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 Ramayana, Mahabharata, 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 Hamsa, Swami
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, Palakkad, Kerala 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 Purana, Vedanta and Itihas (epics Ramayana and Maha Bharatha)
literatures emerged, the importance of the basic nature elements Agni, Varuna, Vayu 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 (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism) 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 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Saraswathi, Lakshmi 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".
