The Hindu : Karnataka News : Kollur all set for Mahanavratri festival

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 12, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Kollur all set for Mahanavratri festival

Ganesh Prabhu

It begins today with ‘kalasha sthapane’; ‘mahadeeparadhana’ and ‘Suhasini puja’ on all nine days

— Photo: G. P. Sampath Kumar

READY: The Kollur Mookambika Temple in Udupi district.

Udupi: The stage is set for the Mahanavratri Festival at the famous Sri Mookambika Temple in Kollur in Udupi district, from October 12 to October 21.

The festival is attended by a large number of devotees from the State, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh. The festival begins with the “kalasha sthapane” ritual on Friday.

The “Chandika Yaga” would be held at 11.30 a.m. on October 20, while the “Rathotsava” would be held at 8 p.m. the same day. The “utsava” idol would be taken for a “pradikshana” around the temple. Then the “Purnakumbhabhisheka” will be performed.

Vidyarambha

The Vijayadasami festival would be held on October 21 and rituals such as “Sharada Puja” and “Sharada Visarjane” performed. One of the highlights of the “Vijayadasami” festival is “Vidyarambha” ceremony which will begin at 4 a.m. at the Saraswati Mandira. The “Vidyarambha” ceremony marks the beginning of the education of children.

During this ceremony, the symbol of “Om” is written on the tongues of children aged between two and three years with a turmeric twig. (Saraswati Mandira is the place where the exponent of Advaita, Sankara, composed the Saundarya Lahari).

The children would then be made to write alphabets in rice-grains. Many children participate in the “Vidyarambha” ceremony. The “Navanaprashna” would be held at 12.30 p.m. on October 21.

An important aspect of the Mahanavratri festival at the temple is that on the nine days, “Mahadeeparadhana” and “Suhasini Puja” are performed. On the first day, puja is performed to one “suhasini”, and on every subsequent day one more “suhasini” is added. On the ninth day, “pujas” are performed to nine “suhasinis”.

The chief archak performs the pujas, after the “Pradosha Puja” following the Karthyayini Tantram. Pujas are performed to each of the nine “Navakshari Kalashas” at the Sankara Peetah.

On these nine days, Goddess Mookambika is decorated differently.

On Vijayadasami day, the “utsava” idol of Goddess Mookambika is carried to the “Shukla Tirtha”, about 1.5 kilometre from Kollur, and brought back. This is called “Vijaya Utsava”.

Jyotirlinga

Adi Sankara established the Sri Mookambika Temple. Legend has it that a “Jyotirlinga” appeared here long ago, when Sage Kolamaharishi was doing penance. When Sankara learnt about this, he went to Kollur and worshiped Adishakti.

The Goddess appeared before him and ordered him to install her statue beside the Jyotirlinga.

Sankaracharya then had the statue sculpted in the form in which he had seen the Goddess. He also ordained that prayers should be offered daily to the Goddess.

The temple is said to belong to the period between the eighth and the ninth centuries. The architecture of the temple is of the times of the Keladi Nayakas.

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