Shivalaya Ottam, Kanyakumari
Shivalaya Ottam is a ritual marathon undertook by
the devotees to the 12 Siva shrines in the district
of Kanyakumari on the day of Shivarathri. From this year onwards the day was announced as a local
holiday for the district. Shivalaya Ottam means running from one Siva temple to
another. On Shivarathri day, the pilgrims at Kanyakumari
district worship at 12 Shiva temples covering a distance of 82 km within
24 hours by foot. Pilgrims who cover the distance by foot observe ‘Vriddha’ for
a week. During the fasting period they eat tender coconut, tender palmyra (Nungu)
during the day and Tulsi and water in the night. Those who cannot run this
distance, visit the temples in vehicles. Package tours are available at
Trivandrum on Shivarathri day.
Legends
Story of Purushamrigam:
For a yajna
the Pandavas were going to perform, Yudhistra required the milk of the Purushamrigam.
The mighty human-beast was deeply devoted to Lord Shiva. And held a deep
dislike towards Lord Vishnu, and all Vishnu devotees. Bhima took upon himself
to bring the milk for the yajna, Lord Krishna wished to show that Shiva and
Vishnu are One, and also restrain the overconfidence of Bhima. Krishna
therefore gave Bhima 12 Shivalinga images, and told him he should drop one
whenever he needed help.
Bhima
traveled to the jungle where the Purushamrigam was in deep meditation, he uttered
the words “Govinda, Gopala”, (names of Lord Krishna often chanted by his
devotees as a form of worship), while he tried to get milk from the Purushamrigam.
Hearing the names of Vishnu disturbed its mediation on Shiva, and it saw Vishnu
appearing in the Shiva Linga it was worshipping. The Purushamrigam was enraged,
and grabbed Bhima. To escape from its claws, Bhima dropped one Shivalinga,
which turned into a Shiva shrine.
The Purushamrigam
let go of Bhima in order to worship Shiva. A little later Bhima once again
tried to obtain the milk, and again called “Govinda, Gopala”. Again, the
human-beast chased Bhima and caught him. Once again, he dropped one of the
Shivalingas Krishna had given him, and another Shiva shrine appeared. In this way,
the 12 stones created the 12 temples that are known as the Shivalayas.
In the
end Bhima was again caught by the Purushamrigam, when he still had one foot in
the territory of the sphinx-Purushamrigam. Because of this Bhima disputed that
he was rightfully free. But Yudhistra judged that the half of Bhima’s body that
was still within the territory of the Purushamrigam belonged to it. Much
impressed with Yudhishthira’s great justice, the Purushamrigam gave the milk for
the completing of the yajna. And Bhima’s pride was thus subdued.
Story of Vyakrapada:
Vyakrapada,
son of Doumaya Maharshi, was a staunch believer of Siva. Lord Krishna engaged
Bhima to invite Vyakrapada for an Aswamedayagam. Lord Krishna handed over 12
Siva Lingams to Bhima and directed him to chant the names of Vishnu while he
meets Vyakrapada. Hearing the names ‘Govinda, Gopala’, irritated Vyakrapada
chased Bhima. Bhima dropped the Lingams one by one on his way, and it is
believed that they later became the above-mentioned temples. The idol of the
Thirunattalam, the temple where the Ottam concluded, is Sankara
Narayana-suggesting that Hari and Haran are one and the same.
Shivalaya
Ottam
Shivalaya
Ottam is a ritual marathon undertook by the devotees to the 12 Siva
shrines in the district of Kanyakumari on the day of Shivarathri. Ideally, the Shivalaya Ottam is undertaken on foot
(after all, Ottam means run in Malayalam). However, nowadays, only
the most ardent of devotees, literally, run the distance. The pilgrimage
involves a circuitous journey, starting from Thirumalai Mahadevar temple at Munchirai,
near Marthandam to Sankaranarayana temple, at Thirunattalam. Pilgrims have to
cover a distance of about 80 to 110 Kms in around 24 hours. You have to be
really fit to complete the journey on foot.
Usually,
the pilgrimage starts at around 4 p.m. on the previous day when Thirumalai
temple opens for evening darshan. Only then can the pilgrims on foot make it in
time for the evening Deeparadhana (pooja with lighted lamps) at Nattalam. Journey
to all these temples in single day was a tiresome job. Perhaps that’s why many
devotees these days prefer to travel the route on vehicles. Local tour
operators even arrange special coaches and cars for Shivalaya Ottam. Even if
you are travelling by car, bus or two-wheeler, you have to leave the city well
before dawn to cover the distance on time.
