Bhaktisandesam / Ettumanurappan

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Hari-Om

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The Healing Temple

 

Ettumanur in Kerala is an oasis of relief for sufferers from all

faiths

By Vrindavanam S. Gopalakrishnan, Ernakulam, Kerala, India

 

When one hears the name of Ettumanur, a small town in southeastern

Kerala, the beloved Ettumanar Mahadevar and His ancient temple always

come to mind. Now under government administration, this traditional

Kerala-style temple, situated 61 km southeast of the port city of

Cochin, is believed to be one of the oldest temples in the state,

with legends connecting it with the Vedic era of 5,000 years ago.

 

Even with today's relentless onslaught of materialism and the

resultant atheism, the greatness and glory of this temple has not

dwindled in the slightest. The fact that thousands of devotees rush

to the temple every day to fulfill their numberless desires and to

get cured of so many incurable diseases proves that the power of this

sacred place has not faded, but has only increased with the passage

of time, says Mr. V.K. Somasekharan Nair, a retired college

professor. " The number of devotees who have been blessed by the

Aghoramurti (the temple's main icon, a Sivalinga representing God

Siva's fiery, life-transforming aspect) is legendary. Owing to the

all-pervading power of the Aghoramurti, the temple stands first among

places of worship and pilgrimage in the South. That is why it

attracts devotees not only from India but from abroad, " he adds.

Devotees hold that any incurable disease will be cured and any desire

will be fulfilled by pilgrimaging to this temple.

 

Hinduism Today spoke with some of the beneficiaries of Ettumanur

Mahadevar's renowned power, who have been cured of such serious

ailments as epilepsy and peptic ulcers. When asked about the mercy of

the Lord, tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of 53-year-old

Sukumariamma of Ernakulam. She was suffering from pain in the stomach

and had been on medication for a long time, but the medications

provided no permanent solution to her agony. Eventually, an old woman

suggested that she take a vow to offer thulabharam, her weight in

rice, before the God. Sukumariamma took the suggestion, and also

began reciting the mantra " Aum Namah Sivaya " while taking her

medications. To her astonishment, after about a fortnight she started

to feel relief. She said, " I offered the thulabharam, and ever since

I have made a point to visit the Mahadevar temple at least once a

month to offer my prayers. "

 

Mr. S. Mani of Thiruvalla, a town 50 km south of Ettumanur, narrated

his experience. He started having epileptic seizures when he was 26

years old. He was given sedatives and other medications, but they

didn't help. On the advice of a friend, he went to Ettumanur

Mahadevar and surrendered before the Lord, remaining there for

several days while chanting " Aum Namah Sivaya. " The head priest gave

him blessed, medicated ghee to take in the early morning for 41 days

while observing a penance. Thereafter, his seizures ceased. Mani

exclaimed, " Ettumanur Mahadevar is a very powerful Lord! " The

devotees of this temple have numberless miraculous experiences to

relate, including the curing of skin diseases and chronic asthma.

 

Believers of other faiths come and offer prayers here, too. During

the annual festival in February/March, several thousand people

congregate, but there are never any untoward incidents. Once a person

enters the walls of the compound, he is self-disciplined and

controlled, said a senior police official.

 

According to Mr. Mathur V.P. Panicker, a retired executive engineer

from the State Public Works Department and currently the head of the

temple management committee, many notable names from the scriptures

are associated with this great temple. It is believed that the

Pandavas and Sage Vyasa (both ca 3100 bce) worshiped here. The great

philosopher-monk and Hindu reformer Sri Adi Shankaracharya (788-820)

showed his devotion to God Siva here, and composed his

poem " Saundarya Lahari " during his visit to the temple.

 

The Ettumanur Mahadevar temple shines in the annals of ancient India,

Panicker says. The great saint Khara Prakasha worshiped God Siva here

to alleviate his sins and prayed for blessings to consecrate a

Sivalinga for the benefit of all humanity. God Siva appeared and

presented his own icon to the saint, who then installed the Sivalinga

in the sanctum sanctorum facing the unusual direction of West. This

two-foot-high Sivalinga is the primary object of worship in the

temple today.

 

Several more legends link the temple's origins to the Vedic era. One

belief is that the Maniman Tirtham mentioned in the Vamana Purana and

the Padma Purana is Ettumanur. Another story, in which Saint Khara

Maharshi disguised himself as a deer and persuaded Siva to carry him

around, gives Ettumanur its name, which in Malayalam means " the place

where the deer was carried. "

 

The Pandyan King Chanda Bhaskara was exorcised of demonic spirits

with the blessings of the Lord at Ettumanur and constructed the

present temple in gratitude in 1540. The gifted architects of that

time exhibited great skill in their art here. Both the functional,

architectural wood carvings and those of a purely decorative nature

are distinguished as some of the most expertly executed examples of

Kerala's long-standing and famous wood-carving tradition. The

paintings on the walls are the oldest (early 16th century) and most

celebrated example of Keralan murals. In one painting, God Siva as

Pradosha Nataraja is depicted in a blissfully radiant, gloriously

energetic dance. This particular painting is considered a landmark in

the history of traditional Kerala temple painting.

 

The unusual, circular sanctum sanctorum of the presiding Deity is

constructed on an elevated sloping deck of black granite. Admission

into the sanctum is strictly reserved for the chief priest and his

assistants. As the space directly facing the sanctum is limited, only

a handful of devotees can have darshan of the Deity at a time. Also

within the sanctum, facing South, is enshrined an image of Siva as

Dakshinamurti, the silent, primordial guru. Nearby is an icon of Lord

Ganesha, and opposite the main Deity, in a large hall, is a pillar

dedicated to Goddess Bhagavati. A small shrine in the north wing of

the temple is dedicated to Lord Dharma Sastha, more popularly known

as Ayyappan.

 

Several offerings made by kings and other devotees of yore are unique

to Ettumanur Mahadevar Temple. King Marthanda Varma of the erstwhile

Travancore state offered seven large, solid gold elephants, each

weighing 210 lb, as well as an eighth gold baby elephant and a pile

of gold areca nuts. These were offered in 1753 as atonement for the

destruction of temple property caused in his campaign to annex

neighboring territories.

 

Chempakassery King Devanarayanan of the mid-17th century visited the

temple to offer prayers and gifted a huge, 500-lb bronze ox filled

with chennullu, a variety of paddy grain --in gratitude for the

Lord's curing the king of his stomach ailments. It is believed by

many that eating a few blessed rice grains taken from the belly of

the giant bronze ox will provide immediate relief for any stomach

disease. The presence of so much gold and the power of the temple to

cure so many devotees explains why this is one of the wealthiest

temples in the state, attracting an income of US$200,000 annually.

 

One of the most impressive features of Ettumanur is the valia

vilakku, a giant oil lamp at the entrance to the temple. " The soot

that accumulates on the underside of the shade of the lamp has been

found to cure many eye diseases, " says Mr. Panicker. The focus of

offerings is typically in the direction of this legendary lamp.

Devotees pour sesame oil into the lamp by the jug, and over 4,000

liters of overflowing oil is collected each month. " The oil is

collected in a tank underground and is pumped into a tank in the

temple store, " said Mr. Jagmohan Das, an administrative officer of

the temple. Some of the surplus oil is distributed to other temples,

and the balance is auctioned. Panicker says, " This lamp has remained

lit for over 450 years, giving spiritual light to the millions of

devotees who grope about in the dark seeking divine illumination. "

 

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Jai Shree Krishna !