Bathrakali Amman Temple, Madapuram, Sivaganga
Bathrakali
Amman Temple is dedicated to Hindu Goddess Kali Amman located at Madapuram
Village in Sivaganga District of Tamilnadu. Madapuram is a small village I
India that lies on the banks of the Vaigai
River and on the National
Highway 49 that connects Madurai with Rameshwaram. The village is situated 18 kilometres (11 mi)
from Madurai. Though Madapuram is near Madurai it is within Sivaganga district. The famous Madapuram Bathrakali Amman Temple and Ayyanar
temple is situated at this place.
Madapuram
kali is believed to be the Kaval Deivams of Madurai Pandyan
king. The temple has no roof. Madapuram kali is very famous
here she stands with no roof and about 12 feet (3.7 m) high. Amavasya days will be very crowded with people pray with
lemon mala and archanai. Today this temple is managed by HR&CE ministry of
Government of Tamil Nadu.
Legends
Shiva creating Ayyanar to accompany Parvathy:
Before
2300 years back, this place was surrounded by thick thorn forest. During that
period, Trimurti along with Goddess Gowri went for hunting. Lord Shiva asked
Parvathy not to come along with them. As Parvathy doesn't wished to stay alone,
Lord Shiva created a child named "Ayyanar" to accompany her.
She
requested Lord Shiva to make this place as a holy one and Lord Shiva accepted
her wish and made this place holy by informing that taking bath in Vaigai River
within 3 km from this place is spiritually equivalent to taking bath in
Kasi, the holy water.
Devotee providing shadow to Parvathy:
Goddess
Parvathy stayed here as Kali and when a devotee asked a wish to her, she
ordered him to provide a horse-shaped shadow for her standing posture. Lifting
his two legs, he provided shadow and from that day onwards, Goddess Kali
blessed the devotees in this form.
Story behind the name Madapuram:
There is
another ancient history for this temple. Once upon a time the city Madurai was
surrounded by flood. As Goddess Meenakshi asked to show the boundary of
Madurai, Lord Shiva showed the boundary by covering the area with its head and
tail and this place was came to known as Padapuram (Padam-Face of the snake and
Puram-Back of the snake) and in later days, it became Madapuram.
The
Temple
The
Rajagopuram (the tower) of Bathirakaliamman temple is of five tiers. The
Goddess Bathirakaliamman idol is 13 feet (4.0 m) high and is guarded on
both sides by two Boothas (demons). A horse statue 30 feet (9.1 m) high
stands raising its legs over this idol. Mother Badrakali graces the devotees
wearing a crown of Agni-fire in a standing posture.
Mother Badrakali
appears as a deity of destruction of evils. The trident destroys
evil. The fire on the head prevents the re-emergence of the evil and
reduces them to ashes and her standing posture shows her merciful readiness to
protect the devotees. The mount on which Shakti stands is long and
wide. There also stands a horse ready for a war with its front legs
up and the back legs pressed on the ground telling the might of the Mother.
People
consider the temple to be a court of justice. It is common that at a small
platform outside the temple people seek justice from the Goddess. They come in
wet clothes, state their complaint and cut a coin and put it on a sacred place
“Pattyakkal” installed here. They believe that by doing this they receive
justice and the person against whom the complaint is lodged will be punished
appropriately by the Goddess.
The
Thala Virutcham is a Neem
tree. The temple has two Theerthams, namely Brahmma Gundam and Manikarnigai theertham. The
temple is near Tirupoovanathar Temple praised in Thevaram hymns. Ayyanar
is the custodian deity of the temple. People consider him as the
ruler of the place. While Sri Ayyanar is seen on a Horse Vahana
generally in other places, He is in a standing posture in this
temple.
This is
a very ancient temple of this region, situated northeast of the Tirupoovanathar
temple amid a pleasant and green environment. It is the belief of the devotees
that the very name of Madapuram Kali would shake the miscreants. Lord
Vinayaka is praised as Vinai Theerkum Vinayaka – Vinayaka who relieves devotees
from their Karmas.
Temple
Opening Time
The
temple is open from 6.00 a.m. to 11.00 and from 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Festivals
Every
Friday is a festival day in the temple drawing huge numbers of devotees.
Poornima puja (new moon day) Milk Abishek, 1008 lamp puja on the first Tuesday
of each Tamil month are very devotionally celebrated in the temple.
Prayers
Mother
Badrakali is the family deity of almost all the people of the place, as she
simply burns the effects of black magic and spells applied on her devotees by
enemies. She is also furious but grants all the courage to the devotees
to stand the attacks of enemies. People firmly believe that Mother
Badrakali would help them fight and succeed in their court affairs.
It is
common in this temple to see billionaires praying in the temple for business
development. In olden days a group called Sami Aadigal use to play Kalari – a
traditional event then. To soften the fury of Ambica, devotees offer garlands
of lime fruits. They also offer Sari to Mother.
Contact
Sri
Badrakali Amman Temple,
Madapuram,
Sivaganga District
Phone: +91 - 4575 272411
Connectivity
Madapuram
is 19 km from Madurai and 30 km from Sivaganga.
By Road:
The
temple is situated at 18 km away from Madurai on the way to Rameswaram.
Daily buses are available from Madurai Periyar bus stand to this temple. Buses
from Periyar Bus stand to Madapuram, Enadhi, Pappakudi, Kanakkankudi and
Kannaarippu will pass through this temple. People can reach Thirupuvanam from
the Madurai Mattuthavani Bus stand and should travel 2 km to reach this
temple. Bus facilities are available to Madapuram from Sivaganga also. Auto
share facility is also available.
By Train:
The
nearest railway station is Thirubuvanam station and the temple is located
2 km away from this railway station. Only passenger trains will stop at
this station. The main railway junction is Madurai
Junction situated 18 km
from the temple.
By Air:
The
nearest airport is Madurai
Airport (IXM) which is 30 km
away from the temple. Air connectivity is available from Chennai, Mumbai,
Delhi, Hyderabad & Vijayawada. International connectivity is available to
Sri Lanka and Dubai. Connectivity to Singapore is expected soon.