On the
day, there will be huge traffic snarls on the route, particularly from
Balaramapuram to Marthandam. There will be so many people and cars on the road
that you can only inch forward. The average distance between each of the 12
temples is about six to eight km. Also, at each temple there would be
serpentine queues to get into the sanctum sanctorum.
The
Ottam begins at Munchirai, the first Sivalayams and goes all through the
next 10 temples before ending at Thirunattalam. Special pujas will be
conducted at temple at Thirumalai. The ritual begins after the devotees
taking a holy-dip in the Thamirabarani river at Munchirai, the first Sivalayams. The participants wear saffron
robes, hold a palm-leaf fan on their hand and chant the
mantra "Govinda... Gopaala..." all through the whole day of
running. The pilgrims receive the holy ashes, "Thiruneer" from
all the eleven temples. The purpose for the pilgrimage is believed to be
fulfilled only by receiving the Sandal-paste from the
final Sankaranarayanar Temple at Thirunattalam.
The
objective of the pilgrimage is to uphold that Siva and Vishnu are
both the manifestations of one supreme being. Before, the devotees observe a
one-week fast. coconut and Tender
palmyra in the day time and Tulsi-water at night are the only food items taken by the
devotees during the fasting days. Devotees usually start in the evening on
Shivaratri and they finish in time for the first Deeparadhana (pujas with
lamps) that happens around at 4 a.m. the next day. Ideally, devotees are
supposed to circulate each of the 12-sanctum sanctorum 108 times, reciting 108
mantras. However, due to paucity of time most of us circulate once and leave
the 108 rounds till the very last.
Many
devotees also take time out to write the sloka ‘Ohm Nama Shivaya’ 108 times on
pieces of paper provided by temple authorities, which they then drop into a
hundi. Many devotees in the city, particularly those who can’t make it for the
Shivalaya Ottam, observe the occasion with a pilgrimage to any 12 of the major
and/or minor Shiva temples in the city or district. Some of these temples on
the shorter circuit are Sreekanteswaram temple, Thaliyil Mahadeva temple,
Karamana, Mahadeva Temple, Pipinmoodu, Gowreeshapattam temple, Kussakode
Mahadeva temple, Thirumalai, Chengalloor Sree Mahadeva Temple, Poojapura,
Pazhaya Sreekanteswaram temple, Overbridge, Sri Mahadeva temple,
Manikanteswara.
The
twelve temples in order are:
Shivalaya Ottam Route:
Shivalaya Ottam – Route Table
|
||||
S. No
|
From
|
Via
|
To
|
Kms
|
1.
|
Munchirai
|
Kunnathoor, Kappucaud, Vettuvanni, Marthandam,
Gnaramvilai
|
Thikkuruchi
|
11.80
|
2.
|
Thikkuruchi
|
Chitharal, Ambalakkadai, Arumanai, Kaliyal
|
Thirparappu
|
12.40
|
3.
|
Thirparappu
|
Kulasekaram
|
Thirunanthikarai
|
8.14
|
4.
|
Thirunanthikarai
|
Kulasekaram
|
Ponmanai
|
7.74
|
5.
|
Ponmanai
|
Chithirancode, Kumarapuram, Muttacaud
|
Pannippagam
|
10.40
|
6.
|
Pannippagam
|
Saral Vilai, Marunthukkottai, Padmanabhapuram
|
Kalkulam
|
5.73
|
7.
|
Kalkulam
|
Padmanabhapuram
|
Melancode
|
3.37
|
8.
|
Melancode
|
Kumaracoil Bus stop, Villukuri
|
Thiruvidaikkodu
|
4.66
|
9.
|
Thiruvidaikkodu
|
Villukuri, Thuckalay, Keralapuram
|
Thiruvithamcode
|
8.60
|
10.
|
Thiruvithamcode
|
Nadukkadai, Kodiyoor, Perambi, Palliyadi
|
Thirupanticode
|
9.21
|
11.
|
Thirupanticode
|
-
|
Thirunattalam
|
4.08
|
Connectivity
