Vakrakali

I love discovering hamlets. They have a distinct character. The local villagers are friendly and innocent, smile easily helpful… etc. On a recent visit to Pondicherry, I was coaxed into visiting one such hamlet by a relative, who waxed eloquent about some fossil which haven’t been given enough importance by the government. I was initially reluctant to visit this village as I already had plans to visit Auroville. Somehow, the day being Shivaratri, I guess the Lord lured me into meeting Him

So we were on our way to the sleepy little Tiruvakkarai, tucked away in the back of beyond near the Tindivanam highway. Driving on dusty roads we arrived at the temple of Chandramouleeswara. The temple is in the process of being renovated and so we walked barefoot on the hot sandy makeshift way through columns of fences to reach the first shrine of the temple: Vakrakali. 

 Vakrakali stands in monolithic splendor after killing the demon Vakrasura. Surprisingly  the  idol doesn’t  depict a ferocious Kali. Now, for the   legend behind this temple.  Once there was  a demon called Vakrasura, who was great saivite. He meditated upon Shiva with a linga  embedded inside his throat. Pleased with his penance Shiva appeared before him and asked  him what he wanted. Like most demons, he wanted to be immortal and Shiva granted him  immortality.

 Like every other immortal demon Vakrasura harassed humanity and the devas. The devas ran  to Shiva asking him to save them. Shiva on the other hand went to Vishnu and asked him to  vanquish the demon. Vishnu used his Chakra to kill the demon and vanquished him.

 Meanwhile, Durmukhi, the sister of Vakrasura began harassing people after her brother’s  death. Shiva sent his wife Parvati to tackle Durmukhi. Parvati agreed to vanquish Durmukhi.  But Durmukhi was pregnant at that time. According to Sastras, a pregnant woman cannot be killed. So Parvati tore open the stomach of the demoness and took the baby and hung it in her ear. She then killed the demoness. Since she killed Vakrasura’s sister taking the form of Kali, she remained there as Vakrakaliamman, according to legend.

There is a story behind the Dwarapalikas (like security guards) to Kali in this temple. Once there were four ladies who were from the families of cowherds in the region. They sold milk and curd for their living. But they cheated people by diluting the milk and curds. The king heard about these women and ordered that their heads be shaved and beheaded. On the day they were to be killed, the women were being paraded to the altar, when the four women realizing their folly prayed to Vakrakali. The Goddess appeared before them and pardoned them. She also made them her Dwarapalikas.

The temple has a shrine for Vishnu (Varadaraja Perumal) after having killed Vakrasura. There is also a shiva linga, that Vakrasura prayed with (known as Kantalingam, since he prayed with that in his throat). It is believed that during summer this Linga is cold to the touch. During monsoon, there are beads of water on the linga. There is also a huge Nandi in this temple and a shrine for Parvati in the form of Vadivambikai.

Another shrine of importance in this temple is that of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma all together in one idol adhering to the philosophy of God is one. This idol is known as Dhanumalayan. (Dhanu -Shiva, Mal-Vishnu and Ayan- Brahma) The three faces are facing three directions, East, North and South.

From the temple we headed to the fossil garden a kilometer away. The road to this garden is uncared for and very dusty, bumpy and narrow. The garden is fenced with a small iron gate and has a huge banyan tree in the front. Underneath the banyan tree sits Ayyanar in broken splendor with broken terracotta horses surrounding him.

 A little distance away amidst wooded paths we went on to see the fossil of a huge tree belonging to the Tamarind family.  Most of the tree trunks scattered around have turned into rock…specifically silica. There are vandals who also come to chip  away pieces of the tree trunk despite the old security guards, seated there throughout the day. The old guard told us that he  has to chase these boys away but then, he can’t be all over the place at the same time. We could only sympathize with  him. 

 

 

 There are  several huge tree trunks scattered in this wooded area. The place is quiet and very  few people (tourists) visit this place. Like my relative said, in any other country this would  have been turned into a tourist place. However, I am glad that this hasn’t been turned into a  tourist place. Some places are best left untouched. And last but not the least I was glad to have  visited the little hamlet of Thiruvakkarai.

 Thiruvakkarai, from Pondicherry would be about 50 km on the Tindivanam Highway, in Vizhupuram district.