Sri Nagapooshani Amman Shakti Peeth Temple, Sri Lanka

Address

Sri Nagapooshani Amman Shakti PeethTemple, Main St, Nainativu, Sri Lanka

Diety

Shakti:Indrakshi Bhairava:Rakshaseshwar (Nayanair) Body part or ornament:Silambu (anklets)

Introduction

NainativuNagapoosani Amman Temple is an ancient and historic Hindu temple located 36 km from the ancient capital of the Jaffna kingdom, Nallur, Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to Parvati who is known as Indrakshior Nagapooshani or Bhuvaneswari and her consort, Shiva who is named here as Rakshaseshwar (Nayanair). It is believed to be the place where the silambu (anklets) of Gauri had fallen.

Puranic Significance

It is believed that the Silambu (anklets) of Mother Sati fell at this place. ANOTHER STORY OF SATI: In Hindu mythology, the son of Brahma, King Prajapati Daksha had a daughter named Sati.Princess Sati grew up adoring the legends and tales of Shiva, and when finally her age of getting married came, she knew it was only the ascetic Lord Shiva of Kailash where her heart and soul resided.Soon enough, Daksha’s daughter left her father’s luxuries and palace and began her meditation to win Shiva’s heart.She performed intense penance in dense forests and renounced food completely. When she finally pleased Shiva through her austerities, the lord of Kailash appeared in front of her and agreed to marry her. The legend goes that Sati and Shiva were happy in their marital bliss, but their marriage had not gone down too well with King Daksha, who considered ascetic Shiva nothing short of an uncouth lad who lives a hermit’s life not worthy of his daughter. So when Daksha organized a great yajna, he invited all the deities, gods and sages–but consciously excluded his son-in-law Shiva to insult him. Hurt by her father’s decision, Sati decided to visit her father and demand the reason for not inviting them. When she entered Daksha’s palace, she was bombarded with insults directed towards the Shiva.Haughty and proud King Prajapati Daksha called him all sorts of names right from a dishevelled god who hung out in graveyard to the supposed ‘lord of the beasts’. Unable to bear anything against her husband, a devastated Goddess Sati threw herself in the glowing scared fire of yajna.When Shiva’s attendants informed him about the demise of his wife, he grew enraged and created Veerbhadra from a lock of his hair. Veerbhadra created havoc in Daksha’s palace and killed him.Meanwhile, mourning his beloved soulmate’s death, Shiva tenderly held Sati’s body and started his dance of destruction (taandav). To save the universe and bring back Shiva’s sanity, Lord Vishnu cut Sati’s lifeless body using Sudharshan Chakra into 51 pieces.

Festivals

The most important festival associated with the temple is the 16-day-long Mahostavam (Thiruvizha) that is celebrated in annually in the Tamil month of Aani (June/July). During this period, there are a number of events including the SwarnaRatholsavam (“ManjaThiruvizha”; golden chariot festival), Ratholsavam (“TherThiruvizha”; chariot festival) and Poongavanam (“TheppaThiruvizha”; float festival). Major Hindu festivals like Navratri and Shivratri attract thousands of devotees. Like most Shakti temples in Tamilakam, the Fridays during the Tamil months of Aadi (July–August) and Thai (January – February) are given special importance at this temple. AadiPooram, the day Parvati is said to have attained puberty, and become a mother to all her devotees is marked in grand manner at this temple.