I had this plan to dedicate my first six posts to the deities of the six main paths of Hinduism, the Shanmadas. And with all respects I now cast my mind at the lotus feet of the Divine Mother, by the shadow of one of her ksethras that I have visited time and again, never getting bored, and ever being thrilled with the grace and benevolence of her divinity.
Mangadu is a small suburb of Chennai near Poonamallee (a vulgarized form of Poovizhuntha Malli). Literally Mangadu can be translated in two ways - Maangai (mango)+ Kaadu (forest) or Mana (marriage)+Kaadu (forest), both having ample reasons to be the name of this place. The place is sometimes wrongly thought to be a Shakthi Peetha, for no body part of the burnt Dakshayini ever fell here. However, the place is as divine and sacred as any Shakthi Peetha and has its own interesting story to tell.
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| A view of the Adi Kamakshi Temple |
In all of our Puranas, Ithihasas and Upanishads, the fights between Shiva and Parvathi occur time and again, with an unnerving repeatability. Rather than taking it in a negative sense, the broad mind should think beyond and realise that these tiffs were indeed ‘played’ for the benefit of us, our prosperity and our well being. The Sthala Purana of Mangadu too begins with one such fight, when Shiva and Shakthi were strolling around in the beautiful gardens of Kailasa. Parvathi, in a playful mood as ever, cupped her gentle palms over Shiva’s eyes, throwing all of creation into a cataclysmic darkness and for a second, risking the sustainability of the Universe. Vexed with her playfulness, Rudra flared up and in a voice that made Parvathi drop to her knees, he cursed Parvathi to be gone from him.
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| Ambal's Penance |
Devi, accepted her mistake and descended to Bhooloka to serve her period of separation from Maheshwara. There, attracted by calmness and beauty of the mango groves near the sea, Devi decided to stay there and undergo fierce penance to regain the hand of Shiva. She started her thapas, setting up an ashrama and serving the Shiva Bhakthas who went that way. Ages passed but there was no sign of the arrival of Shiva. Parvathi increased the intensity of the thapas and meditated on Shiva sitting amidst burning fire, but alas – no reply. Finally she set up five Agnis and in the center one she stood on a single leg, her toe touching the licking flames. The five fires could represent the Five syllables of the Panchakshari (Na Ma Shi Va Ya) or could represent the Pancha Indriyas (the five senses) which are to be kept under control during the penance. The penance went on for a very long time and it is believed that Lakshmi and Saraswathi came down to give her company for the period of the penance. The Panchagni thapas finally had its desired effect and Shiva’s voice ordered her to proceed to Kanchi and continue her penance, where he would appear before her to accept her hand in marriage. But why didn’t Shiva appear before Shakthi at Mangadu itself? Why delay the process? Believe it or not, it was due to the penance of Sukracharya, the Guru of all the Danavas.
When Vishnu had taken the form of Vamana, Sukracharya - realizing that the Brahmin was none other than Mahavishnu - had prevented Mahabali from offering the three steps of land to Vamana. Howevr when Bali had refused his advice, Sukracharya took the form of a wasp and blocked the spout of the Kamandala from which Bali was to pour water for the charity. Angered by this, Vishnu tried to un-block the spout with a blade of Dharba grass. The grass struck Sukracharya in his left eye, blinding it. Extremely annoyed by Vishnu’s conduct Sukracharya came to the same Mango grove as Devi and meditated on Shiva to get back his vision. When Shiva finally appeared before Sukracharya, overwhelmed with happiness Shukra started an elaborate Shiva pooja. Not wanting to disappoint his devotee, Shiva stayed there but at the same time realizing the danger of further delaying his appearance before Shakthi, Shiva ordered her from where he stood, to go to Kanchi.
Having heard the good news of his sister’s approaching marriage, Vishnu rushed down from Vaikuntha bearing all the gifts to send her off to her new home. However, when he arrived Shakthi had already left for Kanchi. Not being able to find her, Vishnu felt disheartened. At that instant, Markandeya Mahrishi appeared before Vishnu and narrated to him the departure of Kamakshi. Also he prayed that Vishnu should also stay in the Mango grove to grace devotees with his presence. Vishnu too agreed happily, and continued to stay at Mangadu.
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When Kamakshi had departed for Kanchi, in the haste and joy of her impending marriage, she had forgotten to put off the yogic fire, the panchagni at Mangadu. Fed by the yogic power of Devi the fire radiated its heat all over Mangadu, making it uninhabitable. Years went by and the lands surrounding Maangadu became parched. No grass grew and animals refused to go near the place. It was then that Adi Shankara happened to pass that way. Immediately sensing the presence of Shakthi, he braved the heat to make it to the place where Devi had set up her Panchagni. He felt the power that pervaded over the place and wanted to make it a Shakthi Kshetra for the good of humanity. To bring the heat under control he established a wondrous structure that is seen nowhere else on this planet- The ArdhaMeru. The Meru, in essence, is the three dimensional projection of the Shri Chakra which is the ultimate sacred symbol in Shakthi Upasana. The Ardha Meru on the other hand, is a half projected version of the Chakra where the Madhya Bindu (the dot) and the triangles and circles around it remain in two dimensions, with the rest projected in the third dimension. Rather than making it out of metal, Shankara built the Ardha Meru from a mixture of eight herbs called Ashtagandha and installed it. The sthapana of the ArdhaMeru reduced the soaring temperatures and started drawing devotees to the divine spot of penance.
