Friday, December 22, 2017

Bala Subramanya Swamy Temple, Vellimalai – The Temple

Bala Subramanya Swamy Temple, Vellimalai – The Temple
The temple of Lord Muruga at Vellimalai, on the 200 feet hill, comprises of about 30 acres area. The top surface has an area of one acre where the temple stands and 106 steps have been recently constructed from the lower plain. The presiding deity here is Balasubramanya enshrined as a monolithic image facing east in the sanctum of the Vellimalai temple which is accessed through a flight of steps. The temple is a small one, the image of Balasubramanya is said to face the Shiva temple (Sthanumalayan) at Suchindram. On top of the hill are the Nandippadam and the Murugappadam believed to be imprints of the feet of Nandi and Murugan here.



From the top of the hill the major part of the green Kanya Kumari District can be viewed, which will be a mind-blowing experience for nature lovers. This temple is coming under the Tamilnadu Hindu charitable trust. The tower of Gopuram over the Garbhagraham is about 30 feet height. The sculptures and other designs on the tower were made by the temple artisans of different places in Tamil Nadu. These sculptures were cherished similar to the images found in the six abodes of Muruga.


Idols of Vinayaka, Muruga and Ayyappa are fixed on the entrance Gopuram. The entrance Tower rests on two pillars. One can see on the left pillar an image of a lady carrying a lamp and other puja materials. In the right pillar, a sculpture of a maiden carrying abisheka is carved. These exquisite carvings were designed under the supervision of Mr. Mahadevan, son of Subbiah Pillai who hailed from Eraniel. There are 99 steps from the entrance tower at the foot of the hill lead to a plain surface on the eastern side. Then there are seven steps leading to main Mandapam of the temple.


There are two exit doors, one in the north and another on the southern side of the point portion of the Mandapam hall. The devotees and musicians would sit near the south exit door and sing bhakthi and carnatic songs during Mandala Puja times. For the convenience of the devotees to have the ‘darshan’ of the idol, two parallel iron rods are fixed in the middle of the hall or mandapam, the right side for males and the left for females. The idol of Muruga is installed with his peacock Vahana.


The main deity is so sculptured to represent the adolescent stage of Lord Muruga with smile and peaceful look on his eyes. The charming look of the deity would make the onlookers to forget this materialistic world and try to dissolve in the heavenly bliss of the Almighty Lord Muruga, stands in the Garba Graha to bless the devotees. It is believed that the enchanting look of this deity has no parallel in any of the deities of Muruga elsewhere in this district.


On the south-western side, there is a banyan tree. It is the Sthala Vriksham or the holy tree of the place. At the corner of the temple, the Sannidhi of Siddhi Vinayakar is established.  Adjoining this structure, Sastha Sannidhi is maintained. On the northern side of the temple, Siva Temple is erected, the idol facing the west. The Navagraha Temple is situated at the Eesana of the temple plot. The madapalli or temple kitchen is arranged on the southern side of the Mahamandapam. There are four lean steps in front of the eastern entrance door of the temple.


There is another door on the southern side of the surrounding wall of the main temple. The Devasom Office building is situated on the southern side of the surrounding wall of the main temple, facing east. The steps (99) leading to the front door of the temple have two restring Mandapams. These Mandapams are constructed on 7.11.2003 by Mr. Kamaraj Chellappan.


Before the reorganization of the States in 1956, Kanyakumari region was under the rule of Maharajah of Travancore. This temple was under the jurisdiction of Kochi Devastanam which had made some renovation work in the temple first. After the integration with Tamil Nadu in 1956, this temple came under the control of Tamil Nadu Temple Endowment Department. The temple is under the category of non-integrated temples of the Temple Endowment Department. With the permission of the Endowment Department, the Temple Development Committee looks after the administration of this temple.


The department appoints the Senior and Assistant Priests of this shrine. The garland maker and the watchman are appointed by the Department. The Senior Priest or Pujari does the rituals and various pujas in the morning and evening, while the junior performs the pujas in the noon time. The last Jeernotharana Ashta Bandana Kumbabishekam was performed on 2.7.2001. The “Sri Vivekananda Ashram” is located nearby of this temple. Swami Ambikananda, who is a direct disciple of holy mother Sarada Devi, started this Ashram. This ashram is the branch of “Sri Ramakrishna Mutt” Charity. “Thiru Vilaku Puja” (Lighting worship) and religious classes are the services associated by this ashram.