Sirsi Marikamba Temple

Sirsi Marikamba Temple
ಸಿರ್ಸಿ ಮಾರಿಕಾಂಬಾ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ
Sirsi Marikamba Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
Deity	Sirsi Marikamba Devi
Location
Location	Sirsi
State	Karnataka
Country	India
Location in Karnataka
Geographic coordinates	14°36′43″N74°50′22″E / 14.6119484°N 74.8395170°E / 14.6119484; 74.8395170
Architecture
Style	Kavi art
Founder	Villagers
Date established	1688
Website
marikambatemple.com

Sirsi Marikamba Devi
Mother of Universe, Goddess of Power, Nourishment, Health, Motherhood, Rain and Harmony.
Member of Tridevi Supreme Goddess in Shaktism
Sirsi Marikamba Devi (Durga Devi )
Other names	Sirsi amma Maari amma Durga Devi Bhuvaneshwari Mahishasura Mardini
Kannada	ಸಿರ್ಸಿ ಮಾರಿಕಾಂಬಾ ದೇವಿ
Affiliation	Parvati, Durga, Kali
Abode	Sirsi
Mantra	Om Shri Sirsi Marikambeye Namha
Weapons	Trishula Sword Gada Damaru Shankha Shield Scimitar Kapala
Day	Tuesday and Friday
Color	Yellow (Turmeric)   Red (Kunkuma)
Mount	Tiger
Texts	Folk, Mahabharata
Region	Malenadu
Ethnic group	Kannadigas
Festivals	Sirsi Jathre Sirsi Marikamba Jayanthi Maha Shivratri Holi Ugadi Gowri Habba Navaratri Vijayadashami Durga Puja Kannada Rajyotsava Karthikotsava [1]
Genealogy
Born	Viratanagara (Hangal) [2]
Consort	Shiva
Equivalents
Tamil	Mariyamman

Sirsi Fair ಸಿರ್ಸಿ ಜಾತ್ರೆ
Sirsi Marikambe Rathotsava (Sirsi Marikambe rushing towards Mahishamandala/Bidkibail to slay demon Mahishasura) (Day 1) Shiva-Sirsi Marikambe Marriage (Parvati avatar) (Day 2) Sirsi Marikambe slaying Mahishasura (Durga avatar) (Day 9) Fierce Sirsi Marikambe walk (Kali avatar)
Status	Active
Genre	Fair
Begins	19 March 2024 (2024-03-19)
Ends	27 March 2024 (2024-03-27) [3]
Frequency	Biennial
Venue	Sirsi
Years active	337
Inaugurated	1688 (1688)
Founder	Villagers
Previous event	2022
Attendance	25,00,000+ [4]
Activity	Parvati avatar Day 1: Shiva-Sirsi Marikambe marriage Durga avatar Day 2: Sirsi Marikambe slay demon Mahishasura Day 2-9 : Vijayotsava Kali avatar Day 9: Sirsi Marikambe fiercely walk towards outskirts of the city
Organised by	Sirsi Marikamba Temple
2024
South India's Biggest Fair [5]

Sirsi Marikamba Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Marikamba Devi (Durga Devi), located in Sirsi, Karnataka, It is also known as Marigudi. It was built in 1688. Sirsi Shri Marikamba Devi is the "elder sister" of all Marikamba Devi's in Karnataka.

Features

The temple's façade, a 19th-century addition, is painted blue. After one enters through the façade, there is courtyard in the middle, which has cloisters surrounding it. The cloisters are filled with images of deities from the Hindu epics. The changes made inside the temple have hidden any evidence of older structures. The sanctum sanctorum has the central image of a fierce form of the goddess Durga, multi-armed (eight shoulders ^[6] ), riding a tiger and killing a demon. It is believed^{[ by whom? ]} that the 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) image was retrieved from a pond on the road to Hangal. The temple has very special paintings of murals in Kaavi art, an art form which was popular in the coastal Konkan region of Karnataka. In this art form, now extinct, the top plastered layer of the mural was first dyed with a red pigment, which when removed revealed a lower white layer of plaster over which the murals were created. ^[7]

Worship

The main priest at the temple belongs to the Vishvakarma (Vishvabrahmin) community. ^{[6] [8]}

When Mahatma Gandhi visited Sirsi in 1934 he refused to visit the temple, as animal sacrifice was a prevalent ancient practice at the temple; the sacrifice was in the form of offering of he-buffalo as a sacrifice to appease the goddess. ^[6] A he-buffalo was specially bred for offering as a sacrifice to the deity during the biennial Rathayatra (chariot festival). Following Gandhi's protest, there was a successful movement in the town to abolish animal sacrifice spearheaded by Keshwain, chief trustee of the temple, in association with Vitthal Rao Hodike, a teacher and dedicated Gandhian of the town. ^[6]

Gallery

Temple front view

Temple hall

Mahishasura mardhini image inside temple

Kali image inside temple

See also

• Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore
• Mookambika Temple, Kollur
• Annapurneshwari Temple, Horanadu
• Yellamma Temple, Saundatti

References

1. "Shree Marikamba Temple".
2. "Marikamba". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016.
3. "Sirsi Marikamba Jatra 2024: ಶಿರಸಿ ಮಾರಿಕಾಂಬಾ ದೇವಿ ಜಾತ್ರೆ ದಿನಾಂಕ ಘೋಷಣೆ!". News18 ಕನ್ನಡ (in Kannada). 14 January 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
4. "ಮಾರಿಕಾಂಬಾ ಜಾತ್ರೆಯಿಂದ ಶಿರಸಿ ನಗರಸಭೆಗೆ 42.64 ಲಕ್ಷ ರೂ. ಆದಾಯ! 25 ಲಕ್ಷ ಜನರ ಆಗಮನ".
5. "Sirsi Jatre: ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾರತದ ಅತಿದೊಡ್ಡ ಜಾತ್ರೆಗೆ ಚಾಲನೆ, ಗದ್ದುಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿರಾಜಮಾನಳಾದ ಶಿರಸಿ ಮಾರಿಕಾಂಬೆ". 17 March 2022.
6. "Marikamba Temple of Sirsi". Kamat's Potpourri. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
7. SouthIndia. Rough Guides. 2003. pp. 262–. ISBN   978-1-84353-103-6 . Retrieved 12 August 2013.
8. The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society (Bangalore). The Society. 1999. Retrieved 12 August 2013.

External links

• www.marikamba.com