108 Divya-deshams: Thiruvallavazh, Part 4

BY: SUN STAFF

Jun 23, 2024 — CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

The Envious Brahmins

The area around Mallikavanam, the jasmine forest of Thiruvallavazh, became a human settlement thousands of years ago and emerged as a high-profile spiritual and educational center with enormous wealth and human power. At that time, only brahmin families were in residence, with not less than 3,000. The brahmins of the Sankaramangalath House enjoyed top status among them.

Eventually the Sankaramangalath House faced the risk of extinction, as only an old lady and her younger son, Narayana Bhattathiri lived there. Bhattathiri married a woman named Sreedevi Antharjanam against the wishes of others who also wished to get his wealth by getting their daughters married to him. Sreedevi Antherjanam had all good qualities but was illiterate. Since literacy was mandatory for brahmins and even women were well versed in Sanskrit, being illiterate was a matter of humiliation. The envious brahmins never missed a chance to humiliate Antharjanam, but she never paid them any attention.

As the couple had no children even long after marriage, they started fasting on the Ekadashi (11th day), which is very auspicious. The method adopted by Antharjanam for the fast was the most difficult one, which made her leave food and sleep altogether. She also made her servant Sreedevi and her son Mukundan follow the vow. Since they were too wealthy, Antharjanam started giving food to anyone at any time, which only increased the envy of the orthodox brahmins.

Humiliation of Antharjanam and the Ekadashi Miracle

As time passed, Bhattathiri died and Antherjanam was widowed. Since she regularly performed the Ekadashi fast, she became a good devotee of Vishnu. However, she was deeply troubled that she was unable to fast properly as she could not read a panchangam (astrological calendar), and feared that others would humiliate her illiteracy if she were to ask them. But she somehow found an Ekadashi day and to mark the days, she would keep a pebble in a pot each day to know when 15 days had passed. Many times the actual Ekadashi day was either a day earlier or a day later than the one she thought, due to the change in the appearance of the moon. This brought on more humiliation and people began associating all sorts of stubborn acts with her name. But one day, to everyone's shock, two astrologers confirmed the day to be Ekadashi at the Sankaramangalath House while it was Dashami (10th day) at every other place. Astonished by this incident, people understood and accepted the unconditional devotion of Antherjanam and started calling her Sankaramangalathamma or Chankrothamma with respect. This led the whole village to perform the Ekadashi fast on the same day Antharjanam did.

Thukalasuran and Yakshi

After many years, Mallikavanam was attacked by a dreadful demon called Thukalasura, who looted everyone and was fond of eating young human flesh. At the same time a yakshini also reached the western road to the village, attacking everyone who came in her way. This made many to leave the place and it was restricted to visitors and outsiders. Being too aged, Antharjanam couldn't move, but it became very difficult to find a brahmin boy to continue her duties. When brahmins visited her house, she found it difficult to customarily wash their feet and offer food to them.

One day, Antharjanam couldn't find a brahmin boy and she wept in front of her deity of Lord Vishnu, requesting Him not to break the custom that she had been following for so many years. At the same time, a young brahmin boy with a gold pole in his hand reached there and asked for food. Antharjanam was glad to see him and asked him to come after his bath since she needed to complete the rituals of Ekadashi. Discarding all warnings given to him by Antharjanam, the young man stepped towards the river where Thukalasuran lived. A huge fight ensued between the boy and Thukalasuran. Finally, the golden pole turned into Sudarshana Chakra and the boy killed Thukalasuran, dismembering his body and his army. After this, he washed his blood-stained chakra in the river and installed a Shivalinga, which was worshipped by Thukalasuran on a hilltop (in modern-day Thukalassery). Reaching the northern entrance of the village, the young brahmin conquered and tied the hands of the yakshini and threw her into a well. The boy buried her with rocks and she suffocated to death. The boy then installed a Durga idol on the rock mound and requested the goddess to protect the town from all directions. The goddess agreed by appearing in 3 temples around the area.

Installation of the Sudarshana Chakra

Later the boy along with five other boys reached the Sankaramangalath House. Antharjanam completed all the rituals and served food to them in areca nut leaves as the rakshasa had destroyed all the banana plantations. Since Antharjanam didn't have pickles at home and pickles were a customary food for brahmins, Goddess Lakshmi, disguised as a housewife, entered the scene and served thrippuli (a kind of pickle) to the boy. Knowing that Thukalasura had been murdered by the boy, people came there to visit him and requested the boy show them his golden pole, which they lay prostrate in front of.

The boy installed the temple in the Chakrathazhwar form facing west on the raised land east to them and called for its daily worship. Sreedevi Antharjanam decided to build a temple there and asked a man named Pathillathil Pottimar to be the administrator. The gathered people paid their obeisances to the idol. Then the boy removed his shawl, showing his glowing chest adorned with the Srivatsa mark and goddess Lakshmi residing there, which shockingly confirmed to Antharjanam that the boy was none other than Vishnu.

After Vishnu showed His vishwarupa form to her, Antharjanam, her servant and the servant's son became liberated. This incident happened in 2998 BC and thereafter the forest became known as Chakrapuram (the place of the Chakra). The five boys who came along with Vishnu were sage Durvasa and his disciples. The place where Thukalasura lived is now known as Thukalassery. The place where he was killed is known as Konnakkulangara, and the place where Vishnu washed Sudarshan was known as Chakrashaalanakadavu. The place where he killed the yakshini and installed the Durga idol is known as Thiruverankavu, and the three Durga shrines around the area are known as Aalumthuruthy, Karunaattukaavu, and Padappaad. The place where the demon's head fell is called Talaiyaru, the arms fell at Muttaru and the legs fell at Kalaru. The place where the Chakra was installed is called Chakrakaalvu.

The Sankaramangalath House is still well preserved outside the temple, near its western gate, and is considered the place of origin of the temple, hence any custom followed in the temple starts there only.

Installation of Sreevallabhan's idol

Around 3,000 years after this incident, King Cheraman Perumal visited the temple at Thiruvallavazh and his wife Queen Cherumdevi expressed her wish to build a shrine for Vishnu attached to the Sudarshana shrine, having to rebuild the whole structure. They ordered a Vishnu deity from Tamil Nadu after the temple construction. One night the Queen had a dream in which Garuda, disguised as a brahmin, informed her about Sreevallabhan's deity and asked to install it there. With the help of Garuda and the Tulu Brahmins, Cheraman Perumal brought the Deity from the Netravathi River to Chakrapuram for installation. But during the installation ceremony, the deity didn't fit on the pedestal. The priests felt something supernatural and everyone came out near the Jalavanthy tank. Then they heard celestial instruments being played and the chanting of Vedic hymns from inside. As they rushed out and opened the altar door, they saw the Deity installed at the right place with blazing light everywhere, and a couple bananas in an areca nut palm leaf in front of the Deity. Two celestial sages came out of the sanctum-sanctorum and disappeared on the eastern bank of Jalavanthy – they were Durvasa and Vyasa. Thereafter Chakrapuram became known as Sreevallabhapuram.

The deity that the King ordered had been installed at the Sree Krishna temple, Malayinkeezhu, Thiruvananthapuram.

Source: Wikipedia

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