Arulmeku Shree Maheshasura-marthani Thirukovil

Arulmeku Shree Maheshasura-marthani Thirucoil-

Valvach Gostam

Arulmeku Shree Maheshasura-marthani Thirucoil- Valvach Gostam is also called the Valvacha Gostam Majar Bhagavathi Amman Temple.

      The above relatively small temple is located in a place 50 km towards the south of Trivandrum, and 25 km north of Nagercoil in the National Highway (NH) 47. Those coming in bus must get down at Kattathuri junction and walk for 1.5 km or hire an auto to reach the temple.

There is a big pond on the way.

       The temple is situated in a sylvan surrounding.

       There is a paddy field in front. Now, it is being converted into a rubber field.

      It was one of the oldest temples of the Kerala state. Now, it is in the Tamil Nadu state.

     There was only a path until a few years ago. The kings of Travancore traveled through this path. This path is called Raja Patha.

    There are no rocks in the vicinity. Yet, the statues were scooped from single blocks of stone. Many adornments were carved around the statues. The finishing of granite-cut statues must be among the best in India. A sculptured granite pillar has a characteristic feature. One would say that it has no parallel in this respect. There exists a ten headed statue of Ravanan inside the temple.

     Once upon a time, there was a monster called Mahesha Asuran. He perpetrated injustice in the Travancore Kingdom. Godess Bhagavathi Amman killed him at Kanyakumari by stamping its head. Amman then came to this place and converted this place into Her abode. The Asuran is depicted as an ox and the deity stands on its head. Marthi in Malayam means stamp. The suffix ni in marthini stands for feminine gender.

     The deity is a 1.3 metre tall beautiful statue facing east. It is seen in a standing posture. It is comparable to the famous  3 metre lord Murugan statue at Kumaracoil Temple located 10 km from this place.

     One day, a queen of Travancore passed through this place. She pitied at the deity because it was adorned with poor ornaments. On reaching the palace, she was afflicted with headache. She then offered the deity a nose ring with a diamond. It is still being preserved.

    Marthadavarma Maharaja –the King of Travancore  (1729 -1758)- , used to lay his State Sword before this deity whenever he wanted to annex the neighbouring kingdoms. It is said that he did not suffer defeat whenever he performed this ritual. In Tamil vaal means sword and vacha in Malayalam means placed. Gostam means thottam or garden/field. Therefore, this place is called Valvachagostam. True to the name, the stone inscriptions are in an ancient script. Some letters in some places look somewhat like the Tamil, and Malayalam letters.
     However, K.P. Varatharajan in his book -"Thiruvadi Desam Thirppapur Parambarai Maveeran Ananthapadmanabhan" says that the Valvachagostam derived from Vaal Veechi thottam".

        Recently, a member of Travancore Royal family died in a car accident. There exists a belief that the accident occurred because the Royal house failed to perform the mandatory rituals to this temple. Now, the members of the Royal house visit the temple frequently.

      The Travancore Royal family is -now-a-days- meeting the expenses for the festivals and some pugas.

Temple pond.

The festival comes in the Tamil month of Vaikasi.

The temple door would remain open from 6 A.M to 8 A.M. In the evening the door would be opened at 5 P.M. and the deity could be seen from 6.P.M. Puja time: 6.30 P.M.

The temple is well worth a visit.

For further reading visit www.storyofananthapadmanabhan.blogspot.com

26 March 2011

V.Sabarimuthu