"Aham Nirvikalpo Nirakaara Roopah / Vibhur Vyapya Sarvatra Sarvendriyanaam
Sada Me Samatvam Na Mukthir Na Bandhah / Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham !"
(Atmastakam, Sri. Adi Sankaracharya)
(Atmastakam, Sri. Adi Sankaracharya)
It (Tat) is prevailing everywhere, pervading everythi
In the pleasant monsoon spell, our travel in search of It this time is to a known-unknown place – Chemmanthatta (Chemmanthitta), which has one among the 108 Siva Temples of ancient Kerala.
It is just past 7:30 in the morning. We are on a local bus in the Thrissur-Kunnamkulam route. The bus is as lazy it could be - stopping in as many places it should and waiting for as much time it could. Sitting and waiting in the bus, we were feeling an urgency to reach our destination. However, people around seemed completely in peace. Least worried or hurried! - a realization that we are out of city limits! “How could we reach Chemmanthatta from Kecheri?” – I checked with the conductor. I knew we have to get down at Kecheri to reach Chemmanthatta. But the conductor looked completely unfamiliar with this place. He went and checked with the driver but neither he had an answer.
Time has wonderful ways to teach us timeless lessons - and this is one! - a place once known to all has turned into unknown to most!
We got down at Kecheri, the main junction. From a road side shop, luckily, we got the right directions. “It is around 4 km towards Pannithadam-Eeyaal route. Buses do go by that route, however, you might have to wait for a while.”
For us, the precious morning time was running out. We have to reach our destination as soon as possible. We could not wait for long. We took an auto to our destination - a ride from Kecheri to Chemmanthatta.
As soon as we moved out of range of radiations of the NH, a dense calmness descended around. The greens became greener. The sway of paddy fields, the easy aura, the easier people made us feel light, lighter and then lightest! The sense of calmness deepened, the breeze softened, and the drizzle felt magical. And then we were in front of that marvelous architecture! - Chemmanthatta Sri Mahadeva Temple.
As soon as we moved out of range of radiations of the NH, a dense calmness descended around. The greens became greener. The sway of paddy fields, the easy aura, the easier people made us feel light, lighter and then lightest! The sense of calmness deepened, the breeze softened, and the drizzle felt magical. And then we were in front of that marvelous architecture! - Chemmanthatta Sri Mahadeva Temple.
A beautiful laterite temple in Kerala-Dravidian style surrounded by rich green paddy fields - and that was a unique feel for us. Legend says the area, Eeyaal, where the temple is located, was once a melting pot of Buddhist and Jain culture. Those spiritual vibes, centuries old, still prevail in these pleasant surroundings.
Before we enter the temple from the East, the magnificent temple pond greets us. We stood there for a while marveling its majestic view. The red laterite steps, with green shrubs and deep green water makes it completely captivating.
"There is an intrinsic connection between the pond and the teertha-well inside the temple. Hence the natives here preserve it with utmost purity" - says Kesavan Namboothiri, the current priest of the temple.
"In other words, these are the ways our ancestors painstakingly preserved out nature and reserved it for us. If we still do not willingly continue to serve it, we are bound to regret it!" - feels Divs
The narrow corridor takes us to the East entrance which is embellished with ancient motifs (Sala-Kooda), again, completely in laterite stone. In 1982, the temple was categorized as protected monument by Government of India and the renovation was taken up by Archaeological Department. The way it is preserved in its current form should be highly appreciated.
"Archaeology Dept. while conserving the temple and monuments have ensured its ancient form and structure is preserved and kept as it is. There are no artificial build-ups or any patch works which doesn't go well with these ancient structures" - says Ram.
Based on the recent Devaprasna, the entry inside is strictly restricted with dress code. Inside the inner-prakara (Nalambalam), we noticed the ancient looking structure of Nandi (Rishabha). Interestingly, it is pointed out that, as per the tradition, the first prayers should be done to Nandi, after that to Lord Shiva and then again back to Nandi. In no case one should cross the line between Nandi and Lord Shiva.
The surrounding floor of inner-prakara is paved with granite stones. The conical structure roof is copper plated. The sanctum (garbha-griha) is circular and is built in Dravidian style. The base is moulded in Krishnasila. The outer walls made of laterite have beautiful mural paintings dating back to 17th-18th century A.D. We met a group of students who were there to study the murals. They explained each of those works appreciating its significance. There are murals of Sreerama Pattabhishekam, Nataraja Siva, Kirataarjuneeyam, Indra with thousand eyes, Narasimha, Markandeya Purana, Durga on the lion to say a few. The entrance to garba-griha has dwarapalakas.
