The Hindu : Life & Style / Kids : The last emperor

The Hindu : Life & Style / Kids : The last emperor

I'm just back from Bandavgarh in Madhya Pradesh where I had gone to pay my last respects to a legend. If ever there was a superstar among us tigers, it was he – B2. Yes, B2 was his name.

As the most famous tiger of Bandhavgarh, his photos have graced the covers of national and international magazines. Of course, all of that didn't make a difference to him. All that mattered was his turf and he would go to any lengths to protect it. After an eventful 14 years which has seen many battles, he finally breathed his last.

Let me start from the beginning. B2 was born in April 1997 to Charger, the then ruling emperor of Bandavgarh and the beautiful tigress Mohini. He had two siblings B1 and B3. B2 grew up seeing his majestic father rule the jungle with an iron hand.

A legend in his time, Charger was called so because he would charge at the jeeps and the elephants carrying tourists who would come to the jungles.

When he grew up to be a strapping young fellow, B2 knew that he had to quickly assert his authority to be the next king. By the time we tigers are around two, we must move out of our family home and create our own turf. So it was with B2 and his siblings. In the year 2000 he battled his own father Charger and in the process Charger was seriously injured. Charger was found by the forest guards who nursed him back to health. But he died a few months later, unhappy to be confined to an enclosure. B2 meanwhile, got into many scuffles with his brothers, especially B1 and managed to wrest most of the territory. In an unfortunate turn of events, B1 got electrocuted and the poachers got B3.

B2 now became king of the jungle and ruled a large territory for a record 11 years. Our hero was a big guy of almost 300 kilos and those who dared to fight him had to go back with more than just a bloody nose. Last month, B2 was badly injured in a fight with his son Bamera who had been trying to wrest the kingdom from his father for some time. Fourteen is old for a tiger and if you've survived that long without getting killed by poachers or in a fight, you can count yourself very, very lucky.

Survival of the fittest is the law of the jungle and old must make way for the new. In B2's case, the wheel had come a full circle. It was history repeated. Forest guards found a badly wounded B2 on the road. Although they tried to save him, the king was far too gone. He hadn't eaten for days after his injuries and the starvation and the wounds got the better of him. On November 20 he breathed his last. An era has ended and Bandavgarh will never be the same again.

Bhagawathy temples..their history.

Mythological Background

The story goes that the Goddess Bhagavathy revealed herself to a fervent devotee of a notablefamily viz. Mulluveettil family. It is said that one evening a young girl appeared before the head of the family while he was performing his oblations in the Killi river and requested him to help her cross the river. Impressed by her charismatic demeanor, the- old man bent before her with awe and reverence and not only helped her cross the river but took her to his house nearby. Strangely enough, while the household members were amidst preparations for intending a warm welcome to the young girl, she vanished. That very night the Goddess Bhagavathy appeared as an icon before the old man in his dream and demanded that he should establish an abode for her in the nearby sacred ground of shrubs and herbs (kavu), at a consecrated spot marked by three lines. The next morning the old man went to the spot revealed to him in the dream and to his great surprise he did find three marks indented on the ground. He lost no time in erecting a temple on this consecrated spot to house the Goddess. Many years later, the building was renovated by the local devotees. They also installed a beautiful and majestic icon of the Deity with four arms, bearing weapons of destruction in each, like spear, sword, skull, shield etc. The consecration ceremony of this Exalted Being was performed by no less a person than the high priest of the Badarinath Temple.

The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, one of the ancient temples of South India, is popularly described as Sabarimala of the Women, as women form the major portion of devotees. The Goddess in the temple of Attukal is worshipped as the Supreme Mother, creator of all living beings and the mighty preserver as well as destroyer of them all. The pilgrims from all over the country, who visit Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and worship the Lord, do not consider their visits complete without the visit to the shrine of the supreme Mother Attukalamma. Vishnumaya took the incarnation of Bhagavathy to annihilate the evil and protect the good in the world in the present Era namely Kaliyuga. 

