Varuthini Ekadashi on April 22. Do these things

Varuthini Ekadashi is observed during the Krishna Paksha of Vaishakha month. The best part of this Ekadashi is that both North India and South India follow the same date for this Ekadashi, unlike other Ekadashis. Varuthini Ekadashi falls on April 22.

• Fasting

At times Varuthini Ekadashi fasting is suggested on two consecutive days. (22nd and 23rd April). However, it is not necessary that the same person keeps the fast for both the days --- a person can keep the fast one day, followed by his family member keeping the fast next day.

• The importance

Varuthini Ekadashi is said to be a very important fast in Hindu mythology. It is said that someone who does this fast attains a good life, amasses wealth and wins at all the battles of life. It also purifies one's mind and soul.

• Huge benefits

According to Hindu Shastras, even Chitra Gupt, who keeps a record of all the good and bad things in your afterlife can't actually gauge the benefits of this kind of Ekadashi. It is said that this Ekadashi is 100 times more auspicious than other Ekadashis. Here's what you should do today...

• Vermillion

For health and happiness, apply some vermillion powder (sindoor) on the picture of Narayan today. Not only this, you should also offer some lotus stem leaves to Lord Vishnu today --- this will bring you health and happiness.

• Tulsi

If you want to concentrate better at your work, then offer some Tulsi leaves to a picture of Lord Vishnu. To sort your household disputes, offer some curd to a picture of a "baal gopal".

• Love life

If you want to improve your love life, then offer some roli to a picture of Radha and Krishna. Not only this, if you want to get rid of a debilitating disease, then offer some green pulses (raw) to a picture of Lord Vishnu.

• Laxmi Narayan

For a happy married life, offer some dry colour to an idol of Laxmi Narayan. Not only this, if you are prone to accidents in your life, then offer some red colour (dry) to a picture of Radha Krishna.

• Turmeric

If luck has not been favouring you recently, then offer some turmeric to a picture of Lord Vishnu. If your business has been suffering from losses, then offer some blue flowers to a picture of Lord Krishna.

• Incense sticks

If you have been facing a financial stress, then offer some incense sticks to a picture of Vishnu. This apart, offering Vishnu some blue flowers saves you from untoward accidents.

• Don't do these things

Apart from these, do not consume tobacco in any form today and refrain from having paan, even if it is without tobacco. Also, since today is God's day, do not speak ill about others.

• Anger

Even though anger is a human emotion, do not get angry at others today. This apart, do not lie to anyone about anything today. God appreciates devotees who are honest with others.

• Sleeping

No matter how tired you are, sleeping in the afternoon on an Ekadashi is akin to angering God, so avoid. Also avoid consuming oil today. Instead cook your meals in clarified butter, (ghee), just for today.

• Brass utensils

Today, cook all your meals in brass utensils. This will purify your food and clear out the toxins from your system. Also, even if you are not fasting today, avoid consuming garlic and onion. Stick to saatvik food today.

Source: speaking tree

Historical Koodalmanikyam Temple in Thrissur district, Kerala

Historical Koodalmanikyam Temple or Kudal Manikkam Temple / Koodalmanikkam Temple is a Hindu temple which is situated in Irinjalakuda, Trissur district, Kerala state, India. Koodalmanikyam Temple is the temple in India dedicated to the worship of Bharata, apart from Amanakara in Palai- Thodupuzha route, the third brother of Rama. The temple is one of four in Kerala state that form a set called "Nalambalam", each temple dedicated to one of the four brothers in Ramayana: Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

Koodalmanickyam is the Malayalam translation of the Sanskrit word Sangameswara.   There is, however, another talk about the name.   One day the idol was found to give out uncommonly bright  from its forehead.    Unable to identify the source of the brightness, some brought a Quartz (Manikyam) in the possession of Raja of Kayamkulam for comparison.  As they were comparing the brightness of the two, it is said the stone brought from Kayamkulam mysteriously slipped from the hand and merged with the one on the idol.The merging of two manikyamsled to the name ‘Koodalmanikyam’.   Similar brightness is reported to have appeared on the idol once again, much later in 1907.

It is perhaps the only temple in India with Bharatha as the presiding deity.The colourful eleven-day annual festival at the Koodalmanikyam temple is noted for the grand elephant pageantry. The festival falls in during April or May.

The temple is surrounded by four ponds. The largest of the four are Kuttan Kulam, located outside the compound on the eastern side, and Kulipini Theertham, located inside the compound. Kulipini Theertham is believed  to be sanctified by the sage Kulipini Maharshi, who held a great ritual sacrifice. Priests are allowed to take part in the ceremonies after cleansing themselves at the "Kuttan Kulam" outside the temple and then after taking a dip in "Kulipini Theertham" before entering sanctum sanctorum. The pond outside the compound located at the western side,  is called "Padinjare Kulam" and the pond outside the compound located at the southern side is called "Thekke Kulam".  

