Bhagavatī (भगवती) refers to the “Supreme Goddess” as a general
epithet.—Durgā and all great Kaula goddesses are ‘Bhagavatī’. ‘Bhagavatī’
is the feminine of the word ‘Bhagavat’ which is a manner of referring to
the Supreme God in general but is most commonly used in the Sanskrit
sources with reference to Viṣṇu. Although the goddess is represented as
Viṣṇu’s Māyā in the Devīmāhātmya she is not specifically connected with
him. She is called ‘Bhagavatī’ in a generic sense simply to indicate that
she is the Great Goddess (Mahādevī). In North India and Nepal, Bhagavatī is
particularly Durgā .
Mandaikadu is a small sleepy seaside town in the South Cape Camorin. The
deity in the temple here is Bhagavathy, who is believed to cure all the
ailments which women suffer. She is also believed to rule the nine planets
or the Navagrahas in one’s astrological chart.
1 Those who want t get married with good spouse or where there is delay in
marriages, the devotees offer silk cloths and mangalsutra to the goddess
with a prayer.
2 Those who are handicapped offer limbs made of silver to the deity for
their cures.
3 Those who go with the prayer for children offer cradles for their getting
the blessings from the goddess for children.
4 Those who feel that they are affected by evil looks of bad persons offer
crackers for relief from the effects of evil looks.
5 Devotees suffering from incurable or terrible headaches offer an item
like a kind of pudding made out of rice flour, sugar/jaggery and water
called Mandaiappam and take part of it as prasadam.
6 Some devotees place the food on the floor and eat it after Pooja as
prasadam. This prasadam and offering is called the ‘man soru’ eating. Man
means mud and soru means cooked rice.
7 The general belief f the devotees is that the goddess do not disappoint
those who go to her with sincere devotion with the requests.
According to legend, over a 1000 years ago, a hermit installed a Sri
Chakra (since many of us may not know what it is or what it signifies, I
would hereafter refer to it as an idol.) As is the wont of most hermits of
yesteryears, he wanted to move to other places, so he decided to move the
idol. After having decided on a place, he began meditating at the place
where he had been doing puja.
Suddenly, he had a vision of goddess Bhagavathy. She told him that she
wished to reside in the place where he had been doing puja. She also said
“I bid you to sit beside me inside the earth and guard this place which is
inside dense forests.” Immediately, the hermit buried the idol and he
himself attained Samadhi next to where he buried the idol. The place where
he buried the idol began growing steadily like a small sand hill.
Sometime later, a few boys who were playing with a palm fruit
dropped it inadvertently on the hill. Immediately blood began to ooze from
the hill. (I will refer to this place as a temple from now on) Scared by
this turn of events the children ran to bring the elders to the spot. The
elders believed that this was Bhagavathy who was guarding the area and
began lighting a lamp daily at the temple. Soon one day there was an
incident. A few people were entering the village at midnight. Knocking at
the doors of the villagers, they asked them to provide them some food as
they were very hungry. The villagers however, were not very hospitable and
directed them to the temple nearby to find their own food.
Dusk was fast approaching and the village was on the fringes of a dense
jungle on the coast. So the people were scared. Still they went to the
temple and said “Mother please give us some food.” Miraculously they heard
a voice that said “go take a bath and return, you will get food.” They
dutifully did what they were told and Bhagavathy is said to have fed them
herself. After a sumptuous meal they slept in the temple premises. The next
morning when they woke up they had a vision of the goddess smiling
benevolently at them. Immediately, they left several valuables they had
brought with them in a sack and left.
His Holiness Sri Shankaracharya was performing pooja to the Sri Chakra
here with his devotees. One day the Srichakra did not turn as was the
custom after the pooja was over. The Acharya stayed back here and he
attained Samadhi in this place. The present ant hill grew in the place
where the Srichakra existed at that time. Over a period of time the place
was deserted and became like a forest area. Once when some children were
playing in the area and hit the ant hill and they were injured. This news
went to the then ruler of the area the King Marthanda Varma of Travancore
kingdom. He came to know of the incidents and he ordered a temple to be
built in this place and arrange for Poojas regularly. Gradually the temple
became famous with the satisfied devotees becoming its advertisers.
