combination of Bettel leaves , arca nuts, tobacco & lime , etc according to own choice .

This time , the procession was scheduled to reach our home by 3 PM . But, it got delayed by 3 hours . We had arranged snacks . Among them was , one particular item I brought with great effort but it wasn't appreciated by others . Seeing the delay , my mother said " There are couple of feasts and snacks ahead of us nearby and therefore they won't stay here and eat . They will be in a hurry to make up the delay " .

I replied " Mother , Bhagavan will accept our offerings and stay here long to our satisfaction" .

At last , Bhagavan and his entourage arrived our home . Seeing the offerings , the lead Brahmana Priest said " Here , we always used to get something . So let us take it all " .

The group started consuming the items . The eatable which I brought was the one liked the most . I got the surprise opportunity to give Dakshina direct to the Brahmana holding the Deity atop the elephant and to feed the elephant with own hands . They stayed at our home for quite long .

Finally , the group leader asked us " Is everything ok ?. Can we go now ? " .

Tears filled my eyes upon hearing this . Bhagavan left our place only after fulfilling our wishes !!! . Later, my parents wanted to partake the remains of my "special offering" that had been in much demand . There remained exactly two pieces for both of them .

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya !!!SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev.