I've been to many temples, but this place was definitely a whole new experience. I'm so sure because I kind of live near Guruvayur and I find no interest in that place. in fact, i haven't been there for almost 8 years.
people from all around India rush to Guruvayur because the Guruvayur temple is famous. where the pilgrims go, the other pilgrims follow. So Guruvayur has become a busy place where people stand in a long queue for a long time to have a glimpse of a famous idol. After the visit, most people tend to go shopping and all. the noisy and polluted environment has taken away everything that makes this sacred place a temple. It has happened with a lot of temples in and outside of Kerala.
What thiruvilwamala offers is a different story. my college was near where thiruvilwamala vilwadrinatha temple is situated. I was staying in a Hostel nearby and came to know about this temple. eventhough i had no interest in visiting the temple, my friends took me with them. The temple was just a walking distance away from our hostel. taking a 15 minute walk, we reached the place by 6.00AM. The temple is situated on a hill top, The kovil is situated on the rocks itself. To my surprise, the Temple was almost deserted. Other than the shanthis, the only people there was a monk, looking about 90 years old and a middle aged man, who was completely immersed in meditation. The sun was sneaking up the mountains and there wasn't any kind of noise. just absolute silence. the whole environment was full of positive energy. then we entered into the temple. inside the temple, there is two shrines, lord Srirama's shrine facing west and Lord Lakshmana's shrine facing east. We were near the east shrine, and it was about to open after poojas. there was a man playing the instrument Idakka. the rhythmic tune made my mind melt into the surroundings. It was such an experience. the only sound is the tune from Idakka and gradually anyone will melt away in the moment. my mind went completely blank and i felt peace. After receiving prasads, we got outside.
The temple is quite old actually. may be around 1600 years. It is believed that Parasurama himself started the temple. Another interesting fact about Vilwadrinatha temple is that it is one of the rare temples in India to have Lord Lakshmana's deity inside the kovil. Vilwadrinatha temple is also famous for the Punarajani, which takes place once in an year on the day of Guruvayr ekadasi. Punarjani noozhal is a process in which a person has to sneak and crawl through a cave called punarjani guha. it is believed that after the Punarjani noozhal he/she will be freed from the cycle of rebirths.
We just visited the cave, eventhough it was locked. the cave was on the other side of a big hill. So we had to climb the hill. The view from the top was great. We returned having a look at the punarjani cave.
The vilwadrinatha temple left me a remarkable experience and i felt so relieved that These kind of places still exist. So next time you are on a pilgrimage, consider this place. it's not about the prayers and all, but the marvelous experience.
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| Rakshasappara |
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| sun sneaking up through the peaks |
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| view of Nehru college on the way to Punarjini cave |
HOW TO REACH
Vilwadrinatha temple is situated on the border of thrissur district.
you can reach thiruvilwamala either by taking a turn from lakkidi kootupatha on ottappalam - palakkad highway or from thrissur town, wadakkanchery-chelakkara-pazhayannur-thiruvillwamala
there is also a local railway station, lakkidi just a few kms from the temple.
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