Mookambika Temple, Kollur – Legends

Mookambika Temple, Kollur – Legends

Kollur:

Once, a demon named Kamhasura (also known as Mookasura) got a powerful boon from Lord Shiva that no male can kill him. After obtaining the boon, he started misusing his powers by troubling sages and Devas. He disrupted the penance of Sage Kola who was performing poojas to the Swarna Rekha Lingam. When the saint asked Lord Shiva how he could worship the Lingam without Goddess, Lord Shiva replied that on the left side of the Lingam were all the three manifestations of the Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswathi, and Parvati will be present. The Sage prayed to the Goddess Parvati, who incarnated as Thrisoolanayaki.

Kamhasura came to know that his death was approaching by means of a lady. He undertook an intense penance again for the Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked the demon for his wish. Sensing the danger, Goddess took away his speech ability. Kamhasura was then known as Mookasura which means muted demon. Later, Goddess with the assistance of Veerabhadra slayed the demon. The place where the Goddess killed Mookasura came to be known as Marna Katte. There is a Sri Chakra symbolizing Devi at the temple of Marna Katte. As sage Kola meditated here, the place came to be called as Kolapura which got corrupted to Kollur.

108 Shiva Temples of Kerala:

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Parasurama created the land between Gokarna and Kanyakumari. Parasurama the sixth avatar of Maha Vishnu, he was youngest son of sage Jamadagni and Renuka. It is said that Kerala was reclaimed from the ocean using his axe for donating to Brahmins after killing of King Kartavirya Arjuna and other Kshatriyas. He split this land in to 64 villages (64 gramas). Out of these 64 villages, 32 villages are in between Perumpuzha and Gokarnam and the spoken language was Tulu.

The remaining 32 villages were in Malayalam speaking area between Perumpuzha and Kanyakumari. According legends, after donating the land to Brahmins108 Maha Shiva Lingam and Durga Idols were installed in these 64 villages. These 108 Shiva Temples are mentioned in the Shivala Stotram and song is written in Malayalam language. Of the 108 Siva Temples, 105 temples are situated in Kerala state, 2 temples in Karnataka and 1 in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu.

Among these temples, the Lord Shiva of Gokarnam Mahabaleswara Temple in the north and Goddess Kumari of Kanyakumari temple in the south were considered as the protectors of Kerala. The first temple created by Parasurama was the Thrissur Vadakkunnathan Temple and the last one was the Thrikkariyoor Mahadeva Temple. This Temple is considered as one of the 108 Shiva Temples created by Lord Parasurama.

Adi Shankaracharya installed Goddess Mookambika at Kollur:

It is believed that Adi Shankaracharya performed penance on Goddess Mookambika at Kodachadri hills. Goddess appeared before him asking for his wish. He revealed his wish to install idol in a place in Kerala to worship. Goddess agreed but put forward a condition that she will follow Shankara and he should not look back till he reaches his destination if he breaks the condition then he has to install her idol where she was at that moment. Goddess decided to test Adi Shankaracharya. Hence, she deliberately stopped the noise of her anklets when they reached Kollur. Adi Shankaracharya got doubt and looked back to ensure whether goddess is still with him or not.

Goddess then asked Adi Shankaracharya to install her idol at that very location at Kollur. Adi Sankaracharya installed the Idol and prayed goddess to forgive him for the mistake. Goddess agreed to present at Chottanikkara temple in Kerala in the morning hours and returns to Kollur Temple by mid of the day. The original temple where Adi Sankaracharya performed penance and Goddess appeared before him is at Kodachadri peak (1343 meters), located at about 21 Kms from Kollur. Kodachadri peak is also visible from Kollur Mookambika Temple.

Souparnika River:

It is a believed that an eagle named Suparna performed penance for Goddess Mookambika on the banks of the river and attained salvation. Hence, the river came to be called as Souparnika River. It is believed that river absorbs the elements of 64 different medicinal plants and roots as it flows, therefore it cures diseases of those who bath in it.

Kodachadri Mountain:

As per legend, Lakshmana fell unconscious during the battle in Lanka. Lord Hanuman was tasked to bring Sanjeevini herbs from Sanjeevini Mountain to revive Lakshmana. Lord Hanuman brought Sanjeevini Mountain and was on his way back to Lanka. A small portion of the mountain had broken and fell here. The portion fell was the Kodachadri mountain range. It is believed that the mountain is full of medicinal plants, creepers and roots. Chithira Moolai in Kodachadri mountain is the place where Sage Kola and Adi Shankaracharya performed penance. It is also said that Mother Mookambika created a water falls for the use of the sages in the mountain range.

Seven Mukti Sthalam Pilgrimage Sites:

Kollur is regarded as one of the Seven Mukti Sthalam pilgrimage sites by created by Lord Parashurama in Karnataka.

The Seven Mukti Sthalam pilgrimage sites are;

·        Kukke Subrahmanya

·        Udupi

·        Kumbhashi

·        Kodeshwara

·        Sankaranarayana

·        Kollur

·        Gokarna

Kashayam Offering:

It is said that Adi Shankaracharya was not able to get up one day after completing his meditation. Mother herself prepared a medicine for the Adi Shankaracharya and gave it to him. Following this event, Kashayam, a medicine prepared with herbals is offered as Prasad to devotees. This is devotionally consumed by the devotees.

Poojas during eclipse times:

As a tradition, the doors of the temples are kept closed during the eclipse period, but this temple is an exception. Pujas continue even during eclipse times.

Brahmmacharis are not allowed to perform Poojas:

It is said that Brahmmacharis are not allowed to perform pujas in the temple.