The story of Srikalahasti (Vayu Lingam)

The story of Srikalahasti is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology, with two prominent legends associated with this sacred place.

On the banks of the Swarnamukhi River, there is a Shiva Linga in the forest where, a spider named Sri, a serpent named Kala, and an elephant named Hasti used to worship Lord Shiva in their own unique ways every day. The town of Srikalahasti derives its name from these ardent devotees.

Sri, the spider, would weave beautiful, shiny cobwebs around the Shiva Linga. Kala, the serpent, would destroy these cobwebs and offer gemstones to Lord Shiva. Hasti, the elephant, would remove the gemstones and perform a water abhishek (ritual bath) with his trunk, offering flowers and leaves to the Lord. Each devotee would become upset when they saw their offerings destroyed by the others. One day, they decided to wait and observe who was responsible. This led to a confrontation between Sri and Kala, resulting in Sri's death. When Hasti arrived, Kala slid into Hasti's trunk, causing Hasti to struggle and beat his trunk against the Linga, ultimately leading to the deaths of both Kala and Hasti.

Lord Shiva, witnessing this, merged the three devotees into Him and became the Vayu Linga, named Srikalahastheeswara.

The story of Kannappa from the ancient Shiv-Mahapuran sheds light on another aspect of this sacred place. 

Kannappa belonged to a hunter-gatherer society that chose to stay away from modern civilization. Kannappa lived in the forest with his wife. Initially, he was not a devotee of Lord Shiva and even opposed him. One day, his wife asked him to fast and worship Lord Shiva on Shivratri. Kanappa was hungry and he went for hunting on Shivratri. He exaused when he did not find any food till evening. Lord Shiva sent Rudranath to teach him a lesson. Kanappa and Rudranath engaged in a debate about Lord Shiva, unknowingly clashing with each other. Kanappa eventually reached the downhill area, where he stumbled upon the Shiva Linga. Without realizing the significance, he prayed to Lord Shiva and offered Bel Patra, ashes, and coconut.

At the sametime someone tried to harm his wife, Lord Shiva sent Sri, Kala, and Hasti to save her. Kanappa, realizing the power of Lord Shiva, began to pray to Him sincerely. He offered flesh and cleaned the Linga with water, which delighted Lord Shiva.

Every day, a devoted man named Shivagochariar would come to the temple, clean it, pray to Mahadev, wash the Shiva-lingam with care, and offer flowers and food to the deity before returning to the village. One day, Kannappa, after a successful hunt, stumbled upon this ancient temple. He offered a part of the wild boar as Prasad, collected flowers from the nearby forest, and filled his mouth with water to offer to Shivji. With utmost devotion, Kannappa bowed and left the temple.

The next day, Shivagochariar discovered Kannappa’s offerings and felt disgusted. He cleaned the temple and conducted the Puja in the usual way. But the same thing happened the following day. Kannappa, in his simplicity, covered the Shiva-Lingam with raw meat to please the lord. This continued for days, leaving Shivagochariar frustrated. 

Lord Shiva decided to test Kannappa's devotion. One day, when Kannappa arrived at the temple, he found one of the eyes of the Shiv-Linga bleeding. Not knowing what to do, he plucked his own eye and offered it. But as soon as he attached one eye to the Shiva-lingam, the other started bleeding. Determined to show his devotion, Kannappa decided to pluck the other eye, too. Realizing he would become blind, Kannappa marked the spot with his toe and then plucked his other eye with an arrow.

At that moment, touched by Kannappa’s unwavering devotion, Lord Shiva appeared and stopped him from making himself completely blind. Pleased with his devotion the Lord also ordained that be should be near the Lingam permanently on the peak. The hill you see opposite to the temple is where the kannappa lived.

The blissful Lord restored both of Kannappa's eyes and also blessed him with liberation from the cycle of rebirths and death. Interestingly, according to the Mahabharata, Kannappa was none other than Arjuna in his previous life. 

Srikalahasti is especially sacred for people affected by Saturn (Shani), Rahu, or Ketu in their astrological charts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

बांसगाँव का इतिहास ! 300 वर्षों से चली आ रही अनोखी परंपरा

कुल की रक्षा के लिए हम सर तक अपना कटवा देते है, सर के कटने पर भी हम धड़ से तलवार चलाते हैं, और हम उस कुल के वंशज है जिस कुल में. माँ भवानी के चरणों में किसी निर्बल की बलि नहीं , अपना उमड़ता हुआ गर्म रक्त चढ़ाते है ! भारत के उत्तर प्रदेश राज्य के गोरखपुर जिले का एक कस्बा और नगर पंचायत है । यह यहां बसे राजपूतों के लिए जाना जाता है। मूल रूप से, यह कहा जाता है कि इस स्थान पर प्राचीन काल में श्रीनेत राजपूतों का कब्जा था, जो अभी भी कुलदेवी के प्राचीन मंदिर में स्वरक्त बलिदान (रक्त) चढ़ाने के लिए अश्विन के महीने में इकट्ठा होकर अपनी विजय का जश्न मनाते हैं। श्रीनेत राजपूत मूल रूप से श्रीनगर, उत्तराखंड के निवासी हैं। कुछ इतिहासकारों ने लिखा है कि श्रीनेत वंश के किसी प्रसिद्ध व्यक्ति को राजा विक्रमादित्य ने ये पदवी दी थी जिससे यहां के लोग "शिरनेत" या  "श्रीनेत" कहे जाने लगे । कई पीढ़ियों के बाद चंद्रभाल के वंशज मकरंद सिंह श्रीनगर से गोरखपुर आए, यहाँ इन्हें रियासतों से बहुत से गाँव मिले जब इनका खानदान बढ़ा तब ये और भी गाँवों में फैलने लगे और यहां के लोग बांसगाँव के बाबू साहब क...
Read more

प्यार और खूबसूरती की व्याख्या !

मुझे उसे देखना पसंद है,  और उसे चांद की तरह दिखना पसंद है ! वो भी अपने दाग नहीं छुपाती,  आंखों में काजल माथे पर बिंदी नहीं लगाती, नरम होठों को उन्हीं के हाल पर छोड़ देती है,  मुस्कुराते ही समाज के सारे बांध तोड़ देती है, उसे कौन सिखाए संजना संवरना,  बदल ना जाए इस दुनिया का हाल वरना, मैं खुश हूं कि वो आईने से अपना हाल नहीं पूछती,  ये, वो, हां, नहीं बेफिजूल सवाल नहीं पूछती, सोचो अगर वो आंखों में काजल लगा ले,  एक दफा बस अपने उलझे बालों को सुलझा ले, फिर ये जमाना अपना रुख ना बदल दे,  ये हवाएं रुक ना जाए उसे देखने को कहीं! मैने जबसे उसे देखा है मैं हूं वहीं ! उसे देखा है जबसे होश आने लगा है, जमाने का सारा खौफ जाने लगा है, उसे कोई तोहफा देने को जी चाहता है, मगर उसके लायक कुछ कहां आता है, वो माथे पर बिंदी गालों पर रूज नहीं लगाती, वो कानों को झुमके के तले नहीं दबाती, उसे उड़ना पसंद है सोचता हूं उसको हवाएं दे दूं,  उसके पंखों को दिल की सदाये दे दूं, फिर सोचता हूं कि वो क्या करेगी मेरे इन फिजूल इशारों का, उसकी हँसी का तो अपना कारोबार है बहारों का, उसे मेरी ज...
Read more