|
|
History
of Cochin Thirumala Devaswom temple
(
Continued from Page -1 ) The
third Pratisthan of the Image of Lord Venkateswara in the present temple
constructed by the community was performed in the year 1881 A.D. by Swami H.H.
Swami Bhuvanendra Tirtha of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan along with his disciple
Swami H. H. Varadendra Tirtha. Among
various festivals, that are celebrated in the temple of Cochin, 'Arat'
festivals in the months of Vricbigam November December) and 'Medam'(March‑April)
are famous. With
the customary hoisting of the Sacred Garuda ensign on the first day, the
festival commences in all solemnity. There are two processions every day;
one in the morning and another in the evening with Representative Image, of
Venkateswara being taken on a caparsoned elephant, and other procession when
the Utsava Image of Venkateswara is carried in various Vahanas decked with a
lot of costly and ancient diamond studded jewels and garlands. On the fourth,
fifth and sixth day of the Mahotsava, the Utsava Image is taken in Golden
Palanquin with all paraphernalia along the Southern, Northen and
and Western streets respectively, where the deity is said to have absolute
jurisdiction, temporal and spiritual (i.e. samketam), and on the seventh day
in the evening on the Ashwa Vahana (Horse Vehicle) with paraphernalia round
the Rathaveethi of the temple for Palli Vettal (Symbolic of a wild animal
hunt). On the eighth day forenoon, the deity is taken to the Lake Mandaparn
for the final bath 'Avabritha Snanam" As
it was the serpant mainly responsible for the Swamiji to recover the
Image from the dilapidated well, and that because of Swamiji Vijayeendra
Tirtha, the image came over to Cochin and installed in
the temple constructed for the
Lord, and that as it was for the Ruler of Vijayanagar Saluva Narasimha Raya, a
great devotee of Lord Venkateswara of Thirumalai Hills, that Lord Venkateswara
came over to his capital city to receive the worship conducted by himthe tree
namely the serpent the Swamiji
and the King in the form of Idols were installed in the line in front of the
Papanasam lake for preservation of history and worship by devotees. A Statue
of Saluva Narasimha Raya and that of Swamijl are niched in the walls on either
side of the main gate of the Papanasam lake and the idol of the Serpent is
installed in a separate peetam on the South Western corner of the lake naming
it "Cheppe Nag", that is, serpent of the dilapidated well. Other
festivals are Kartika Pournami, Vaisakha Pournami, Anantha Chathurdasi which
falls in the month of Chingain. in Malayalam year. Ashtami Rohini, Deepavali
and Temple car festival on Mahanavami day in Navarathri days, Madhwa Navami
and the Samadhi day of H. H. Sukratheendra Thirtha Swami of Kashi Math. The
temple is so constructed that very few temples in India can compete with it in
point of size, style and architecture. The Sanctum Sanctorum of this temple is
in the Nagara style of hindu temple architecture.
On the outer Prakara of the main temple there are four minor temples
dedicated to Sri Hanuman,,Garuda, Ganapathi and Mahalakshmi. The idols of Haniuman
and Garuda are about six feet in height. A gigantic Lingam in the temple
dedicated to Siva called Udyaneswara can be noticed on the northeastern side
of the Lake Mandapam. This temple contains one of the biggest bells In India. The temple is ' rich in wood carvings of Kerala engraved almost on all parts which are profusely clothed, painted and ornamented and depict stories mostly from Ramayana and Mahabharat. The Northern Gopuram of the temple is of a Pagoda type resembling a Tibetto Indian architecture. Its roof is copper plated and is two storied. Invaluable artistic and rich carvings on wood handled by indigenous craftsmen depicting various scenes from Puranas and old Indian epics can be noticed in this Gopuram. The Lake Mandapam situated on the northeastern side of the Eastern Gopuram is noted for its artistic excellence. The lake is known locally as Papanasam, as it is believed that a bath in the tank will relieve a person from all sins committed by him. The artistic beauty of the Mandapam in the lake exhibits the supreme mastery of indigenous artists and is the main attraction for tourists. The interior of the temple is also decorated with paintings of exquisite beauty. The
Cochin Thirumala Devaswom at Cochin today maintains a fullfledged Higher
Secondary School, a Vedic and Sanskrit Patasala (with a library containing a
good number of religious and literary books in Sanskrit) two lower primary
schools for girls and boys, a Teachers Basic Training School and a separate
school for pre-primary children for teaching under the name Saraswathi Vidya
Mandir. Also, it maintains a Goshala where a large number of cattle are fed
and properly maintained out of the Devaswom funds. |
|
