Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Amman Temple, Kanyakumari

Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Amman Temple, Kanyakumari
Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Parvati (known as Bhagavathy) located in Mandaikadu Village near Colachel in the western coast of Kanyakumari District in the State of Tamilnadu. This temple on the sea shore is a sought-after pilgrim centre for both people of Tamilnadu and Kerala. The Temple is situated near to Nagercoil – Colachel State highway in Mandaikadu. This Temple was built in Kerala tradition in very simple style. Holy trees for this temple are Bo Tree and Neem. Pujas is performed four times daily. This Temple is administrated by the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department of Tamilnadu.


The Kodai festival at Mandaikadu is a major festival celebrated in March every year. Pilgrims from southern parts of Tamilnadu and Kerala take part in the celebration. This temple is also commonly called as “Women’s Sabarimala”. Devotees worship Bhagavathy Amman for fulfillment of their expectations. The 15 feet tall anthill is the Bhagavathy Amman. Since this temple is Sabarimala for women, they visit the temple with the Irumudi (a bundle containing pooja items for the Goddess) as men go to Sabarimala. She is also believed to rule the nine planets or the Navagrahas in one’s astrological chart.

Legends
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The Temple
Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Amman Temple is known as a Sabarimala for Women. The 15 feet tall anthill is the Bhagavathy Amman. Women visit the temple with the Irumudi (a bundle containing puja items for the Goddess) as men go to Sabarimala. The goddess of this temple is also linked with Akilathirattu Ammanai, the holy text of Ayyavazhi. Though Bhagavathiis mentioned in Akilam, its view of the goddess is different from that of the other Hindu views.

The deity in this temple is special and rare – it is in the form of an ant hill (putru) with 5 heads. At present the height of the ant hill is about 12 feet and the belief of the local people and others connected with the temple is that the ant hill is growing gradually. The face of the goddess is at the upper end of the ant hill. There is a Srichakra (holy disc) near the ant hill on ground level.

It is a temple built in Kerala temples style though it is in Tamilnadu. It may be because the entire District of Kanyakumari was in Kerala and at the time of States reorganizations parts of the areas were exchanged between Kerala and Tamilnadu. The Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Amman Temple is a very simple styled one unlike most of the temples of Tamilnadu with the clay (mud) tile roof. The Holy trees for this temple are Bo Tree (peepal) and Neem tree.

Temple Opening Time
·        Morning Darshan Timing is from 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM
·        Evening Darshan Timing is from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Pooja Timings
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Festivals
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Prayers
Those who want to get married with good spouse or where there is delay in marriages, the devotees offer silk cloths and mangalsutra to the goddess with a prayer. The handicapped offer limbs made of silver for cures. people also offer cradles in the temple for getting children. Crackers are fired to relief from the impact of evil looks and effects. Some use to have the food placed on the floor and eat it. This is known as Mansoru Eating. Devotees suffering from incurable or terrible headaches offer an item like a kind of pudding made out of rice flour, sugar/jaggery and water called Mandaiappam and take part of it as prasadam. The general belief of the devotees is that the goddess do not disappoint those who go to her with sincere devotion with the requests. 
Contact
Bhagavathy Amman Temple,
Mandaikadu, Kanyakumari District – 629 702
Phone: +91 4651 222 596
Connectivity
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