A Temple of Heritage
By
Kavin Reddy Rama
The temple was initiated 150 years ago by estate workers. Carbon
testing on a neem tree located in the temple grounds is proof of its
age. Due to the temple’s isolation, not many devotees had come to the
temple. A devoted group of young Hindus took it upon themselves to
gather money and perform spiritual ceremonies for the deity once a week
on Friday. As time went by, the temple started getting famous due to the
formation of snake mounds around the temple. Devotees are able to see
these holy ‘Nagas’ (snakes) during auspicious days, like ‘Adi Puram’,
'Naga Panchami’, and ‘Navaratri’. The most pristine statue of
Karumariamman lies sanctified in this charming estate temple. During the
consecration ceremony of the temple, the famous Muthu Kumara Swamigal
had a vision that the deity was having 5
snakes on top of her head. After which the temple committee decided to
get a statue of Karumariamman. The temple committee had tirelessly
searched for a granite Karumariamman statue in Malaysia, and managed to
locate this beautiful sculpture in an artisan’s workshop in Penang.
After negotiating, the committee secured the payment and immediately
brought back the statue. The snake mound is one of the main attractions
in this auspicious temple. During the month of ‘Adi’, many Hindu
devotees who are childless come to this temple. Some perform ‘madi
pichai’ (perform begging due to a sacred vow), and then donate the money
to the temple. Staunch devotees walk barefoot from nearby villages and
offer milk to the holy ‘Nagas’ (snakes). The day after ‘Adi Puram’, on
‘Naga Panchami’ the priest of this auspicious temple, Sri Sivasri
Krishna Gurukkal collects the sand around the snake mound. The sand is
then given as ‘prasadam’ (sacred offering) to all the devotees who have
successfully completed their vows at the temple. The ‘prasadam’ is to be
consumed by the childless couple, and this serves as a catalyst for
childbirth. But as there is huge demand for the ‘prasadam’, all
childless couples have to inform the priest prior to performing their
vows.
Special thanks to Kavin Reddy Rama
&
For the photos and information
1 comment:
Thanks for the beautiful info on karumariamman ...om shakthi om....
Post a Comment