I recently had been to Kannur, a beautiful and peaceful coastal city in north Kerala for the summer holidays. You could ask why Kannur and not other famous places like Allepey, Trivandrum, or Cochin. There are more than one reason on why we chose Kannur –
1. Kannur is close to Bangalore in about 350 kms
2. Being an offbeat destination, hotels and food is cheap
3. Presence of islands like Kaavai and Dharmadam
4. Mangrove forests in Payannur.
5. Bekal Fort.
6. Muzhappilangad Drive In Beach
We chose weekdays to beat the local crowds. On a Friday evening, we decided to go to the The Parassinikkadavu Snake Park. It is a small park that you can finish off in 30-45 minutes. The park closes by 6.00 PM sharp and so, by 6.00 PM we left the snake park, had good Kerala snacks like Ela Ada and Pazhampuri along with our evening coffee and drove back to Kannur. On the way, we saw a small temple and the Google Maps said Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi Amman Temple. So, being a strong Shakthi devotee, I decided to check out the temple and luckily, my husband and kids also accepted to my decision. But as the temple was not in our plan, we were not in traditional dresses. Still, we decided to get inside and try our luck.
As we entered the temple through a plight of stairs, the temple was literally glowing with several natural dhiyas. As we tried to enter the temple, we were duly stopped citing our jean and T-shirt attire. But luckily, one priest said I can get a mundu (veshti or dhothi in Malayalam) from the pooja ticket counter. I did not think twice and wrapped it on. We were 4 of us but there was only three mundu. So, me, my husband and my elder daughter draped it. The priest was then kind enough to excuse my little daughter saying she was young and it was fine. God knows the infinite joy I had as we can all enter the temple.
The ambiance inside the temple is simply divine. It was such a pleasure to see the Goddess in the light of only natural oil lamps. There was big idol at the back and a small statue at the front. While I could not clearly see the idols clearly. the sight of the idols in the dark is a goosebump moment. By now, all the priests (about 6-7 of them) knew we were new to the place and had no clue on how to proceed further. In most temples, we take a trip around the temple, pray to all the gods around the main garbhagraha from left to right and finally enter the garbagraha. But in the Sundareshwara temple in Kannur we went the previous day, we were ask to do semi circles around the main god from right to left. So, we were just waiting to see what other people were doing. Two priests noticed our confusion and guided us. From their words, Bhagavathi Amman is Goddess Kali. We can go around the temple from left to right. While there were a few more gods around garbagraha, I could not figure them out. Again sensing my confused look, one priest guided us to the Ganesha’s temple at the right of garbagraha. In the dark, I seriously could not find Ganesha’s face. But, I felt that the idol looked like Varahi amman’s face. I silently whispered to my husband that the idol looked like Varahi. He gave me dirty looks and whispered back that he simply could see anything in the dark. So, I asked the priest with long hair if it was Varahi amman and he did say “YES”. He also said Ganesha was at the end of the complex but I literally could not see in the dark. However, I Was extremely happy to see and get Varahi’s blessings. Me and kids chanted Varahi Moola Mantra and completed our three rounds around the main deity. On our way back, the priest asked us if we wanted the sacred black threads and we bought. Chandan and kumkum was given on banana leaf which made me remind of my childhood days when we used to visit Mullaikal temple in Alleppey. We were also given prasad a sweet with some boiled green moon dal.
Finally, we returned our kaavi mundus at Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi Amman Temple counter and returned back to Kannur with a satisfied feeling.
You might also be interested in –
How to pray Varahi at home
Varahi Gayatri Mantra
Can we keep Varahi amman idol at home
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