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

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

Slaying of Banasura by Devi Kanyakumari:

The mythological story dates back in the Vedic period. Bana an asura by birth was the ruler of his land. He was a very powerful king. He took penance and obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that his death will only be with the hand of an adolescent virgin girl. With this powerful boon, he became fearless and wreaked havoc on the entire world. He went to conquest and oust Lord Indra from his throne. He banishes all the devas from there. They veiled themselves from the universe. The devas who were the personification of the basic natural elements, Agni (fire), Varuna (water), Vayu (air) went uncoordinated and havoc spread in the universe, As Indra (ether) was not able to administer and coordinate the Pancha Bootha.

Bhagavathy, the unbiased Prakriti, will only balance the nature; she does not favor or bias, as she itself is the nature where all living beings is a part of. Bhagavathy manifested herself in the Southern tip of the Aryavartha, to kill Bana and recur the balance of nature. As an adolescent girl, she had immense devotion towards Lord Shiva. The Lord decided to marry her. All arrangements were made for the marriage. Lord Shiva started the journey from Suchindrum for the marriage.

Sage Narada realized Bana could only be killed by a virgin girl and interrupted Shiva’s marriage with Bhagavathy, the marriage muhurat (muhurtam or auspicious time) was in the Brahma muhurtam early in the morning. Narada made the sound of a cock and send wrong information that the Sun has already risen and the auspicious time passed. The marriage procession returned. The poor Devi waited for the Lord and finally she thought that she has been snubbed. With unbearable insult, pain, grief and anger she destroyed everything she saw. She threw away all the food and broke her bangles.

When she finally gained her composure, she chooses to be a Sanyasin forever and took penance. Ages later Bana, tried to lure and approach the goddess without realizing who she was. The infuriated Bhagavathy, who was the Bhadrakali herself, slaughtered Bana at once. Moments before his death Bana realized that the one before him is the Bhagavathy, the Almighty itself. He prayed her to absolve him of his sins. Bhagavathy maintained her divine presence in the place, in the Devi Kanyakumari Temple.

Shakthi Peetam:

Kanyakumari Temple is regarded as a Shakti peetha. The mythological story of Daksha Yaga is considered to be the origin story of Shakti Peethas. Shakti Peetha means the peetha (abode) of Shakti (The divine place enshrined by Mother Goddess), due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, when Lord Shiva carried it in sorrow. It is believed that the back-spine area of Sati’s corpse fell here creating the presence of Bhagavathy in the region. There are 51 Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. The Kala Bhairava of the temple is called Nimish and the Shakti is addressed as Sarvani.

Sage Parasurama created this temple:

Kanyakumari region is a part of the mythological greater Kerala stretching up to Gokarnam in Karnataka. This is one of the four Durga temples created by Sage Parasurama around Kerala for its protection. They are Balambikai of Kanyakumari, Hemambika of Palakkad, Lokambika of Lokanarkavu, Kozhikode, Mookambika near Mangalore. The temple was in the territory of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom. So, there is a strong influence of Kerala Namboothiri culture in the rites and rituals of the Temple.

Connection with Ramayana:

The temple history is as great as the beautiful natural scenery around it. Lord Rama came here first to make way for going to Sri Lanka and he built a bridge here. It did not work out. He worshipped the Goddess Bhagavathy and based on her advice, he went to Rameswaram. From then on kumara yard was called “Aadhi sedhu” according to the temple history. People bathing at Kanyakumari would chant mantras referring to this. The Tamil Epic Manimekalai also refers to the monkeys building the first bridge to Sri Lanka. In Kanyakumari district Ramanthurai, Raman Pudur are names of some villages.

Literary References:

Kanyakumari Temple has been mentioned in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai and Purananuru. The name Kanyakumari stands for Kanya (Virgin) and Kumari (girl).

Eldest Sister of Lord Krishna:
Devi Kanya Kumari, is the ancient symbol of a Hindu Sanyasa. The idol is in the form of the goddess holding a rosary. The goddess is worshiped by women to get a good husband. She is considered as Shri Krishna's sister. Kamsa killed Devaki's all kids immediately after birth. The child before the birth of Krishna was a girl. Kamsa lifted the kid up and threw her on the walls of the jail. The aura of Devi Kathyayani arose from the child and warned Kamsa that he is going to die in the hands of Krishna. The Gopikas of vrindavan prayed to Devi Kathyayani to get the almighty as their husband.