Meanwhile the King of Travancore had a vision of Bhagavathy in his
dream. She told him to build a temple for her with the money left by the
travellers. Next day the king visited the place which had appeared in his
dreams and fulfilled the wishes of the goddess.
However, as he began construction of the temple, the sand hill
continued growing in size. They had demolished the temple twice because of
its gaining height. So, the king implored the goddess not to grow in
height. But the goddess said that it would not be possible. However, she
said that she would grow only the size of a grain each year. It is believed
that to this day the sand hill is growing in height each year. ( Vidya
blog) K Rajaram IRS 25125
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Gopala Krishnan <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2025 at 11:13
Subject: [iyer123] MANDAICAUD BHAGAVATHI AMMAN TEMPLE
To: <[email protected]>
*MANDAICAUD BHAGAVATHI AMMAN TEMPLE*
*KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT-TAMILNADU*
Dear friends,
Today my posting is about Mandaikkadu Bhagavathi Amman temple near Colachel
in the Kanyakumari District of Tamilnadu.
Earlier it was in Kerala state before the linguistic formation of states in
1956 November 1st. The temple is very famous in the district. This temple
is also called *“Sabarimalai for women*”, the other being Attukal temple
near Trivandrum. Hope a divine reading.
Gopalakrishnan 25-1-2025
Introduction
Deity Bhagavati Festivals Maasi Kodai
Location Mandaikadu
Type Dravidian Kerala architecture
Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Amman Temple is a Hindu Temple where Devi Parvathi as
Bhagavathi is the prime deity. This temple is also called as 'Women's
Sabarimala'. It is located near Colachel in the Western coast of
Kanniyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. This is one among the most renowned and
most important Hindu temples in Kanniyakumari district.
This temple is near the sea shore of Colachel and it is a *sought after
pilgrim centre for both people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. *
Legend
Local legends and beliefs are associated with the genesis of Mandaikadu
Bhagavathi Amman Temple. One story goes that when the area was a dense
forest, shepherds brought their cattle to graze there. It is said that the
Goddess Bhagavathy first appeared to her devotees in an anthill.
History
Children there started hitting this anthill, but they would get hurt every
time. This also became news and started spreading. *The news reached the
King of Kerala, Marthanda Varma;* the king looked upon the situation and
decided to build a temple there. This way, he kept the anthill secure as
well as the children.
People started performing puja to this anthill and considered it
significant. This same place is now known as Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Devi
Temple.
After a few days, another incident happened. Some outsiders approached the
village people at midnight. They knocked on some doors and asked for food
as they were hungry. However, the villagers did not want any trouble, so
they were not hospitable. They then directed those outsiders to the temple
for food.
The travelers then approached the temple and prayed to the Goddess for some
food. A miracle happened when they heard the voice of the Goddess, who
asked them to take a bath and have food. They all took a bath and went to
the temple again, where the Goddess herself fed them food.
After satiating their hunger, they all slept well in the temple. They also
had a dream of seeing the Goddess lovingly smiling at them. They then
returned to their track; before returning, they left all their valuables
for the Goddess as an offering. The following night, the king of the place
had a dream when the Goddess told him to build a temple for her with the
travelers' money and valuables. Hence a temple was made by the king to
serve the Goddess.
However, the hill was growing in height, so the king had to demolish the
temple twice. The king then requested the Goddess not to grow the hill
anymore. The Goddess said that it is not possible to stop the height, but
it will only grow equal only to a grain size each year.
The idol
The idol of Devi here is unique, huge and is earthy. Here anthill is
worshipped as the Goddess, about 15 feet tall. People believe that the
anthill is growing daily; it has five heads.
*The worship is also unique as every woman who visits temple should make
Pongala and offer to Bhagavathy Amman*. Cane Sugar Payasam is Devi's
favourite. Mandaikadu Mandaiappam is also the major food offered to Amman.
The belief says Adi Shankaracharya once performed puja to a Sri Chakra
here. There is a sanctum sanctorum of Sri Chakra, also. The face of the
Goddess exists at the upper end of the structure.