Getting there

•      Nearest railway station: Irinjalakuda is about 10 km and Thrissur (Major Station of southern Railway) is about 22 km are the nearest railway stations.
•      Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport is about 37 km via Salem Kanyakumari Highway.

Historical Triprayar Sree Rama Swami Temple, Kerala.

Historical Triprayar Temple, located in Thrissur district is one of the important temples dedicated to Lord Rama. Triprayar temple is located 22 kms south west of Thrissur in between Kodungalloor and Guruvayoor in the mid landmass of Chettuva. The temple is situated on the bank of river Theevra. Theevra river is also called Purayar. Hence this place got the name Thirupurayar (sacred river) and later became Triprayar. There is an interesting legend about the origin of this river. Lord Mahavishnu during his Vamana incarnation visited this place while going to Thrikkakkara and he found no water to wash his legs as the whole place was dry and desolate. Vamana took the water from his kamandalu (a small round vessel used by hindu sages to carry water) and poured the water to wash his legs, that source of water never went dry but kept on flowing as the Thiru Purayar or the Thriprayar (river of divine source) as it is called now. Purayar is also called Nandiyar.

Out of the four idols discovered by fisher men, the Sree Rama idol was the most important. Vakkayil Kaimal decided to install it in Triprayar. It is said that when the image of Rama was discovered and was about to be consecrated, it was divinely ordained that a peacock would appear and mark the exact time for installation. Kaimal and his men waited for a long time for the peacock but it didn't appeared. Apparently the Tanthri (chief priest) installed the idol when a devotee bearing peacock feathers appeared. Soon after the installation the peacock appeared in front of the Sreekovil. It is said that the priests and Kaimal regretted their decision later and to make up for this deficiency the sacrificial stone or the valiya balikkallu was installed at the spot marked by the peacock. Hence the balikkal is said to have the same importance as the deity itself. But this sacrificial stone showed a tendency to spin on its axis. It was Naranathu Bhranthan who fixed it at the spot by hammering a nail through it amidst the chanting of mantras. A mark of a nail can still be seen gives credence to this belief.

In order to prevent any decline in the power of the idol on account of the change in its location Naranathu Bhranthan also arranged to install two goddesses on either side of the deity-Sree Devi on the right and Bhumi Devi on the left. Another legend says that it was Vilwamangalm Swamiyar who is associated with several temples of Kerala, installed the Sree Devi and Bhumi Devi images and shut the Western doors of the temple. One day Swamiyar reached this temple and offered prayers to Lord Rama. During his pooja he noticed that Sree Devi and Bhumi Devi were entering the temple from the western gateway to offer prayers to the Lord. In order to set right the fault in location of the idol he requested them to stay inside the sreekovil. The Goddesses agreed and later Swamiyar installed Sree Devi and Bhumi Devi idols on either side of Rama. He then closed the western doors and left the temple. The western doors of the temple remain shut even today.

The image of Rama (Triprayar Thevar) resembles the Chaturbhuja Vishnu form with four arms, bearing a conch(Panchajanya), a disc (Sudarsana), a bow (Kodanda) and a garland respectively. It is believed that the deity worshipped here possesses some of the aspects of Shiva too. It was after killing the asura, Khara that Sri Rama got both the Shaiva and Vaishnava aspects. Thus Triprayar Thevar is also called Khara Samhara Moorthy. It is also believed that the portrayal of Rama with a garland held in the image's hand is also suggestive of aspects of Bhrahma and hence the deity is said to be a manifestation of the Trimoorthis. The image is adorned with necklaces and other fine jewelry. Images of Sreedevi and Bhudevi are on either side. There is an image of Dakshinamoorthy, in the sanctum facing the south. Dakshinamoorthy is commonly found in Shiva temples. There is also a lamp behind the image which is kept burning all the time. Because of these and also because of the fact that people got relief when troubled by evil spirits chathan-the deity is believed to have a Shiva aspect also.

