"May the Mind Wander in the Pure and Simple.
May the Mind Be One with the Infinite.
May the Mind Always Let All Things to take their Own
Course.
"
– Zen Quote
All our wanderings have been always adhering to this sublime
thought. Many times we were left far from all these. Yet, we wandered, without
seeking, without resisting – to feel the Pure, the Simple and the Infinite
within ourselves!
After our prayers at Mundoor and Avanoor we were almost resigned
to return back. That is when Sri.Ramachandran, whom we met at Avanoor temple,
came to us and asked – “You are visiting Velappaya Siva Temple as
well right?” “Is it nearby?” – we asked back. “Yes. It is just around 5km from
here.” That was something completely unexpected for us. We had not read or even
noted about this place or temple in our list. We thanked Sri.Ramachandran and
then decided to visit Velappaya as well.
It is another short ride for us through the similar kind of
narrow roads as found around Mundoor, and in no time we are in front of
the Velappaya Siva Temple. We were thinking of a simple, small
temple at Velappaya as like Mundoor and Avanoor. However, here, the wonders of
wanderings left us in a completely different world altogether! - We are in
front of a large temple area with old compound walls and an age-old temple in
its center. The entrance to the temple is from the North. The outer compound
has several peepal trees and a concrete foot path similar to the one’s found in
other large temples of Thrissur.
There are two entrances to the inner prakara, where we see two
majestic sanctums – one square and another circular. The sanctums are in
traditional Kerala architecture and are having two-storied granite base. In both, Lord Siva is consecrated with equal significance and is facing West. Siva
lingas are almost 5-6 feet tall. Lord Siva is considered to be consecrated in
ferocious form (Tripura Dahana). The entire surrounding of the inner prakara is
paved with granite. The circular shreekovil has a namaskara mandapa with very
old, but disintegrating wood work in its inner roof. Lord Ganapathy and Goddess
Parvathi are also consecrated in the circular sanctum.
We felt a kind of unique calmness inside this temple. The
flutter of peepal leaves standing high in the surroundings is the only murmur
we could hear. “Absolute peace! That is what we felt as we stepped in. The
divine vibes from inside and natural vibes from surroundings were just right to
merge us into Nothingness!” – felt Divs
 |
| The disintegrating past - in the foreground is the entry to the well |
After our prayers, we slowly walked around the inner prakara
watching all the yester era architecture in absolute awe. There are unique wood
crafted sculptures in the roof of the sanctums. Many of them are found to be
slowly disintegrating due to lack of maintenance. Some of the tiles in the roof
of the sanctum are also found damaged. Usually, we avoid taking pictures inside
the temple. However, watching all these surroundings, we felt an urge to
document the temple in its current form. With due respect, without disturbing the
sanctity we took few pictures for documentation.
We talked to Laksmi Amma (pseudo name) who has been part of the
temple staff for several decades - “Every day I come here, I feel the same awe
as you feel today! Who can create these kind of temples in these days?” And
pointing to the namaskara mandapa she continued – “But see how this is left
without any maintenance. People should get together to ensure the temple is
maintained in its original form.”
In the middle of the two sanctums, there is a very old well (Kokkarni style)
which has steps to go down (around 40 steps during summer). “The water from
this pond is used for all the temple rituals. Till recently we used to take the
water going all the way down. Now this is motorised.” – Lakshmi
Amma said.
In the outer compound, we see two big polished red-stone
sacrificial stones (balikallu) and a large concrete canopy (mandapam)
built newly on top of it. The concrete structure unfortunately dilutes the
otherwise pristine charm of this temple.
“The effort and money spend on building this concrete structure
could have been used for maintaining the temple in original form.
Unfortunately, Kaliyuga effect is changing the way people
think and behave!”– Divs
“The old well, which you saw inside was extending to the outside
as well and it was a great view to behold. However, for this concrete structure
it was partially closed and its traditional charm was completely lost in it!” –
laments Laksmi Amma echoing our thoughts.
The temple has five poojas which is all managed by a single
priest. Outer-prakara has sub-shrine of Lord Ayyappa and Nagas. The temple which was
earlier managed by Vellapaya Parangattil Family, is now under Cochin Devaswam
Board.
After our prayers and discussions, we started our return
journey with mixed feelings. The overwhelming feeling of being in a pristine
temple and the despair of witnessing its slow decline.
But, those who wander are not supposed to get attached to
anything! We wander in silence. Accepting all that comes our way, following
the Bhagavatha-Dharma, being at the feet of the Lord with just
prayers in our thoughts. As we moved on, from the deep silence of the
surroundings we heard the peepal leaves high above murmuring again - “Nama
Sivayah!”
*** Reference: 108
Sivakshetrangal, Kunjikuttan Ilyath
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