Tellippalai Muthu Mariamman Temple

Mari, Mariyamma and Marikamba, all denote a grama devata (village goddess) who is very popular in most of the villages. While most of the people believe that she is the goddess Kali (created by goddess Parvathy to kill Raktha Bheeja) or the form of Renuka Devi who was the mother of Parasurama, some people believe that she is Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas and yet others believe that she is Vasugi, the wife of Thiruvalluvar. Mostly her form in the temple is ferocious. She is considered as a goddess who would punish, if not propitiated properly. Invariably the priest in her temples does not belong to the Brahmin caste and the agamas for her worship are very much different from the normal Hindu temples.

Most of her temples do not have buildings and in some cases she is represented simply by a granite stone in a village field. In some cases she is represented only by the statue of her head with local villagers believing that the entire village is her body. One of her most famous temple for her is in Samayapuram near the town of Trichy in Tamil Nadu. This temple is built of stone and is architecturally wonderful. There is also a very famous temple for her in the city of Singapore. In many temples, there is a ritual walk on burning embers by her devotees. These embers are never called fire but Flowers. In some other temples the women devotees carry a mud pot containing burning embers kept over Margosa leaves in their bare hand during festivals to please her.

In some cases, after bath in the nearby river, women go to her temple dressed in a saree like clothing made of Margosa leaves. Animal sacrifices are often carried out, the preferred animals being goat and buffalo. After the sacrifice the meat of these animals is carried round her temples in a bamboo basket. This was also called Karagam and is the forerunner of Karagattam of the present day, which is a dance balancing a pot on the head. Another form of worship is for the devotees to hang on a crane (Chedil) with a hook pierced in their body or tied to the pole by cloth. She is considered to be responsible for the pox epidemics which used to wipe away entire villages in the bye gone era.

People believed that she did not tolerate any clinical treatment for such diseases except worshipping her and caressing the eruptions of the pox (called Muthu - pearls) with margosa leaves. People believed that in a pox affected person, she has come in person and would not go away unless she is propitiated. One such form of propitiation is the singing of Mariamman Thalattu (Lullaby to mariamman) accompanied by fast playing of a small drum. The song written in a folk music style does not obey any rules of Lullabies except that it is aimed at soothing the Mariamman rather than the baby, The language used is not literal Tamil but spoken Tamil. It is believed to be ancient but references to instruments like Clarinet (a western musical instrument), reference to the invasion of Marathas etc., indicate that additions to the lullaby took place as per the local times and the imaginative approach of the singer.

The Lullaby starts with a prayer to Ganesa and then prayer to Goddess Saraswathi. A request is made to her for help in singing the story of Mari. This is followed by the Lullaby. Though not written in the Stotra style, the lullaby sings praise of Goddess Mari, mentions her various forms, mentions her companions, mentions the acts of devotees for getting her favour, contains in various places of her worship, prayer to her to remove the small pox eruptions from the body etc. More than being poetic, it clearly brings out the utter devotion and the colossal fear in the mind of her devotees. Several references to Puranic gods are made She in some places is referred to as the sister of Lord Krishna (the girl who was born to Yasoda, at the same time when lord Krishna was born to Devaki), there is reference to the yantras in the body, to Sri Chakra worship, to several village gods of Tamil Nadu and so on. There is also mention of her interaction with several Gods of the Vedas and Puranas.

Sri Muthumariamman Temple

The Sri Muthumariamman Temple is a temple which is more than 250 years  old and is situated on the hill top of Kotahena Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

The earliest available records indicate that it was founded on 2nd March, 1864 by Thiruvilanga Nagarathar for the protection and wellbeing of the Devotees.

Sri Muthumariamman is the main sanctum showering her Blessings on thousands of Devotees who patronise this Temple.

There are many stories and miracles about the goddess transmitted from generation to generation. Some of them are narrated by the devotees in this website.

This Temple is situated in the heart of the City of Colombo in an area where the population is mainly Hindus.

Deities aong with Sri Muthumariamman bless the devotees:­

God Siva

God Ganapathy or God Ganesh

God Murugan or God Subramaniam

God Mahavishnu Vairava SwamiGod

Sandeswarar

Nine Planets Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Ragu and Kethu

Soma vara vratam

One of the name of Lord shiva is soma - saha uma. For the Lord someshvara Who wears the soma, the moon crescent on the matted hair, on the somavara day (Monday), this festival is observed.

When observed

Though all Mondays can be observed as vrata there are speacial mondays when it is much more emphasised to observe like the shravana somvara and karthikai somavaram. According to skandha purana, on the Mondays of the month karthikai (mid Nov to mid Dec) this vrata is observed.

Way of observing

Getting up at the dawn one meditates on the Supreme shiva. After taking bath and having done the morning twilight salutation, praying the Auspicious and Graceful Lord shiva, worships the couples who are devotees of the Lord, chaste and loveful as the Divines couple parvati-paramEshawara themselves. Saluting those couples, offering them feast, the observer of this vratam eats only one time food that day. If unable to do the worship, then one would go to the temple and salute and pray the uma-maheshwara. Anointing the Lord with panychamr itam and other pleasent substances, hailing the Lord offering bilva leaves, not being money-minded offering the nice food materials to the Lord, sharing the food with the kind hearted devotees one eats the food. One may fast also completely.

Kanda Shasthi Vratam

Skanda Shasti or Kanda Shasthi Vratam is an important observance dedicated to Lord Muruga. It is observed in the Tamil month of Aippasi and most devotees fast during the 6-day period.