Ganapathy prathishta is located at the south west corner of the sreekovil. Though there is no separate idol for Rama's best devotee Hanuman, it is believed that his presence is always there at the Namaskara mandapam of the temple. Devotees generally bow before the mandapa imagining the presence of Hanuman there before worshipping Sree Rama. The offering of flattened rice (avil) made from dried paddy is meant for Hanuman. Near the main temple towards the north there is a small shrine of Gosala Krishna. Outside the temple in the southern side of the courtyard there is an Ayyappa (Shastha) shrine. It is believed that the Shastha shrine was located originally at the site corresponding to the temple's sreekovil. With the arrival of Sree Rama, Ayyappa moved to the south in the present location. Now Thriprayar Thevar is the presiding deity of the Arattupuzha Pooram, one of the important festivals of central Kerala. Lord Ayyappa of this temple also participated in this pooram before the installation of Lord Rama. Except Triprayar Thevar, all other participants in this pooram are Sasthas and Bhagavathys of different temples. This also points to the conversion of Shastha shrine to Rama shrine.

Historical Udupi Sri Krishna Temple in Karnataka.

Historical Udupi Sri Krishna Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to god Krishna located in the town of Udupi in Karnataka, India.

The matha area resembles a living ashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. Surrounding the Sri Krishna Matha are several temples, the most ancient being made of basic wood and stone of 1,500 years origin.

The Krishna Matha was founded by the Vaishnavite saint Shri Madhwacharya in the 13th century. He was the founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. It is believed that Madhwacharya found the idol of SriKrishna in a large ball of gopichanda.

History

Legend has it that once Kanakadasa, a pious worshiper and devotee of Lord Krishna, was not allowed entry into the temple. It didn't upset him; instead it made him pray with intense devotion. Lord Krishna was so pleased that the statue turned back to where Kanakadasa was praying, and the wall before Kanakadasa broke up to allow the disciple to gaze upon his heavenly from at the back of the mutt (monastery). Till today, devotees still worship Lord Krishna by praying through the same window that Kanakadasa was blessed with a view: It is known as Kanakanakhindi.

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Historical Parassinikadavu Muthappan temple Kannur.

Sree Muthappan is a Hindu deity worshipped commonly in Kannur district of north Kerala state, South India. Muthappan and Thiruvappan, are considered to be a manifestation of Shiva and Vishnu, and henceMuthappan. It is said that if you call Him with Bhakti, He hears your prayer.

Worship of Muthappan is unique, in that it does not follow the Sattvic (Brahminical) form of worship, as in other Hindu temples. The main mode of worship is not via idol worship, but via a ritual enactment of Muthappan, performed daily at the Parassinikadavu temple. Fish is used as an offering to Muthappan, and people of all castes, religions and nationalities are permitted to enter the temple and take part in the worship.

Muthappan is also the principal deity in the ritualistic Theyyam dance (Muthappan Theyyam) performed in the famous Parassinikkadavu temple. The ritual performers of Muthappan Theyyam belong to the tribal community of Kerala. It is unique because in Kerala both the upper-caste Brahmins, and the lower-caste tribals, both have a significant contribution to the major forms of worship.

The traditional story of Parassinikkadavu Muthappan

The Naduvazhi Ayyankara Illath Vazhunnavar (a Nambudiri Brahmin) was unhappy, as he had no child. His wife Padikutty Antharjanam was a devotee of Lord Shiva. She made a sacrifice to Shiva for children. One day in her dream she saw the Lord. The very next day, while she was returning after a bath from a near by river, she saw a pretty child lying on a flower bed. She took the child home and she and her husband brought Him up as their own son.The boy used to visit the jungle near their house (mana) for hunting with His bow and arrows. He would then take food to the poor and to the backward communities with Him. As these acts were against the Namboothiri way of life, His parents earnestly requested Him to stop this practice, but the boy turned a deaf ear to their warnings. Ayyankara Vazhunavar became very disappointed.

One day the boy revealed His divine form (Visvaroopam or Viswaroopa or Cosmic All-Pervading form) to His parents. They then realized that the boy was not an ordinary child but God. They prostrated themselves in front of Him and He blessed them.

He then started a journey from Ayyankara. The natural beauty of Kunnathoor detained Him. He was attracted by the toddy of palm trees.Chandan (an illiterate and uncivilized toddy tapper) knew that his toddy was being stolen from his palm trees, so he decided to guard his palm trees. While he was keeping guard at night, he caught an old man stealing toddy from his palms. He got very angry and tried to shoot the old man using his bow and arrows but fell unconscious before he could let loose even an arrow.

Chandan's wife came searching for her husband. She cried brokenheartedly when she found him unconscious at the base of the tree. She saw an old man at the top of the palm tree, and called out to Him as "MUTHAPPAN" ("Muthappan" means grandfather in the local Malayalam language). She earnestly prayed to the God to save her husband. Before long, Chandan regained consciousness.

