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| Kumaranalloor Temple, Kottayam.Kerala.www.indianetzone.com |
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| Kumaranalloor Temple, Kottayam ,Kerala,mymanorama.manoramaonline.com Kumaranalloor Temple, Kottayam, mymanorama.manoramaonline.com |
The Kerala temples are unique in their own ways and most of them follow the Kerala style of architecture in tune with the climatic conditions of that state. At many places the prakaras are open space court yard, rarely covered. Some temples are built in Dravidian style, as influenced by rulers from the nearby state.
Kumaranalloor Devi (Goddess) Temple, located 5 km from the town of Kottayam, Kerala, India, is one of the most important Devi temples among the 108 Durgalayas (Devi temples) in this state. Believed to be more than 2400 years old, on the basis of historical and mythological evidences as well as other sources of information, the architecture of the temple is that of the Nalambalam and Sreekovil both of which have followed the Sreechakra (disk like object with a handle) style which is placed in the right hand of the Devi. This kind of architecture is rarely found in temple architecture.
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| Location map. www.kumaranalloornagarajatemple.com. |
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| Kumaranalloor. www.kumaranalloortemple.com |
temple for Goddess Durga had just begun, at Udayanapuram, he also started building another temple (later known as Kumaranallor) to install the idol of lord Kumara or Subramanian. When the work was in progress, he got a message from Madurai (now in Tamil Nadu) that the gem studded nose-ring of Devi was stolen or lost. Infuriated king, after an inquiry squarely blamed the temple priest for this mishap and warned him of dare consequences if the nose ring was recovered within the given time. Being honest and innocent he was in a state of dilemma. The prient prostrated before the feet of the Amman to save him from shame, dishonor, false accusation and death. Taking refuge in the mercy of Goddess, the grief-stricken priest began to lose hope. On the 40th day after this incident in his dream, the Devi appeared before him and ordered him to leave the the place for good at once. No sooner had he heard this, than he saw a divine resplendent divine light (Theja) moving forward, covering long distance. The priest, being in a hypnotic state, followed the divine light that, at last, reached the place which later came to be known as Kumaranalloor, where the temple was being constructed to install the idol of lord Subramanian or kumara.
Most surprising thing happened upon the Tejas entering the Garbagraha (sanctum sanctorum) at the auspicious time of prathista (installation). A divine voice (Asariri) from above said, ‘kumaran alla ooril', implying ''this place is not for Kumara, but for Kumari (Devi).'' Hence the name Kumaranalloor.
After this divine event the ruler, Perumal went to Udayanapuram and installed the idol of Subramanian at the Sreekovil (Garbagraha) and then came back to
Kumaranalloor to install Devi's idol. However, he decided to install the Devi idol that had been lying in the near-by water pond. It was once worshiped by sage Parasurama. On the day of installation, a Brahmin priest with matted hair installed the idol with proper Agama rules and later disappeared. The people even to day believe that the Priest was none other than sage Parasurama. The Madurai priest became the temple priest and his descendants continue the tradition, His residence here is called Madurai illam. There are shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva. The flag staff (dhwajom or dhwajasthampam) is gold plated . The murals on the outer walls of the sanctum sanctorium (sreekovil) depict Hindu gods and various episodes from the great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The most important festival observed in this temple is Thrikkarthika in the month of Vrischikam (November–December). The display of series of oil lamps on the walls in the evening, called ''Karthika Vilakku', is the highlight of this celebration.
The temple runs a few scolls efficiently to impart quality education to the students in the regions. The history of the school goes back to ME 1081 (AD 1905). A special school was established by the School Inspector (Northern Range) Sri M Raja Raja Verma for Namboothiri Brahmin boys. Later through donations, etc some buildings were built.
If you on a tour of Kottayam District of Kerala, a visit to this temple and the surrounding placea will give you spiritual rejuvination.
Ref :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumaranalloor
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