There is no common method of Skanda Shasti fasting. Different devotees observe it differently. But there are some basic rules followed by all the devotees.

• Non-vegetarian food is completely avoided during the period.
• Some people also avoid garlic and onions.
• Those who are observing the fast make it a point to read scriptures related to Lord Muruga or recite the Kanta Shasti Kavasam or Subramaniya Bhujangam.
• Most devotees also visit Skanda temples during the period.
• When it comes to Kanda Shasti fasting, some devotees only take a single meal a day.
• Some take the meal at noon and others at night.
• Some devotees confine to fruits and juices during the 6-day period.

There are several Skanda devotees who see the Vratam as an opportunity to clean the body and get rid of unwanted toxic elements. Such devotees confine to water, coconut water and other fruit juices.

The fasting ends on the Sixth day.

It must be noted that ‘Vrat’ or ‘Vratam’ in Sanskrit means ‘vow.’ Vratam should not be misunderstood as mere fasting. By observing a Vratam a person is trying to purify his mind through meditation, worship and by sticking to some ‘vow’ that he/she has taken. Now, this vow can include fasting, not telling lies, not getting anger etc. A vratam should be seen as a deliberate attempt on your part to bring back discipline into your life.

Fasting should be voluntary and it should not be done unwillingly. If you are taking medicines, do not observe intense fasting and stick to the routine suggested by your doctor.

The Origin and history of Shivaratri or MahaShivratri

Puranas contain many stories and legends describing the origin of this festival.

According to one, during the samudra manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. This terrified the Gods and demons as the poison was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help. To protect the world from its evil effects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This made his throat turn blue, and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one.

Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world.

Another legend in the Shiva Purana:

once the other two of the triads of Hindu Gods, Brahma and Vishnu, were fighting over who was the superior of the two. Horrified at the intensity of the battle, the other gods asked Shiva to intervene. To make them realize the futility of their fight, Shiva assumed the form of a huge column of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu. Awestruck by its magnitude, they decided to find one end each to establish supremacy over the other. Brahma assumed the form of a swan and went upwards and Vishnu as Varaha went into the earth. But light has no limit and though they searched for thousands of miles, neither could find the end. On his journey upwards, Brahma came across a Ketaki flower wafting down slowly. When asked where she had come from, the Ketaki replied that she had been placed at the top of the fiery column as an offering. Unable to find the uppermost limit, Brahma decided to end his search and take the flower as a witness.

At this, the angry Shiva revealed his true form. He punished Brahma for telling a lie, and cursed him that no one would ever pray to him. The Ketaki flower too was banned from being used as an offering for any worship, as she had testified falsely. Since it was on the 14th day in the dark half of the month of Phalguna that Shiva first manifested himself in the form of a Linga, the day is especially auspicious and is celebrated as Mahashivaratri. Worshipping Shiva on this day is believed to bestow one with happiness and prosperity.

A legend explains the all-night worship of Shiva on Shivratri.

There was once a poor tribal man who was great devotee of Shiva. One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva, hara gouri.

There is another possible reason for the origin of the all-night worship. Being a moonless night, people worshipped the god who wears the crescent moon as an adornment in his hair, Shiva. This was probably to ensure that the moon rose the next night.

Linga:

Immediately after Mahashivaratri, almost like a miracle, the trees are full of flowers as if to announce that after winter, the fertility of the earth has been rejuvenated. And this perhaps is the reason why the Linga is worshipped throughout India as a symbol of fertility.

The festivities differ in various parts of India. In southern Karnataka, for example, children are allowed to get into all kinds of mischief and asking for punishment is the rule of the day, probably originating from the mythological incident of Shiva punishing Brahma for lying.

The Vishvanatha Temple at Kashi in Varanasi celebrates the Linga (symbolic of the pillar of light) and the manifestation of Shiva as the light of supreme wisdom.

Kedara (gauri) Vratam - Deepavali

History of deepavali

KedhAra Gowri vradham familiarly known as Deepavali (Diwali) is celebrated throughout India in a grand manner. Without Caste creed, rich - poor differences people obeserve this festival. Infact very few people know that it is one of the important Saivite vratas. Brungi rishi is a great Shiva bhaktha. When he prays to Lord, he prays only to Lord Shiva and ignores Shakti. Angered by his act Shakti devi removed the energy from his body. He was not able to stand. He prayed to Lord Shiva. God gave him a stick to support his body. Shakti wanted to become part of Lord's body. She observed the kEdhAra vrata, one of Gods favorite vratas. Pleased by Her austerities God gave the left part of His body to shakti and became ardha Arishwara. The vrata is then called kedhAra gauri vrata since Gowri observed it.

When observed

This kedhara vratam is observed for twenty one days starting from shukla paxa aShTami (Eighth moonday in its growing phase) in the month of purattAchi (mid Sep to mid Oct). The final day (deepavali) also should be observed in great devotion.

How to observe this vratam

mantras to perform this puja (pUja vidhAnam)

Install Lord kedhArIshvara svAmi in a filled pot (kalasham). Make a roof (manTapa) above the kalasham. Make vrata threads - 21 fibers having 21 knots. The 16 courtesy worship has to be done for 21 days starting from the purattAchi shukla paxa dasami to aipachi amarapaxa chaturdashi (dIpAvaLi) or amAvAsya. On the culmination day (21st) in a clean decorated area devotionally install the kalasham over the grains spread in a banana leaf and offer various food and fruits to the Lord as offering and donate to others.