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Thursday, March 16, 2023

Thirukameswarar Temple, Kali – Legends

Thirukameswarar Temple, Kali – Legends

Kali:

Once, Lord Shiva and Mother Parvathi were playing the game of dice in Kailash. Lord Shiva purposely made goddess Parvathy to win each game. Overwhelmed with the joy, she become arrogant and had excessive pride in her success. On seeing her arrogance, Lord Shiva cursed to be born as a cow on earth. She was born as a cow in Therazhundur and Lord Vishnu became her cowherd. She in the form of cow worshipped Lord Shiva at Thirukozhambam. She hit the Shiva Linga mistakenly and its hoof mark can be seen on the Linga at Thirukozhambam

Goddess Parvathy in the form of cow came to Thiruvaduthurai and worshipped Lord Shiva for relief. Pleased with her worship, Lord Shiva restored her back to original form. Goddess Parvathy also wanted to marry Lord Shiva in an earthly marriage with all religious rites on the earth. At the same time, Sage Bharatha performed Putra Kameshti Yagna at Thiruthuruthi for child boon. In order to fulfill her wish, Lord Shiva made goddess Parvathy to appear in the form of child from the Yagna Kunda. Sage Bharatha raised her as his own daughter.

When she attained the marriageable age, the sage was worried about finding a suitable groom for her. Sage Bharatha prayed to Lord Shiva in finding a suitable groom for her. Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and assured him that he would marry her and also revealed to the sage that she is none other than Goddess Parvathy. Sage Bharatha was overwhelmed with joy and made the arrangements for the divine marriage. Sage Bharatha received his son in law at Ethirkolpadi. The Yagna (Velvi) for the wedding ceremony was held at Thiruvelvikudi. 

The earthly marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy took place in Thiruvelvikudi. The divine couple came after their wedding to Thirumanancheri near Kali village and granted their wedding darshan to everyone at Thirumanancheri. The Devas, Shiva Ganas, sages and other celestial beings gathered at Thirumanancheri to witness the wedding darshan. Goddess Kali along with his brother Srinivasa Perumal also came to witness the marriage. While returning back to her abode, goddess Kali got mesmerized by the beauty of this village and decided to stay in this village. Thus, the village came to be called as Kali after her.

Mandhai Karai Kali:

As per legend, the village was called as Srinivasapuram named after Lord Srinivasa Perumal. It is said that the idol of main deity, Kaliyamman, was found in the Vikraman River. Once, the village and its agricultural fields were heavily flooded due to the torrential rain. Due to devastation of the floods, epidemic diseases and famine struck the village. Several villagers and livestock died due to the lack of medication and food. The surviving villagers surrendered to Abhirami of Thirukameswarar temple for relief.

They light deepas and performed abhishekam to Abhirami. During deepa aradhana, an old lady got possessed by the goddess and told villagers that she was hidden in the form of Kali under earth in Keeraimedu canal. She further asked the villagers to excavate the idol and build temple for the idol for relief from the natural fury. As instructed, the villagers went to the Keeraimedu canal, excavated the idol and installed the idol. The villagers worshipped the idol sincerely and got relief.

As goddess Kali shown the destination (Karai) for the people who were roaming like a herd (Mandhai) during the natural calamity, she came to be called as Mandhai Karai Kali. It is said that Lord Srinivasa Perumal appeared in the dreams of several villagers and ordered them to rename the village as Kali instead of Srinivasapuram in gratitude to Kaliyamman. The shrine of Kaliyamman can be seen at the entrance of the Kali village.

Two goddesses Balasugambal and Abhirami:

As per legend, once, the temple authorities decided to replace the damaged idol of goddess with the new idol of Balasugambal. The goddess appeared in the dreams of the priest and enquired that if your mother is not well would you replace with new one. The next day, priest went to the temple saw the damaged idol turned into a new one. The temple authorities named that idol as Abhirami and installed in an east facing shrine.