Skip to main content

Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple

The Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple is a relatively smaller temple located at the Ayikudi village of the Thirunelveli district,Tamil Nadu.

About The Deity



The idol of Balasubramanya swamy at this temple depicts Lord Muruga in the form of a young boy with four hands having Vajram, Shaktivaram & Abhayam. His sacred vahana, the Peacock is seen on his left. The lord appears sitting on a lotus Padmapeetam. The name of one of the five trees of the temple (sthala virksham), is Madhulai and not Madhalai.


Legend And Stories

Thirunelveli was under control of the Travancore Kings until 1947 when unification of India happened. The Balasubramania Swamy temple is situated on the banks of Hanuman Nadhi. Lord Hanuman is believed to have stopped by and rested on the banks of this river, on his way to Lanka. Thus this river go to be named the Hanuman nadhi.

Lord Karthikeya graces in this temple along with five Vrikshas (trees) and the five Devatas, in the form of a young boy. The tamil word ‘Bala’ means ‘boy’. Thus the deity is called Balasubramania in this temple. The five Vrikshams that are found in this temple include Arasu (Surya), Vembu neem (Ambhikai), Kariveppilai Curry leaves tree ( Mahesha), Madhulai (Ganesha) and Mavilangu (Vishnu).



The idol of the deity was found by a devotee named Mallan at Nanjaipara, on the Mallam River. Once upon a time there lived a Brahmin, who was a staunch Mugura Bhakth (devotee). He is said to have become a sanyasi (Saint) and attained salvation at this place. His samadhi (tomb stone) was built on the shores of the Hanuman Nadhi. The people belonging to his community planted a prepay tree (Arasa maram) beside the samadhi and conducted various pujas at that place. The idol of Balasubramaniya that was found near the Malla river was installed on top of the samadhi, to which prayers were offered.

The temple’s roof was made of only coconut and palm leaves until about 1931. Some 150 years ago, the Thiruvadhankur Royal family is said to have taken up the administration and management of this temple. The temple was later renovated after which various festivals were organized. The Utsava Murthi is known as Sri Muthukumara swami. The moolavar is known by the name Balasubramanya. Various poojas pertaining to the temple were performed according to the Aagama Sastras by the temple priests.

Significance

Devotees believe that those who get the Dharshan and pray to this Balasubramanya will attain prosperity. The temple is known for attaining Karya Siddhi or success in endeavors and Pillaiperu or childbirth for bhaktas who visit and participate in the pujas and sponsor the special offering of 'Hanuman Nadi Padi-Payasam'. The Arasa leaf Vibhuthi Prasadham (Holy Ash) available in this temple is very powerful. Padi Payasam, Kavadi, Palkudam are some of the important ways in which the devotees show their love to the Lord. According to legend, on the steps leading to the Hanuman Nadhi Sri Bala Murugan takes payasam along with other children. The Balasubramanya Moolavar Pujas were conducted in the traditional way by the sangethi Brahmins and the Utsava pujas & processions were conducted by Shivacharyas.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bhramari Shakti Peetha

Bhramari Devi Mandir is one of the 51 Shaktipeethas belonging to Devi Sati/ Durga where the left leg of Devi Sati fell at Trisotra, Salbari village, Bodaganj, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. It is a famous Shakti Peethas in West Bengal. Lord Brahma performed a yajna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva. Therefore his son Daksha performed several yajnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva. However, due to Lord Shiva's curse to lord Brahma that he would not be worshiped and also his fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of lord Shiva, Daksha started hating lord Shiva and decided not to let lord Shiva and Sati get married. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day lord Shiva and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sri Subramanyeswara Swamy Temple, Mallam

The temple was constructed by the Chola rulers around 11th century in Mallam village near Nayudupeta, about 90 km away from Nellore. The Vasanta Mandapam in the temple is in the form of a chariot drawn by a pair of horses. The 64 pillars of the mandapam are decorated with pictures of creepers and tales from Ramayanam, Bharatham, Bhagavatam and Siva Puranam. The Sthala Purana says, Lord Muruga killed a demon by name Mallasura at this very place and the demon prayed to the Lord asking to be forgiven and have the place named after him and so the place came to be known Mallam. Another story does the rounds that the village was actually called “Thirugu Mallam” owing to the unique natural phenomenon where the water from nearby lakes would fill up the nearby fields whenever there were rains and return back to the lake, “thirugu mallam” in the local dialect of Telugu means “turn back”. How far this phenomenon is true, we do not know. For now, most of these regions would be grateful if ...
Post a Comment
Read more