Nagercoil, the name of which is derived from the five headed serpent shrine of Nagaraja, is situated in the heart of Kanyakumari district. Besides the presiding deity Nagaraja, the image of Siva and Ananthakrishna have been enshrined in the Arthamandapa and the pillarsof the mandapa bear carved figures of Jain Thirthankaras Parsavanth and Mahavira. The beautiful main gateway of the temple known as Mahamerumaligai reminds us of the Buddhist monastery. Thus the temple stands as an embodiment of the four creeds of Indian religion Saivism, Vaishnavism, Jainism and finally Buddhism.
The out standing feature of the temple is that the sanctum Sanctorum is surrounded by walls of mud and has over it a simple roof thatched with coconut leaves and bamboo sticks. The exact place where the image of the five-headed serpent is enshrined is perpetually marshy. The sand scooped out of this place is distributed to the devotees as prasadam. Even though there are plenty of cobras inside the temple no fatal case of snake bite has ever occured anywhere around the area.
0 comments:
Post a Comment