Udhayanapuram Temple

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The Udayanapuram Subrahmanya Swamy Temple is situated in Kottayam District, three kilometers north of Vaikom, where his father Lord Shiva is the presiding deity at the Vaikom Mahadeva Temple, who is reverentially known to his bakthas as Vaikathappan. According to ancient customs which is followed even today, worship at Vaikom is complete only when the devotee treks the three kilometer distance to Udayanapuram and pays his obeisance to the son, Lord Subrahmanya who is enshrined there. This is especially so on the morning of the Vaikom Ashtami festival. Nearby these two temples lies another temple known as the Bhagawathi Temple, at Kumaranallur [Kumaran-alla-ooru (not for Kumaran)] just five kilometers away from Kottayam and therby hangs a tale. Suffice it to say at this juncture that originally Madurai Meenakshi Amman was to have taken her abode at Udayanayakeepuram and Lord Subrahmanya enshrined at the present Kumaranallur. At least that was the plan of the Chera King Neduncheralathan who had simultaneously built two temples at these two different places : one for the Bhagawathi and the other one for Skantha, the son of Lord Shiva. When the priests went to the temple at Kumaranallur, to enshrine Lord Subrahmanya, they heard a divine voice from the air: "Do not install Lord Karthigeya in this temple; this is not his abode." The oracle vanished.

Why this sudden volte face? One has to blame the Pandiyan King who was ruling the Pandya Kingdom at that time. Legend has it that one fine morning when the King went to have the darshan of the Devi at the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple he found the costly nose ring of the Amman missing. Immediately he proclaimed : " If within forty-one days the culprit is not found, then the head-priest would be beheaded." The head priest was petrified. He lay prostrate at the feet of the Ambal and on the fortieth day in his dream he was instructed by a beautiful lady to follow a beacon of light and stop where it ended its journey. He followed the instructions and on the forty-first day both the beacon of light and him reached the temple at Kumaranallur in Kerala, the light entered the Karpa Griham and vanished. It is believed that the ray of light was none other than Madurai Meenakshi Amman who wanted to save her Baktha, the head priest. With great fanfare the Chera King consecrated the temple and dedicated the idol of Madurai Meenakshi Amman at the present Kumaranallur.

It is said that these three temples, Vaikom Mahadeva Temple, Udayanapuram Subrahmanya Swamy Temple and the Bhagawathi Temple at Kumaranallur were established by Lord Parasurama. In conjunction with this incident an elaborate Bhagawathi Sevai is conducted at the Subrahmanya Swami Temple at Udayanapuram every year.

As is the vogue in Kerala this temple at Udayanapuram is not an architectural marvel. It has a thick compound wall reminiscent of Vaikom Mahadeva Temple and in terms of structure it does resemble the Vaikom Mahadeva Temple. The karpagriha, the sanctum sanctorum is a double storied square structure with a four feet tall idol of Lord Subrahmanya Swamy facing the east. He is surrounded by sculptures of elephants, carved out of wood and Elephant yaalis supporting the superstructure. The spacious namaskara mandapa is carved out of stone, with stone pillars with carvings of Sri Krishna Leela. The mandapam, balikalpura and srikoil are adomed with beautiful carvings and paintings. It signifies the periodicity of the temple. One can observe the entire story of the Ramayana which has been graphically delineated on its four beams which are a connoisseurs delight.

But why give so much importance to a temple which does not have many a following like Guruvayur or the Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram? The significance lies in the Vaikathu Ashtami festival which falls on the 12th day of the annual festival in the month of Scorpio.

On the 12th day, of the Vaikathu Ashtami, around 8.30 P.M. Lord Shiva, with his Parivaram, would emerge from his abode, seated majestically on a well adorned caparisoned elephant, circumambulate one prakara of his temple. Then he would await the arrival of his son, Lord Subrahmanya, from Udayanapuram, at the eastern Ana Vadhil. The moment the Lord arrives all the musical instruments would cease to perform. There would be pin drop silence. The Veekhan would sound intermittantly just to keep the elephants awake. There would be some cultural programmes on the stage to keep the faithful within the temple.

Around ten P.M. the procession of the son from Udayanapuram would start. Lord Subrahmanya accompanied by his Devis would arrive near the Northern end of the Vaikom Temple and would rest under the Pepal tree. One of his emissaries would be despatched to inform his father about his arrival.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to give your full attention here. The son and the daughters-in-law have arrived to the ancestral home of the father. In his exuberance and affection for his son and his wives, the father Lord Shiva, presents loads of gold jewellery, with all other mangala items with mangalya nadham and instructs his ganas to welcome his son and his devis to his abode.

The two furlong procession takes a minimum of three hours to complete. Such is the majesty and grandeur of the occasion. Seated on a huge Gaja Rajan, the Son and his two Devis accompanied by their Parivarams begin their joyous journey to the abode of their Lord and Master. The happiness overflows : there is firerworks, happy music and about three hundred "thee vattis" to light the two furlong distance.

Around 1.30 A.M. the procession of Lord Subrahmanya would enter the Vaikom Temple and after circumambulating the temple once, both father and son would meet at the Eastern Gate. On seeing his son, for the first time for that day, the father will move a little, so that his son would be by his side.

There would be a "Koodi Puja" where the Father-Son duo would participate along with their Bhaktas. After walking around the temple three times, seated on their caparisoned elephants, both father and son would take their leave at the Northern Gate. Both the elephants would face each other and the son would request permission to leave his father's abode. With a heavy heart the father would give his assent and bid him farewell. It is a very solemn and heart wrenching scene, even the most hard hearted human would feel a pang of discomfiture at this poignant farewell. Even the elephants would shed tears and mother nature unable to control her tears would shed it as a light rain over Vaikom.

After the departure of his son and his two Devis, the old man, Lord Shiva, would keep a watch over the progress of his son's journey towards Udayanapuram for a while and then slowly turn his back, and return to his abode.