She offered boiled grams, slices of coconut, burnt fish and toddy to the Muthappan (Even today in Sree Muthappan temples the devotees are offered boiled grams and slices of coconut). She sought a blessing from Him. Muthappan chose Kunnathoor as His residence at the request of Chandan. This is the famous Kunnathoor Padi.

After spending some years at Kunnathoor, Sree Muthappan decided to look for a more favorable residence so that He could achieve His objective of His avataram. He shot an arrow upward from Kunnathoor. The shaft reached Parassini where the famous Parassini Temple stands today. The arrow, when it was found, was glowing in the Theertha (sacred water) near the temple. The arrow was placed on the altar of the temple. Since then, Lord Sree Muthappan has been thought to reside at Parassinikkadavu.

Another story

As a boy, Muthappan was rebellious. He was a great hunter and would skin the animals that He killed and wear their skins as clothes. One day, He came across a coconut tree that was being tapped for toddy, the liquor fermented from coconut sap. He climbed the tree and emptied the jar that was holding the toddy. When the toddy tapper returned and saw Muthappan, he immediately challenged Him. Muthappan turned the man to stone for daring to address such a powerful God as Himself in such a manner. During performances of Muthappan Theyyam, the performer consumes the toddy liquor and passes it around to the spectators. In this act, Muthappan “breaks” the temple rules by allowing alcohol into temple grounds.

Sree Muthappan is always accompanied by a dog.

Dogs are considered sacred here and one can see dogs in large numbers in and around the temple.One can see two carved bronze dogs at the entrance of the temple that are believed to symbolize the bodyguards of the God. When the Prasad is ready it is first served to a dog that is always ready inside the temple complex.Local legends enhance the importance of dogs to Sree Muthappan, such as the story that follows:A few years ago, temple authorities decided to reduce the number of dogs inside the temple; so they took some dogs and puppies away. From that very day, the performer of the Sree Muthappan Theyyam was unable to perform; it is said that the spirit of Sree Muthappan enters the performer's body for the duration of the ceremony. But He probably refused to enter the Theyyam performer's body because the dogs had been removed. Realizing their mistake, the dogs were brought back to the temple by the temple authorities. From that day onwards, Theyyam performances returned to normal.

The Great Temple of Guruvayoor

The Great Temple of Guruvayoor

The Historical Krishna temple in the town of Guruvayoor in Kerala is one of the five famous Krishna\Vishnu temples in India. The others are Jagannath Puri in Orissa, Venkatachalapati in Andhra Pradesh, Nathdwara in Rajasthan and Dwaraka in Gujarat. Of course there are many other famous ones of Vishnu as well as of Krishna but these are considered to be the most popular. Even though the idol in Guruvayoor is that of Vishnu it is still known as a Krishna temple since the boy Krishna is always said to be running around incognito in the temple precincts. Guruvayoor is known as “Bhuloka Vaikunta” or the abode of Vishnu on earth.

History.

The history of the idol goes back to the hoary past to the age of Dwapara when Lord Krishna was alive. His parents were Vasudeva and Devaki. She was the sister of Kamsa, the cruel king of Mathura. They two of them had been great devotees of Lord Vishnu for many ages. After assiduously wooing him for many births, the Lord had manifested himself to them and promised that he would be born as their son for three lives in succession. He promised them liberation at the end of these three births. This was their last birth as Devaki and Vasudeva in the clan of the Yadavas in the city of Mathura and Krishna was born to them as their eighth son. The idol of Lord Vishnu which is found in Guruvayoor is one which had been worshipped by Devaki and Vasudeva and one can easily imagine that it must also have been worshipped by Lord Krishna himself. This is the greatness and glory of this particular idol of Lord Vishnu – that Vishnu himself had done puja to it in his incarnation as Krishna.

