Thantries of Sabarimala

January 13, 2006

!! Sri Rama Jayam !!

Hereditary Thantries of Sabarimala Temple:

Thantri (High Priest) of a temple plays a key role in the affairs of any temple.

The portfolio of `Mel Thantri' of Sabarimala temple is the hereditary privilege

of the male members of Tazhamon Madom, Chengannur, Kerala. They ensure that the

rituals and poojas at Sabarimala are conducted in accordance with established

religious practices and various special norms as applicable to the Sabarimala

temple. The Thantri initiates the newly appointed Mel Santhi into the rituals

of the temple. He recites the `Moola Mantram' to the Mel Santhi. He constantly

guides and supervises the Mel Santhi during the conduct of all poojas and other

rituals. Certain rituals like Padi Pooja, Udayasthamana Pooja and Kalasa Poojas

cannot be conducted unless the Thantri is present during the ceremony.

There are many legendary stories associated with the system of Thantries.

Parashuram was the 4th son of Sage Jamadagni and Renuka. He is the grandson of

the Sage Bhrugu and Puloma (Parashuram is the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

This is documented in ancient texts relating to the legends depicting the origin

of Kerala). He learnt the art of weaponry from Lord Siva. King Karthaveerajunan

was fascinated by Jamadagni's cow and demanded it. Since the Sage refused to

part with the cow, the King decapitated the Sage and forcibly took the cow

away.The news infuriated Parashuram and he went to Mahishmaatipura and

challenged Karthaveerajunan to a duel. Parashuram defeated Karthaveerajunan and

avenged his father's death. For generations, he carried on annihilations of the

Kshaktriyas (the martial race).

As a mark of repentance for this sin, Parashuram meditated at Gokarna and

invoked Lord Varuna (the Lord of the Oceans). Parashuram asked him for a boon.

To absolve himself of the heinous crimes he had committed or as `Papa

Pariharam' (repentance of previous sins) he wanted to gift some land to the

brahmins. There was no land available. Lord Varuna told Parashuram that he would

give him as much land as he wished. He told him to fling his traditional axe

(Mazhu ) from where he stood at Gokarna. The land from Gokarna till the point

where the `Mazhu' landed would be given to him was the boon that Lord Varuna

promised him. The throw of the `Mazhu' from Gokarna to Kanya Kumari, the legends

say, created Kerala. Parashuram donated this land to the brahmins.

In order to allow the brahmins places to follow their traditional practices, he

established 108 Sivalayams, 108 Durgalayams and 5 Sastha Kshetrams,. The Siva

and Vasihanava temples were established in the midlands while the Devi temples

were built along the coast line. The Dharma Sastha Kshetrams were established

in hilly terrains at Kulathupuzha, Aryanankavu, Achan Kovil, Sabarimala and

Erumeli.

It is interesting to note that the `Pratishtas' (Idols) at these temples vary

from each other in its representative forms, i.e the Kulathupuzha idol depicts

Sastha as a child, Aryankavu idol depicts Sastha as young man, Achankovil idol

depicts God as a Gruhasthshrami with his wives Poorna and Pushkala while the

idol at Sabarimala depicts Sastha as a totally celibate God in meditation.

In order to protect and conduct rituals at these temples, from the banks of

the holy river Krishna, he brought two brothers who were Tapasvis (ascetic

persons who have undergone rigorous rituals of Tapas). This was sometime in

the year 301 AD. The rights of Thantries were conferred on these two brothers

of the families of Thazhamon and Tharananallur. Thazhamon family was given

hereditary rights to the the Dharam Sastha temples while the Tharananallur

family was given hereditary rights to the other temples. In order to

distinguish who has the rights to which temple, the horizontal staff of the Holy

Flag Post (Kodimaram) of each temple controlled by the Thazhamon family points

to the North, while that of Tharananallur family points to the South.

As to how the names Thazhamon and Taranalaur came into being, here is the

story:-

When Parashuram was escorting these two elected pure brahmins to the new land of

Kerala, he came across a river. He thought it an ideal time to test the

abilities of the two brahmins. He asked both to cross the river. The first one

walked across the water. `Taranam' in Sanskrit means `traverse' or `cross'.

Because he traversed the water, he and his successors earned the name of

`Tarananallur'. The second brahmin made the waters part and traversed through

the river bed. `Thazhamon' means the sand at the bottom. He and his successors

earned the name of `Thazhamon`and the title of `Kantar'. Thazhamon Madom

thantries were given charge of the Sastha temples while the Tarananallur

thantires were assigned to the Devi temples, especially in north Kerala.

Along with these families, a large number of brahmins were also brought into

Kerala to populate the land. Many of them returned to their original places

because of the fear of Nagas (serpents) prevalent in the terrains of Kerala.

Parasuraman fetched them back and exhorted them to transform their `kudumi'

(bundled hair knot worn on the head) from the rear to the front to signify that

they will never run away. He also asked them to change their method of wearing

their dhoti from the their usual style( a style of dhoti wearing where one

loose end is pulled between the legs from front and tied behind) to a new

method of wearing it in a fashion where the dhoti is tied to the right (with

the right end overlapping the left end).

Hereditary Thantries of Sabarimala Temple