Pages

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Bannari Amman Temple, Sathyamangalam – Legends

Bannari Amman Temple, Sathyamangalam – Legends

As per local folklore, people had witnessed the sight of tigers and cows quenching their thirst at the same spot of the river in ancient times. The cowherds used to take their cows to the grazing fields found here as the fields were rich with grasses. These cows were driven back to the stables at dusk. The cowherds used to extract milk from the udder of each cow and hand over the collected milk to the owners of the cows.

One particular cow did not allow the cowherd to get milk, nor did it allow its calf to go near it. The cowherd has his own doubts about that particular cow and he decided to have an eye on it. He allowed the other cows to graze and pursued that particular cow secretly. It went alone near a Vengai tree and stood beneath it. Milk began to flow from its udder automatically. He was astonished to see this strangle sight and told about it to the other cowherds.

The news spread like wildfire to the villagers. Next day, the villagers assembled on the spot to witness the wonder. They found the cow repeating the same behavior. Local villagers decided to excavate the spot. They removed shrubs, and to their surprise, they found a sand-hill and a Swayambhu Linga. Suddenly, one of the villager got into a trance. He started to pass on the divine message to everybody.

As per his message, it was understood that the deity safeguarded the traders from Tamil Nadu who used to travel to Mysore in this route to sell their goods carried by cows on their back. Further, the deity through him insisted the villagers to build a temple for her and call her in the name of Bannari Mariamman. Thus, Bannari became the permanent abode of the goddess. The above incident has been represented by paintings on the temple wall.