The temple is classified as one of the Mahakshetras or “Great abodes of worship”. There are many such in the holy land of India but few which can claim to have all the ten qualifications of a Mahakshetra. The signs are: 1. antiquity (the temple is believed to be over five thousand years old. 2. Presence of records, (it has quite a few copper plates and palm leaf scrolls). 3. Origin in a forest (this place was a forest at one time). 4. Proximity to the sea, (it is near the Arabian Sea). 5. Royal connections (the royal family of the Zamorins of Calicut have been the custodians of this temple from ancient times). 6. Mention in ancient literature (it has been mentioned in the Mahabharata). 7. Grandeur of festivals (the temple has many grand festivals) 8. Situation at an elevation (this is not so but it has a large body of water beside it). 9. Grandeur of sculpture and architecture. (Even though the original temple did not have any great sculptures yet the walls of the inner courtyard has some extraordinary wall paintings made from vegetable dyes, which date to antiquity. The recent construction has plenty of sculptures). The temple now runs a school where this ancient art of wall painting called “chomiru chitram” is taught to young people and reproductions of the originals are made available to devotees. These are the material features which are to be considered in the classification of a Mahakshetra. Of course needless to say the temple should also have special spiritual significance and the presence of numerous devotees who have personally experienced the Lord’s grace.
At the end of his earthly sojourn, Krishna prophesied to his friend and devotee, Uddhava that the island of Dwaraka, which had been his stronghold, would be swept away by the sea, seven days after he left his mortal body. He instructed him to rescue the precious idol of Vishnu which his parents had worshipped, and hand it over to Brihaspati, the guru of the gods who would come to him. After seven days, the island submerged in the sea as foretold by Lord Krishna. Uddhava went sadly to the seashore and saw the idol bobbing up and down on the waves far out in the sea. He begged the wind god – Vayu to bring it closer to him. The wind wafted it gently to the shore and Uddhava picked it up lovingly and cradled it in his arms. As he was wondering how to contact the guru of the gods, he found that Brihaspati himself was walking towards him. Uddhava told him the whole story of how Lord Krishna had instructed him and Brihaspati who knew everything agreed to take it and install it at some special place. He was sure that he would be given further instructions.

Now Brihaspati asked Vayu, the wind god to transport him through the air so that they could choose a perfect spot for the installation. Carrying the precious idol in his hands, Brihaspati was wafted across the sub-continent of India till they came almost to the sea shore to the spot where the present town of Guruvayoor now stands. Looking down Brihaspati saw a beautiful lake filled with lotuses on the banks of which Shiva and Parvati were dancing. He was charmed by the sight and he requested Vayu to float him down. For some time he stood spell-bound by the dancing couple. When they had finished he prostrated to them and begged Shiva to tell him of a perfect spot to install the idol of Vishnu. Shiva said that this was indeed the ideal place. He told him to build the temple right there at one end of the lake where he and Parvati had been dancing. He magnanimously said that he himself would take up residence at the other end of the lake which was known as Rudrathirta. The temple of Mammiyoor to which Shiva shifted still exists. However during the course of time the lake dried up little by little and now only the temple tank adjoining the Guruvayoor temple remains to tell the tale of this ancient lake. The word Guruvayoor has special connotations. It is made up of two words “guru” and “vayu”. Guru means preceptor and vayu is wind. The idol was installed by Brihaspati, the guru of the gods and Vayu, the god of wind and hence came to be known as Guru-vayoor! The word also has an esoteric meaning. It stands for the body of the human being which is the abode of wind. The five pranas or vital breaths are what sustain the body and make it function properly.

Though the idol traces its antiquity to the Dwapara Yuga, the present temple is only about five hundred years old. However the shrine must have existed in some form or other even at the time of the Mahabharata. When the Pandavas departed from this world, they left their kingdom to Arjuna’s grandson, Parikshit who was their only surviving progeny. Parikshit died of snake bite and his son Janamejaya swore to take revenge on the king of snakes and carried out a huge sarpa yajna, or sacrifice of snakes, in which thousands of snakes perished in the flames. For this heinous crime he was cursed by the snakes and became a leper. Forced to leave his palace and his kingdom, he wandered miserably from temple to temple till he came to the shrine of Lord Guruvayoorappan. Here it is said that he did tapasya for many months and was eventually totally cured of his dread disease.

Temple Magazine.

Many cases of cures and miracles have been attributed to Guruvayoorappan. In fact the monthly magazine of the temple describes the personal experiences of many devotees that continue to take place even now. The temple opens at 3 AM and closes late at night very often at 10 PM or even later when there are special functions. One has to queue for hours to get a fleeting glimpse of the charming figure inside the sanctum sanctorum. The Lord is decorated in various ways during the different pujas. Early morning he is shown as a young child wearing only a small red kaupina and various bits of simple jewellery as befitting a child with a peacock feather in his coronet. He holds a ball of butter in his hand. For the next puja at 10 AM he looks a little older. He is fully adult by the noon puja which is the most elaborate. This ornamentation remains on him till the next morning. It is a strange experience of most true devotees that even though the crowds may be great somehow or other they manage to get a close up view of the Lord even though many people have to leave without being able to get inside. One of the striking features of this temple is that the idol has been so placed that it is visible from very far off, way beyond the main temple doors. 

The web master, Arvind Burger being an American would not have been allowed to go inside since the temple is not open to non-Hindus, but in his own miraculous fashion, Guruvayoorappan literally took him by the hand and allowed him to have darshan from inside the inner courtyard without any of the guards noticing his white skin!!