The Great Evoor Sri Krishnaswamy Temple !!!

[Guest guest]

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

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 Re-construction.

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 !!!Krishnadaya .

[Guest guest]

--Dear Krishnadaya,

KRISHNA GURUVAYOORAPPA !!

That was a beautiful narration, Bhaktinirbharam!!!

Your earlier one about Guruvayur dharshanam was also beautiful.

Iam now residing miles away from Guruvayur, but i felt like iam in

Guruvayur temple myself , while i was reading your mail.

By BHAGAVANS BLESSINGS, you should write more...

HARE KRISHNA , always at your Lotus feet Krishna..

manju

 

- In guruvayur , " krishnadaya " <krishnadaya

wrote:

>

>

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

> Bhakthas !

>

> 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 Re-construction.

>

> 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 !!!

> Krishnadaya .

>