Mithranandapuram Vamanamoorthy Temple

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Mithranandapuram Vamanamoorthy Temple is a Hindu temple situated in Cherpu of Thrissur District of Kerala, India. According to the legends, the idol worshiped here is more than 1,500 years old. [1] [2]

Cherpu town in Kerala, India

Cherpu is a small village in Thrissur district of Kerala state in south India. It is 12 kilometres south of Thrissur town and is on the Thriprayar road. It is dotted by a number of temples and has quite a few rivers flowing by its vicinity.

Kerala State in southern India

Kerala is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is the twenty-third largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Kerala is the thirteenth-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state.

India Country in South Asia

India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

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Mahabali, the king of the Daityas or Asuras, i.e., demons in the Treta Yuga, reached the zenith of power and fame. He owed his tremendous success and prosperity in life to his observance of an austere and virtuous lifestyle. He performed many ritual sacrifices or Yajna to consolidate his sway over the three worlds of the universe (Heaven, Earth and Underworld). Lord Vamana has blessed king Sri Mahabali on his request for three feet of mud; the mood of the deity in the temple is that of blessing the king Mahabali. Vishnu was immensely pleased with the goodness of Mahabali. He educated Bali about the demerits of pride and arrogance, which forbids man from optimum progress. He allowed Mahabali to take shelter in the Paradise of the sacred abode, where lived the pure Prahlada. MahaVishnu further blessed Mahabali, that he would be the ruler of the earth in the following age or Yuga. Those who sacrifice themselves in the lotus feet of the deity get his blessings.

Mahabali Mythical character

Mahabali is also known as Bali or Māveli or son of Virochana was a benevolent Daitya King, and the grandson of Prahlada in Indian scriptures. The festival of Onam is celebrated in Kerala to mark his yearly homecoming after being sent down to the underworld Sutala by Vamana, a dwarf and the fifth incarnation avatar of Vishnu. The government of Kerala declared Onam as the ‘State Festival’ of Kerala in 1960.

In Hinduism, the Daityas are a clan or race of Asura along with the Dānavas.

Asura (Buddhism) in Buddhism, name of the lowest ranks of the deities or demigods of the Kāmadhātu

An asura in Buddhism is a demigod or titan of the Kāmadhātu. They are described as having three heads with three faces each and either four or six arms.

Ownership

The temple is owned by three uranmakkar: Alakkattu Mana, Pattachomarayath Mana and Akkarachittur Mana. The present administration of the temple is done by Sri. Krishnan Namboodiri, Kizhillath Mana, Perumbillissery on the strength of the authority given by the uranmakkar. The chief priest or Thanthri of the Temple is Nedumpilly Tharananellur Mana, Irinjalakuda. Lord Ganesha, Swamiyar (guru) and Lord Annapoorneswari are the other deities.

Vilwamangalam Swamiyar or Vilwamangalathu Swamiyar is the name of more than one saint who lived in India. The first Vilwamangalam, a Swamiyar belonging to Naduvil Madhom, who lived in the 8th century. The spot of his samadhi is to the west of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The second saint who belonged to Thekke Madhom,Thrissur lived during the middle of 14th century. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan. Both the Swamiyars were native to Malai Nadu. The first Swamiyar was born in Sukapuram Gramam in Kerala. The second Swamiyar was renowned all over India. Bengalis believe that he was born in Bengal while Oriyans believe in Orissa, though tradition in Kerala implies that he belonged to Panniyoor village. "Sreekrishna Karnamritham" is his devotional masterpiece, written under an unspecified name "Leelasukan". The second Vilwamangalam is closely associated with several famous temples in Kerala such as Thiruvarppu, and Cherthala Kaarthiaayani.

Visiting

One can get down at Perumbillissery Centre from the bus and walk less than 0.5 km west to reach the temple. Anybody in the centre can guide, as the temple is known to all. [3] The temple is open from 5.30 AM to 10.30AM and 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM all days. This is subject to change on special days like Thiruvonam, Prathishta Dinam, Othukottu, lunar and solar eclipse days.

Thiruvonam is a Taluk town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Solar eclipse Natural phenomenon wherein the Sun is obscured by the Moon

A solar eclipse occurs when a portion of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow cast by the Moon which fully or partially blocks ("occults") sunlight. This occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. Such alignment coincides with a new moon (syzygy) indicating the Moon is closest to the ecliptic plane. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured.

Othu Kottu festival

The main festival of the temple is Sampoorna Yajurveda Yajna or Othu Kottu. Yajurveda Samhitha recital is one of the special prayers offered in the temple. Othu means Veda and Kottu means recitals. The whole text of Yajurveda is recited once in every three years by Yajurveda scholars from parts of Kerala. The Yajna is conducted by 10 Namboodiri families of the locality with co-operation of devotees. [4]

Yajurveda One of four Vedas of Hinduism

The Yajurveda is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajna fire. Yajurveda is one of the four Vedas, and one of the scriptures of Hinduism. The exact century of Yajurveda's composition is unknown, and estimated by scholars to be around 1200 to 1000 BCE, contemporaneous with Samaveda and Atharvaveda.

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Vamana dwarf avatar of Vishnu

Vamana, is the fifth avatar of Hindu god Vishnu. He incarnates in a time of crisis to restore cosmic balance by creatively defeating the Asura king Mahabali, who had acquired disproportionate power over the universe. According to Hindu mythology, the noble demon king sponsors a sacrifice and gift giving ceremony to consolidate his power, and Vishnu appears at this ceremony as a dwarf mendicant Brahmin called Vamana. When Vamana's turn comes to receive a gift, Mahabali offers him whatever riches and material wealth he would like, but Vamana refuses everything and states he would just like three paces of land. Mahabali finds the dwarf's request amusingly small and irrevocably grants it. Vamana then grows into a giant of cosmic proportions. In one step he covers the earth and the underworld, in another the heavens, and for the third, Mahabali offers his head on which Vamana steps, sending the demon king to the Patala (netherworld).

Onam Harvest festival of Kerala state, India

Onam is an annual Harvest festival in the state of Kerala in India. It falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August–September. According to legends, the festival is celebrated to commemorate King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.

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References

  1. Legend, Temple. Thaliyolakal considered to be built earlier than 1,500 years ago, 500 AD, p. 1.
  2. Main Website Archived 2011-02-02 at the Wayback Machine , Vamanamoorthy Temple.
  3. About Temple Place Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine , for more information.
  4. Special Days of Temple Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine , Othukottu.