"Divine journeys are conceived in the intensity of the
thoughts and then they transpire like a blissful destiny."
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| Sree Thrikkapalam Front view |
Yes, this has been what the
journeys to places of divinity has taught us. It was no different in our
journey to Sree Thirkkapalam Mahasiva Temple in Kannur district of Kerala, one
of the three Thirkkapaleswaram temples of the 108 Siva Temples of Ancient Kerala
(the other two are in Kozhikode and Patthanamthitta districts).
The early morning chill of the
January breeze is intense as the bus along Kannur-Peralassery-Koothuparambu
sped through the narrow state high way road. The clay tile roofed homes and
shops along the road reminded us of the 80’s era. What is fast fading in other
parts of Kerala, is still surviving in this most unexpected place!
We got down at Peralassery which
is almost 15 km from Kannur town, expecting our destination to be around there.
We had checked with the possible sources about the location of the temple and
it was told to be near Peralassery. But, after we got down, we came to know we
have travelled more than what was needed and it turned out to be another
blessing!
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| Peralassery Sri Subramanya Temple |
Yes, divine decisions have more
than what our ordinary thoughts can fathom. We were blessed to visit and pray
at Peralassery Sri Subramanya Temple, a must visit temple of Kerala. The legend
of this temple has its roots in the Ramayana Epic. It is believed, Sri Rama and
Lakshmana stopped by at Peralassery. On finding the presence of Lord Subramanya
in the present Peralassery, Sri Rama told Hanuman to bring an idol from
Himalayas to consecrate. Lord Hanuman could not reach back at the auspicious
time and hence Sri Rama consecrated his bangle (Peru-Vala – Big Bangle). The place thus came to be known as Peru-Vala-ssery which later became
Peralassery. When Lord Hanuman reached back with the idol, it was also
consecrated by Lord Rama on top of the bangle (another version of the legend
says the idol brought by Hanuman was consecrated at Makreri near Thalassery,
yet another ancient temple). The magnificent pond near the temple is an
architectural wonder and is believed to be created by Lord Hanuman by hitting
the ground with his tail. In the temple, Lord Subramanya’s presence is in the
form of snake and hence is important temple for snake worship. Offering of eggs
to the serpent deity is a main worship of the temple. Devotees visit the temple
to get rid of the Sarpa Dosha. The
temple opens at 4 am in the morning and closes at 12:30 pm. In the evening,
temple opens at 4:15 pm and closes by 8 pm. The temple has Lord Ayyappa and
Ganapathi as sub-deities along with numerous serpent idols. The temple is very
well managed by Peralassery Devaswam.
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| Architectural Wonder - Pond at Peralassery |
From Peralassery, we took an auto
to Kadachira, which is around 2-3 km, and reached our destination of the day - Sree
Thirkkapalam Mahasiva Temple. The temple is adjacent to the road, yet, we did
not notice it for the above divine reason!
The temple is in a slightly lower
plane from the road and has two shrines attributed to Lord Shiva close to each
other both facing east. The one on the south (Thekkedam Sreekovil) has Sree Thirkkapaleswara and was consecrated
by Lord Parasurama during his pilgrimage.
Kapaleswara is considered as yogic
form of Lord Shiva wearing the elephant skin, with brahma kapala (skull) in hand.
Kapaleswara form of Lord Shiva bestows wisdom, poetic skill, yoga power and
prosperity and is considered as kshipra-prasadi
(one who pleases quickly).
On the north (Vadakkedam Sreekovil) is the shrine of Sri
Kottiyoor Perumaal and is considered as Swayambhoo (self-originated).
The present Kannur was earlier
ruled by Kolathiris who
had their capital at Chirakkal (a place 7km from Kannur). Kolathiris, also known as Chirakkal Rajas are descendants of the Mushika Dynasty (a branch of Cheras) of
ancient south India (Detailed history in "Mooshika Vamsham" a Sanskrit poetic text, written by Athulan
in the 10th century). The Bekal Fort and Chandragiri Fort were
originally under Chirakkal Kingdom. The southern branch of this family ruled
over Venad and
is today known as the Travancore Royal Family.
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| Sree Thrikkapalam Sreekovil |
Adjacent to Kannur, the area of Thalassery
and Wayanad was ruled by Purannatt
Swarupam, also known as Kingdom of Kottayam (Kottayam - a small town near Thalassery).
This western branch of this kingdom is famous for the erstwhile Pazhassi Raja. Another
aspect to note is, the Raja of Kottayam Kingdom (1665-1725 AD) was the pioneer
in evolving the art form of Kathakali from its earlier Ramanattam form.
There is a legend on how Kottiyoor
Perumal came to Thirkkapalam. Once based on a treaty between the Chirakkal and
Kottayam Kings, the Chirakkal King (Kolathiri)
had to hand over the area of the Kottiyoor Siva Temple to the Kottayam King. The
Mother Maharani (mother of the Kolathiri)
was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva and she could not accept this decision.
Without taking food and immersed in deep sorrow Mother Maharani spend the days.
One day she had a dream in which Kottiyoor Perumaal appeared to her and proclaimed
“I will be found at the north side of Thirkkapalam
shrine” – Next day, when Mother Maharani and her escort visited Thirkkapalam
temple, they found the Swayamboolingam
of Kottiyoor Perumaal as found in the dream. Kolathiri built the sanctum for Perumaal over there. Even now the
worship here is synchronized to the Kottiyoor temple. Neyyamrutu is the main offering here.
The subtle architectural changes found
in the temples of Malabar is reflected at Thirkkapalam as well. Laterite stone
based walls are unique here with intricate carvings. Both the Sreekovils are relatively small and have
namaskara mandapam. The sanctum of Perumaal
has a gajapristha kind of
architecture, yet the sanctum of Thirkkapaleswara looks older. There is a well
in between the two shrines and though smaller in size has some similarities to
the Velappaya Siva Temple in Thrissur Dist. Both shrines have flag post.
Festival is in the month of Kumbham
with Sivarathri as Aaraatt. One of the specialty of the Malabar region other
than Theyyam is the Thidambu Nritham performed in temples, in
which the priests dance carrying the idol on the head. The twin Thidambu Nritham at Thirkkapalam is
famous and a spectacle to behold.
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| Sree Thrikkapalam - Pond (Chira) |
There are sub shrines of Bagavathi,
Dakshinamoorthy, Sastha, Ganapathi, Krishna and Subramanya around the main sanctums.
There is large pond (chira) in front
of the temple. Legend says, Lord Sri Rama once visited Thirkkapalam and for performing
Sandhyavandana looked for source of
water. A small stream of water was found, which upon the Lord’s divine touch of
feet turned into large pond. An interesting aspect of this pond is irrespective
of summer or monsoon, the water level always remain same.
Tantram of the
temple is with Mullappally Namboothiri (for Thirkkapaleswara) and Velloori
Namboothiri (for Kottiyoor Perumaal)
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| Profound Blessing - 1985 Souvenir |
Temple administration is well handled by a committee with the support of local people. The day we visited the Thirkkapaleswara temple, a Thamboola Prasnam was about to be conducted. Even being busy, the committee welcomed us, and presented us with a souvenir of 1985 – which made us feel profoundly blessed! But there was more to follow. Being an auspicious day, we were also invited and in fact insisted for having the food at the temple itself! We had started the day so early without even taking a cup of tea and when the morning food and large cup of hot tea was brought for us we heard a divine voice whispering within us– “Yes, I am always there to take care of you in each and every step you take towards me!”
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