Today Mangadu has become a major temple where devotees throng in large numbers on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays to get a glimpse of Devi and the Ardha Meru. The sanctum houses a statue of Kamakshi behind the Ardha meru. Since she had first stayed here before proceeding to Kanchi, she is known as Adi Kamakshi. But all the main poojas and offering are to the Ardha Meru alone. Abhisheka is, however, not done to the Ardha Meru as it is herb based. The sanctum also enshrines a beautiful Panchaloha idol of Thapas Kamakshi. Devi is shown standing on one leg over the Panchagni, her other leg folded to her waist, with one arm raised above her head holding the Japamala and the other at the level of her stomach in a meditative pose. With the Ardha Meru, the idols of Adi Kamakshi and Tapas Kamakshi and the constantly lit Kamakshi Lamp near Adi kamakshi, one can have a darshan of four forms of the goddess at the sanctum. Apart from the moolavar, there is also the idol of the Utsavar Kamakshi who is flanked by Lakshmi and Saraswathi. The three goddesses enjoy a ride in the golden chariot every evening. The chariot itself is driven by Brahmi and is surrounded by the Nava Kanniyars. It is truly a sight to behold.
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The ArdhaMeru is gigantic in appearance. The entire structure is shown to be resting on a tortoise, from which three steps lead up to hold a sixteen petal lotus, followed by an eight petal lotus over which the Shri Chakra is drawn. It is constantly kept covered by a Silver Kavacha, except on Vijayadasami when the Ardha Meru receives its annual anointment with Ashtagandha. On that day alone it shimmers in a golden Kavacha. Devotees offer sarees to the Ardha Meru, most of the sarees being eighteen hand-spans in length. Performing Kumkumaarchana to the Ardha Meru is very famous here.
Unmarried women and men alike come to the temple on Sundays and take part in the poojas praying for a worthy life partner. Six Sundays of regular worship is believed to bestow one with marital bliss. Worshipping Devi for six weeks on the same day is also said to grant any wish that the devotee has in mind. Go-pooja or cow-worship is quite famous in this temple. On every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday Devi first casts her benevolent glance on a cow. The cow stands with its tail facing the deity when the screen is drawn and Shri Kamakshi gives her first darshan for the day at 5 am. The hindquarters of the cow are believed to house Lakshmi and taking part in this Go-Pooja is supposed to shower one with prosperity. Every full moon day sees the observance of a Navakalasa Homam with pushpanjali to the Ardha Meru. On the full moon day in the month of Purattasi, the Ardha mandapa and Thapas Mandapa are decorated with fruits, grains and vegetables. Visiting the temple on this day is believed to grant an eternal supply of food in the devotee’s household.
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A stone’s throw away from the Kamakshi temple is the temple dedicated to Velleeswarar (Velli means Venus (Shukra) in Tamil). It was here that Shiva had granted darshan to Sukracharya and hence it is considered to be equal in status to Kanchanur, the Navagraha Kshetra that is dedicated to Shukra. Like at Kanchi, there is no shrine to Parvathi at this temple. Adi Kamakshi is believed to be first priority at Mangadu and hence the arrangement. Opposite to Swami’s shrine there is a small shrine housing the foot-prints of Devi. In the front mandapa there is a shrine dedicated to Ganesha who is seen to be carrying a sheaf of paddy and a mango in his arms. Known as Nerkathir (paddy grains) Vinayakar, farmers offer their first yield of paddy to him and pray for a good harvest. Interestingly, there is yet another Ganesha on the wall of the Swami shrine who is seen holding an umbrella and a yak-tail whisk. These two forms of Ganapati are not seen elsewhere. Since Shiva had come to bless Sukracharya (a devotee) before he had attended to Kamakshi (his wife), the Swami is praised as Bhakthavatsala for having given first priority to the devotee.
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| The Ring Bearing hand of Vaikuntavasar and the Utsava Moorthi |
Apart from these two temples, there is a temple dedicated to Vishnu who had come to see his sister’s marriage and had remained there due to Markandeya Maharishi’s request. Worshipped as Vaikunthavasa Perumal, he gives darshan with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. In his right hand he bears a ring, a reminder that he had actually come to give gifts to his sister on the joyous occasion of her marriage. Besides them Markandeyar is seated in a worshipping posture. The sthala vriksha in all the three temples happens to be the mango tree. Since Vishnu had come directly from Vaikuntha, there is no Paramapada Dwaram (Swarga Vaasal) here. And instead of Jaya and Vijaya guarding the doors to the sanctum, Agni (with three legs) and Avirakshagan perform the duty. Garudaazhwar is seen to be seated directly opposite to the sanctum and his wings are in a closed state which is another anomaly from the other Vishnu temples. It is believed that Vaikuntavasar removes financial obstacles that come in the way of marriages.
Thus Mangadu overflows with the divine grace of not one but three deities. It is an unwritten statement that people who visit the Kamakshi shrine should also visit the temples of Velleeswarar and Vaikuntavasa Perumal to complete their yatra to this Kshetra. And again it is a popular belief that there is nothing without reason that goes un-granted here, as Devi remains in the Kshetra in an elated mood of winning her Lord back. Mangadu is easily reached from Chennai and is one of those places that remains unspoiled by the madness of development all around.
शिव: शक्त्या युक्तो यदि भवति शक्त: प्रभवितुं
न चेदेवं देवो न खलु कुशल: स्पन्दितुमपि |
अतस्त्वामाराध्यां हरिहरविरिंचादिभिरपि
प्रणतुं स्तोतुं वा कथमकृतपुण्य: प्रभवति ||
"Lord Shiva, only becomes able.
To do creation in this world along with Shakthi.
Without her, Even an inch he cannot move,
And so how can, one who does not do good deeds,
Or one who does not sing your praise,
Become adequate to worship you
Oh , Goddess mine, Who is worshipped by the trinity."
- Adi Shankara in SoundaryaLahari
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