Navamukunda Temple, Thirunavaya, Malappuram – Legends

Navamukunda Temple, Thirunavaya, Malappuram – Legends

Thirunavayogi:

The image of Navamukundan is portrayed only from above the knee, the rest of the image being concealed within the ground. There are interesting legends associated with this state of the image. This is the place were Nava yogis (Sathuvanathar, Saaloga Nathar, Aadhinathar, Arulithanathar, Madhanga Nathar, Macchendira Nathar, Kadayanthira Nathar, Korakkanathar and Kukkudanathar) worshipped Vishnu. Vishnu gave darshan for Nava yogi. Hence this place is called Thirunavayogi and later changed in to Thirunavaya.

In due course, 8 yogis attained moksha and the Idols worshipped by them also disappeared and as a result of this, the ninth yogi got dejected and stopped offering worship to Vishnu. When questioned by Vishnu, he said that he was missing his companions and Vishnu with his Maya showed the 8 yogis. The 8 yogis agreed to stay there but said that they would be invisible to human eyes and the 9^th yogi could feel their presence. In due course, the 9th yogi requested Vishnu to make him also invisible.

But Vishnu insisted that the Idol worshipped by the 9^th yogi must be kept there itself and Vishnu blessed the 9 yogis saying that they could offer worship to him at that place forever. Hence, present presiding deity is the one worshipped by the 9^th yogi. As the location of the sunken idols were not known, devotees used to make Pradikshina on their knees. Even Alvancheri Tamparakkal and Tirunavaya Vaddhyans were not exempted from this practice. Tirunavaya is also known as called "Navayogisthala".

Equivalent to Kasi:

The Bharata Puzha river, the presence of temples to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on its banks, accords this temple town a stature equivalent to Benares. As in Benares, cremation of the dead is carried out in Ghats along the river.

Half buried Idol of Presiding Deity:

It is a usual practice in Kerala temples that after installing an idol, the Sreekovil would remain closed for 7 days with the belief that the devas would offer pooja to the idol. In this temple, first an Idol was installed and the Sreekovil was kept closed for 7 days. But when the doors opened, they were shocked to see the idol missing. They again brought another idol and the idol disappeared.

This went on for 8 times and on the 9^th time, out of curiosity, when they opened the temple doors before the scheduled time, they were shocked to see that the idol had descended into the earth upto the knee. To prevent further descent of the idol, they immediately chanted various mantras and saw to it that the idol did not descend further. It is believed that when the idol would descend into the earth, Kaliyuga will come to an end.

Lord Vishnu saved Markandeya from Lord Yama:

It is a well-known story that Markandeya was destined to die at th age of 16. When Lord Yama came to take his life, the little boy ran into this temple and prayed to Vishnu to save him. Lord Vishnu appeared before the boy and gave him a Shiva Linga for worship and advised the boy to escape from the backside entrance. He assured that Lord Shiva would take care of him. As soon as Markandeya escaped from the backside, Lord Vishnu placed a big stone and closed the way permanently and ensured that Yama could not enter the way. To this day, the door behind Perumal remains closed. Markandeya worshiped Shiva near to this temple and the place where Lord Shiva gave darshan to Markandeya and killed Yama, is now famous as the Truppangottu Shiva Temple - one among 108 Shivalayams.

Aadi Ganesa:

Indradhyumna, a Pandya King, was a great devotee of Vishnu. When he became aged, he entrusted the administration to his sons and went to the Malayadri Mountains for penance. During his meditation there, he did not know the arrival of Sage Agastya who, in uncontrolled anger, cursed Indradhyumna and turned him into an elephant. Later on, when Indradhyumna begged him for relief from the curse, Sage Agastya said that, Indradhyumna has to wander in the forest as elephant and after many years Vishnu would appear and would relieve him from the curse.

When Indradhyumna, the elephant, reached Navamukunda temple, he stayed there worshipping Vishnu every day after taking bath in Bharatha Puzha. One day during his bathing in the river Indradhyumna was attacked by a crocodile who was actually a 'Gandharva' named Huhu who had been turned into a crocodile by the curse of a Sage. Indradhyumna prayed Navamukunda to save him and Vishnu appeared on the spot and killed the crocodile with the Sudarsana Chakra and allowed Indradhyumna to be seated on his right.

Later the 'Chaitanya' (divine effulgence) of Lord Ganesa was recognized and Ganesa was installed in the South-West corner of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Aadi Ganesa who was a devotee of Vishnu used to get up early in the morning and pluck lotus flowers from a pond nearby and offer them to Navamukunda every day. On an 'Akshayathritheeya day', he did not get any flower, as somebody else had plucked them before his arrival to Pond. He wept before Navamukundan.

Navamukundan appeared and told that his wife Sree Mahalakshmi, who had seen what Aadi Ganesa was doing and how much affection Ganesa was getting in return from her husband, wanted to do the same to get as much affection as Aadi Ganesa was getting. As Aadi Ganesa continued pleading with Navamukunda for allowing him to carry on plucking of lotus flowers, Navamukunda seated Sree Mahalakshmi on his left so that she may no longer leave to pluck lotus flowers. The name of the Theertham Sengamala Saras arises from the legend of the lotus filled lake.

It is believed that the idol was actually of Mahalakshmi in the form of 'Dhanalakshmi'- the goddess of wealth- who blessed the people of the region with plenty of wealth and prosperity. Later on, Sree Shankaracharya came to the temple and prayed on his knees, not knowing exactly where the other eight Salagramas were lying beneath the earth. Some locals derided him about this. He understood that it was because of the cultural decay that resulted from the too much wealth that made them behave like this. So, he struck at the right hand of Mahalakshmi and made it as 'Abhaya Mudra'. Gradually, people believe, the fiscal powers of the region declined.