Friday, September 15, 2017

Devi Kanyakumari Temple (Bhagavathy Amman Temple), Kanyakumari – History

Devi Kanyakumari Temple (Bhagavathy Amman Temple), Kanyakumari – History
The worship of Devi Kanya Kumari dates back to the Vedic times. She has been mentioned in RamayanaMahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai, Purananuru and Narayana (Maha Narayana) Upanishad, a Vaishnava Upanishad in the Taittiriya Samhita of Krishna Yajur Veda. As directed by his Guru Sri Ramakrishna Parama HamsaSwami Vivekananda, came here to seek Devi's blessing in December 1892, as Devi is the goddess of Sanyasa. It is in this location he decided to embark on the missionary work to a higher level of action rather than being passive like the usual Sanyasis.
Swami Brhamananda (1863–1922) and Swami Nirmalananda (1863–1938), another two disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa, also worshiped Devi Kanyakumari. In fact, Swami Nirmalananda brought several small girls from many parts of Kerala to worship Bhagavathy in 1935-36 period. To the surprise of all, seven girls later became the members of the first batch of Nuns of the "Sharada Ashramam", a Hindu nunnery started later in 1948 in Ottapalam, PalakkadKerala by Swami Vishadananda. The rites and rituals of the temple is organized and classified by following Sankaracharya's treatise.
The author of Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (60-80 A.D.) has written about the prevalence of the propitiation of the deity Kanyakumari in the extreme southern part of India; "There is another place called Comori and a harbour, hither come those men who wish to consecrate themselves for the rest of their lives, and bath and dwell in celibacy and women also do the same; for it is told that a goddess once dwelt here and bathed." Kanyakumari was under the rule of the Paravar Kings till the downfall of Pandyas, and later by kings of Travancore under the overall suzerainty of the British until 1947, when India became independent. Travancore joined the independent Indian Union in 1947. Later in the state partition Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu.
Vedic History:
According to monotheistic philosophies like Advaita, in Hinduism there is reference to only one God (Addressed as Para brahma, Parameshwara or Parashakti by different sects) but for the purpose of idol worship different forms of The Almighty are considered as representation of the Almighty., the supreme one, the form less and with different forms, the nirguna, the unbiased and the ubiquitous. However, as the Veda and similar literature of ancient times are of Shruthi nature (i.e. there is no written documents and students need to learn it from a Guru by memorizing), these literatures are in poem form with well-defined rhythm (poem meter) known as Chandass (e.g. Gayatri is one of the Chandass as well as; the basic mantra of Gayatri Chandass, Surya Gayatri is also called Gayatri Mantra) so as to easily memorize. So, for using similes, and satyres for a poem, they personified many manifestations of the supreme almighty for better understanding.
When Upanishads were created in the later years, it changed into Smruthi (written literature), however the similies used in Brahmanas, Samhitas and Aranyakas were developed as stories. The personifications of the similes became characters in the Puranas’ (Upanishads’). During the later stage of Vedic era, when PuranaVedanta and Itihas (epics Ramayana and Maha Bharatha) literatures emerged, the importance of the basic nature elements AgniVarunaVayu and Indra in the literature decreased. The worshiping of the Supreme Almighty gradually became more developed and cultured along with the literature like Bhagavad Gita.
So there on rather than worshiping the natural forces Hindu worship redirected to one Supreme Almighty, they addressed The Almighty in different names Para brahma, Parameshwara or Parashakti even though all words meant The Almighty, who is ubiquitous and undefinable, as this form of The Almighty is intangible or unapproachable, the manifestations of The Almighty were believed to be the representation of the Almighty for making idol worship, So Hinduism on one end of philosophy is a monotheistic one but on the other end of worship is polytheist.
Different Vedantas (Advaita, Vishista advaita, Dwaita etc.) resulted in the formation of various sects (VaishnavismShaivismShaktism) and communities addressed the Almighty in different names. The literatures became more focused on creating guides for leading a better way of life and a better society (e.g. Bhagavad Gita). Different forms of worship arose, and different manifestations arose; however, the worship was more or less directed towards The Almighty (in manifested or un-manifested form depending on the one who worships). The nature in which we are part of is defined as the manifested (material) un-manifested (non-material) form of the Almighty.
The material or manifestation is everything in the universe people can feel with their senses (e.g. Earth, flowers, humans, stars, light, sound, taste of mango, smell of jasmine). The non-material or unmanifested form of the Almighty is that things which people cannot feel by their senses (e.g. Knowledge, Creation, Prosperity, Sustain, Power, Consciousness and Control). The feminine aspects of The Almighty (in its manifested and un-manifested forms) are called as Prakriti, and the male aspects are called as Purusha.
The Prakriti is addressed in different names by different Hindu communities as Adi-Parashakti, Bhadra, Shakti, Devi, Bhagavathy, Amman, Rajarajeswari, Shodashi; in different locations. All the material manifested aspects the Nature is classified as feminine and is the Prakriti or Mother Goddess and also the un-manifested forms Knowledge, Prosperity and Power are considered as feminine Prakriti, and it is source of energy for Creation, Sustain and Control, which is the male aspect (Purusha) of Prabrahma.
In Tantra, the worship of Prakriti is done in different methods: Dakshinachara (Right-Hand Path) (Saatvika rites), Vamachara (Left-Hand Path) (Rajas rites) and Madhyama (Mixed) (Taamasa rites) in different temples. The name of Devi in temples during Saatvika or Dakshina rites is 'Shree Bhagavathy' and Vaama (left method) rites is called 'Maha Devi' similar to Maha Vidya. Shaktism views the Devi as the source, essence and substance of virtually everything in creation, seen or unseen, including Shiva himself.
In the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, a central Shakta scripture, the Devi declares: "I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest Divinity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am BrahmaVishnu and Shiva, as well as SaraswathiLakshmi and Parvati. I am the Sun and I am the Stars, and I am also the Moon. I am all animals and birds, and I am the outcaste as well, and the thief. I am the low person of dreadful deeds, and the great person of excellent deeds. I am Female, I am Male".