According to mythology, Attukal Bhagavathy is supposed to be the divinised form of Kannaki, the famous heroine of Chilapathikaram, written by Elenkovadikal, the Tamil Poet. The story goes that after the destruction of ancient city of Madurai, Kannaki left the city and reached Kerala via Kanyakumari and on the way to Kodungalloor took a sojourn at Attukal. Kannaki is supposed to be the incarnation of Parvathy, the consort of Paramasiva. The all powerful and benign Attukal Bhagavathy reigns eternally supreme at Attukal and nurses devotees as a mother does her children. Thousands of devotees from far and near flock to the Temple to bend before the Goddess with awe and reverence to prostrate and redress their affliction and agony. 

The Pongala Mahotsavam is the most important festival of Attukal Bhagavathy Temple. The offering of Pongala is a special temple practice prevalent in the southern part of Kerala and some parts of Tamilnadu. It is a ten-day programme commencing on the Karthika star of the Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (February-March) and closing with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night.

On the ninth day of the festival the world famous Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam takes place. The entire area of about 5 kilometre radius around temple with premises of houses of people of all caste, creed and religion, open fields, roads, commercial institutions, premises of Government offices etc. emerges as a consecrated ground for observing Pongala rituals for lakhs of women devotees assembling from different parts of Kerala and outside. The ceremony is exclusively confined to women folk and the enormous crowd, which gathers in Thiruvananthapuram on this auspicious day is reminiscent of the Kumbhamela Festival of North India.

Incarnation of Goddess

India has ever been the holy land of gods and goddesses. Since ages past, men and women kings and emperors, saints and sages here were worshipping the Lord not only as the omnipotent and absolute 'one' but also as the 'one' whose manifestations are varied and manifold and who possesses different names, forms and divine attributes. Thus Almighty the Eternal God was worshipped in different forms such as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and their consorts; representing specific divine attributes of the Lord. Ancient puranas have described that Siva and Sakthi were simultaneously worshipped from the period of Aryans and Dravidians. Vishnumaya took the incarnation of Bhagavathy to annihilate evil and protect the good in this world. She grants every wish of Her devotees and resides in their hearts in multifarious forms.

Story of Kannaki

According to mythology, Attukal Bhagavathy is supposed to be the divinised form of "Kannaki", the famous heroine of Chilappatikaram, the sangham work of Tamil Literature written by ilamkovadikal. After the destruction of the ancient city of Madurai, Kannaki left that city and reached Kerala via Kanyakumari and on her way to Kodungalloor took a sojourn at Attukal. The hymns of the "Thottampattu ) sung during the annual temple festival, are based on the story of Kannaki. Moreover, architectural depictions of Goddess Kannaki seen on the Gopuram temple substantiate this mythology. Small wonder then. that, Sri. Vidyadhiraja Chattambi Swamy, the well known saint of Kerala, found this temple premises ideal for his meditations. And there are so many stories which prove the greatness of the Goddess and which attract thousands of devotees to the temple.

Aesthetics of Architecture

Anyone visiting the Attukal temple is first struck by the beauty and charm of the temple architecture. The temple structure is a harmonious conglomeration of both Kerala and Tamil styles of architecture. The beautifully carved figures of Mahishasuramarddini, Goddess Kali, Rajarajeswari, Sree Parvathy with Lord Paramasiva and various other depictions of the Goddess in and around the temple are undoubtedly the work of a gifted artist. Equally well presented around the corridors surrounding the temple, are the depiction of various other Gods and the epic stories of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu viz., the "Desavathara". On either side of the elegant front gopura - are the icons based on the story of Goddess Kannaki. On the southern Gopura, the puranic story of "Dakshayaga" is depicted in sculptures. The decorated gate at the entrance of the temple is by itself an excellent example of architectural beauty.

There are two idols of the Goddess in the sanctum sanctorum. The original idol is preserved in all its pristine beauty covered in ornamental gold embedded with installed stones.
The second idol of the Goddess is installed besides the original one. Within the temple corridors are also installed carvings and sculptures of Lord Ganesan, the serpent God and Lord Shiva. At the centre of the Sanctum within the Sreekovil, at a consecrated spot is installed the idol of the Goddess Attukal Bhagavathy emanating light and lustre to all.

Divine Gold Lockets

Divine Gold Lockets with the prathishta image of the Devi on one side and the imprint of Sudarsana Chakra on the other, are now issued to the devotees from the temple counter. This moderately priced pendant, which can be worn by men, women and children of all ages, at all times, is a talisman of safety and prosperity. Arrangement has also been made to send the lockets by post.