Poojas and Timings
The temple poojas are done by Archakas.
Situated near Colachel in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, the Mandaikadu
Bhagavathi Temple is easily accessible by road. The temple timings are from
4:30 AM to 12:15 PM and 4:00 PM to 8:15 PM, allowing ample time for
visitors to experience the temple's spiritual offerings.
Festivals And Important Dates
Many days occur here, such as Full moon day (Poornima), Tuesdays, Fridays,
and Sundays. On all these days, more devotees visit the temple and offer
their prayers to the Goddess.
The most important festival occurs in Maasi month (February – March) when
thousands of people visit the temple called Kodai festival.
Kodai festival
The ten days Kodai festival at Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Amman Temple which is
celebrated on the Tamil month of Maasi(March) called as Maasi Kodai is a
major celebration in the region as well as in the district. The tenth day
of festival is very important and local holiday is announced throughout the
district. On the seventh day a ritual called as the ' Valiya Padukka ' is
celebrated in which large amount fruits, food flowers are exhibited in
front of Amman. On the ninth day of festival ' Periya Chakkara Theevetti '
called as the ring of fire in front of the Utsava Murthi Amman who is taken
out from the Sanctum Santorum on Velli Pallakku (Silver Cart) with various
events is taken as a procession around the Temple.
*On the Midnight of the tenth day a unique pooja called as the ' Odukku
Pooja* ' is the most important ritual of the ten days festival. This temple
is known as the Women's Sabarimala because many Kerala women carry '
Irumudi ' on their heads as in Sabarimala.
To accommodate the large populations special buses run between Nagercoil
and nearby towns at the time of festival, there are also chain services
operated from Thiruvananthapuram.
Way of worship
Before going in to the temple, people go to the Sea and wash their hands
and sprinkle some divine Sea water on their heads and walk into the temple.
Ayyavazhi
The goddess of this temple, Mandaikadu Amman is also linked with Ayya
Vaikundar and is detailed in Akilathirattu Ammanai, the holy text of
Ayyavazhi. Akilathirattu is the main source of reference which addresses
the divine nature of the prime deity though the Stala Purana and the
related beliefs are mentioned in few other texts too.
Unique aspect
The unique aspect of the temple is that the devotees can see Bhagavathy
Amman even from the road itself. During the festivals hundreds of shops are
accommodated all through the streets. Thousands of devotees worship
Bhagavathy Amman each day.
Devotees throng to the temple for-
Goddess Bhagavathi Amman is none other than Mother Shakti or Durga. She is
worshipped as Bhagavathi in temples of Kerala and some regions of Karnataka
in India. The goddess, a powerful deity to destroys evils, removes all
negative effects of planets, black magic and health issues.
Offerings
Devotees have a lot of faith in the Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Devi Temple; they
consider the Goddess so significant. Devotees here offer wedlock chains and
silk clothes to please the Goddess. By doing so, the Goddess helps the
devotee to get married soon or find an ideal life partner.Those who are
handicapped also offer silver limbs as they believe doing so will cure
their condition. Those who are childless and want to conceive, provide a
hammock for the Goddess; this grants their wish to become pregnant.
People with other ailments, such as headaches, also come here and pray to
Goddesses to heal them. They offer Mandaiappam, a sweet made using rice
flour and jaggery.
Sometimes fireworks are lighted as it is believed to ward away any evil
energies. People who believe that some evil eye is troubling them to
perform Vedi Vazhipadu.
Eating in the floor
In the temple, Mansoru eating takes place, which refers to eating food on
the temple floor. This food is considered as prasadam given by the Goddess.
Mandaikadu Temple Location
Mandaikadu Temple is located on the sea shore at Mandaikadu village in
Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. This is about 4 km from Colachel, 5 km from
Thingalnagar, and 22 km from Nagarcoil. People can also travel from
Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram as it is 41 km and 70 km, respectively.
Address of the temple
Mandaikkadu Bhagavathi Amman temple, Mandaikadu Main Rd, Mandaikadu, Tamil
Nadu 629252Phone: 1800 4253 1111
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