The surrounding floor of inner-prakara is paved with granite stones. The conical structure roof is copper plated. The sanctum (garbha-griha) is circular and is built in Dravidian style. The base is moulded in Krishnasila. The outer walls made of laterite have beautiful mural paintings dating back to 17th-18th century A.D. We met a group of students who were there to study the murals. They explained each of those works appreciating its significance. There are murals of Sreerama Pattabhishekam, Nataraja Siva, Kirataarjuneeyam, Indra with thousand eyes, Narasimha, Markandeya Purana, Durga on the lion to say a few. The entrance to garba-griha has dwarapalakas.
"I was just trying to go back to those 17th-18th century days, when these murals were fresh! I don't reach anywhere. I am unable to even imagine what kind of culture, what sort of people would have been there around here. That is the kind of complexity our past has!" - feels Abhi
The history states, this temple was built by the Royal family of Talapilli (one of the administrative taluk under Kingdom of Cochin). This was handed over to Venmanathoor Mana family for administrative purposes. Few more Ooraaanma families later joined and at one time the temple administration was under 9 families (Manas).
If we try to go beyond the days the temple was built, we could only imagine that there might have been a smaller temple here with all the legends and myths associated. It is stated as one among the 108 Siva temples and naturally it gets connected to the legend of Parasurama. However, another version considers the deity here as Swayambhoo. Whatever be the history, myths and legends, the powerful deity of Lord Siva has been here as a witness to those past unexplained, the present uneasy days and will be here to be part of the unpredictable future too!
The idol of Lord Siva in the sanctum is almost 6 feet tall and is facing East. The deity in the temple is consecrated in Rowdra-Bhava, a form of Siva-Taandava after Sati parityagam. To balance the fierce power of the Lord, there is presence of Lord Vishnu as well in the temple. Inside the sanctum, behind the idol are three ancient stone lamps. They are considered auspicious traditionally. We however missed to notice it as we came to know about it only later. Lord Ganapathi and Lord Bagavathi are also consecrated in the inner prakara.
"This thattakam (Chemmanthatta) has now around 150 families. Traditionally these households were mostly of Namboothiris/Amabalavasis and still remain so. Earlier the temple administration was by nine Mana's (Namboothiri families). Now it is taken up by Ooraanma Devaswam. The Mana of Kuriyedath Thatri of Smaarthavichaaram (1905) was near here. The thattakam was completely surrounded with paddy fields. Not long back I myself managed a large area of paddy fields. Ox-carts were common here. Now things have changed alot." - tells Unnikrishnan Nambeesan of Vadakoottayil Pushpakam
The outer prakara of the temple has sub-shrines for Sastha and Narasimha Moorthy. Nagas, Badrakali and Vettaykorumakan are also consecrated around. During 1940s, a fire destroyed the roof of the temple and the present copper-plating was done.
After our prayers, Kesavan Namboothiri, gave us time to talk for a while. "There are three poojas in the temple. In the morning, temple opens at 4:30 and closes by 9:30. In the evening, it will be reopened at 5:00 and closes for the day by 7:30. The thantris are from Puliyanoor Mana and Keezhmundayoor Mana. Festival is in the Meena month (March-April). More than festivities, the adherence to rituals is of utmost importance here. Similarly the sanctity of the temple is extremely essential. For me, and many of the believers, the Lord reaches out immediately to our sincere prayers. I have experienced it and I feel safe when I am with the Lord here!" and as we take a leave he gave us the prasadam and nivedyam (paal-paayasam) - "Here only cow's milk should be used for preparing nivedyam. It will be completely different from what you get in other places." Relaxing under the peepal tree we felt his words true as we savored the paal-paayasam, which happened to be our break(fast) of the day.
Spending enough time, feeling enough vibes, we set out for our return. As we looked for an auto, an advise came promptly from around in a characteristic village tone - "Don't look for an auto. Just wait for while. You will get a bus soon to Kecheri." We waited, waited and waited patiently for more than half-an-hour listening to the stories, watching the sleeping dogs and looking at the stopped clock. But the wait never bothered us even for a moment. For we knew we are blessed to be in this blissful place where everything happens with sublime tranquility. There is nothing to worry about. There is nothing to hurry about. We got into the bus gleefully!
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