Myths

Urnanabha, the Brahmin, was an excellent sculptor. He was the son of the renowned celestial sculptor Viswakarma in the Krta Yuga. Umanabha would, with his skill, create whatever Lord Brahma created. Lord Brahma was annoyed with Urnanabha indulging in the activity that was entrusted to him by Lord Siva. Angry at the transgression of his duty, Lord Brahma cursed Urnanabha that he would be born' as a spider in the Bilwaka grove.

Repentant at what he has done, Umanabha prayed to Lord Brahma for his mercy. A pacified Lord Brahma, the lotus seated, indicated that Urnanabha would be freed from his curse when he, as a spider, served Lord Siva in the Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash. Urnanabha thus began his life as a spider in the Bilwaka grove yearning for Lord Siva's grace. One day, a devotee of Lord Siva was plucking leaves into a basket, for worship, from the tree where the spider was living. He went in to the river Suvarnamukhi to purify himself keeping the basket on the banks. When he came back to pick his basket of leaves, drops of water from his body fell on the leaf on which the spider was hiding. Immediately, he was reminded of the events in his previous birth that led to his present state. As the devotee was uttering each of the thousand names of Lord Siva and offering a leaf, the leaf behind which the spider was hiding, fell on the linga, and the spider came into contact with the linga. The spider thereupon climbed up a nearby tree.

As if the sculptor in Urnanabha, born as a spider, manifested again, the web was built to shield the linga from sun's rays. The spider stayed in the web, close to the Lord, and considered it its fortune to serve the Lord in such a manner. While the spider was thus serving the Lord, an incident took place as if to test the spider's devotion. The flame from one of the lamps close to the Linga, started rising. In his concern to protect the Lord, the spider, simpleton that he was, rushed down towards the flame. The Lord, pleased with the total devotion shown by the spider, appeared in front of the spider and asked him to seek a boon. Overwhelmed, the spider said that he desired to be liberated. The Lord granted his request, and as the legend goes, said to the spider, "As you have served me here as a spider-devotee, the name of this temple shall have 'Sri' as a suffix from now on". Even today, the web-like form seen close to the base of the linga is believed to be an image of what the' spider-devotee had weaved.

When we examine the various episodes presented in the Sivapurana, we notice the special place given to the serpent among all creatures. So much so that when serpents are mentioned, the images of Lord Siva bedecked with serpents comes to one's mind.
Once, long ago, the devas, proceeded to Mt. Kailash to have darshan of Lord Siva. At that time, Lord Siva, while setting His ornaments in order, found to His annoyment that the serpent was missing. With divya drshti, He noticed that the serpent had gone to Patalaloka to see his wife. The serpent came late to the abode of Lord Siva and incurred the wrath of the Lord who cursed him that as he had neglected his duty; he no longer deserved to remain in Mt. Kailash. So saying, the Lord banished the serpent to the earth.

The serpent prayed to the Lord to grant him mercy. The Lord, pacified, indicated to the serpent that he should proceed to the Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash and serves Him and that he would be liberated during the fight that he would have with an elephant.

As ordained by the Lord, the serpent reached the Bilwaka grove and began to worship,the Lord everyday with invaluable gems after purifying himself in the Suvarnamukhi River. He spread his hood to cover the linga from sun's rays and was serving the Lord with great devotion. We shall see how the serpent's life became entwined with an elephant's life and how the serpent was liberated

In Mt. Kailash, one of the Sivaganas, Hasthi by name once committed the sin of disturbing the privacy of the divine couple. This story instructs us the code of social conduct to be eschewed. Just as the serpent had to face the consequences of neglecting his duty, Hasthi had to suffer for his misconduct.

One day, ignoring the guards, Hasthi entered the private chamber of Lord Siva and Parvati. On seeing the sivagana, Parvati got angry and cursed him. When he pleaded for mercy, Parvati told him that only Lord Siva could help him. She asked him to proceed to Bilwaka grove in Dakshin Kailash and worship the Lord on the banks of river Suvarnamukhi with devotion and said that he would be liberated there.

The serpent and the elephant reached Bilwaka grove independently and went about their worship with devotion to the Lord ignorant of each other's presence. Each began to notice that the material they had placed for the worship was missing. Slowly they saw each other and began to develop suspicion and hatred against each other.

One day, the elephant was preparing for the worship and was cleaning the place with its trunk. The serpent, thinking that the elephant was his enemy, slipped into the elephant's trunk and went deep inside. The elephant, unable to bear the pain and discomfort, started beating her trunk against a rock. In this process, both died. In this manner, Lord Siva liberated these dumb devotees not only that, these dumb creatures were immortalised by the incorporation of their names into the name of the temple.
Even now, if one were to look closely at the linga, the tusks of the elephant can be seen at the base, a serpent can be seen in the middle and at the back, near the base, a spider web can be seen. We are told that as this linga is self-born it is considered very sacred and not touched even by the priests.

There lived a tribal couple, Naga, and Dutta, in the village called Vudumuru in Pothappinad. They were childless for a long time. By the grace of Lord Subrahmanya, a son, Tinna, was born to them. He learnt archery from his father. Once when he, along with his friends, Nama and Kama, went hunting for boar, he accidentally had darshan of Sri Kalahastheeswara and attained Mukti (became liberated)

We shall now take a brief look into his previous birth and of his deeds of bravery in the Dwapara Yuga. The story of Arjuna's severe penance to seek from the Lord the powerful Pasupathaastra in order to destroy enemies and to uphold the dharma of Kshatriyas serves as the origin to the story of Tinna's life. Just as we learn about the moral and social values from the lives of the serpent-devotee and the elephant¬devotee, we learn about ethical values from the life of Tinna.
We come to know from Goddess Parvati's utterances the truth that Mukti was destined for Arjuna only in the subsequent birth as Arjuna was fulfilling his duty as a warrior and had no other thought other than vanquishing enemies~ We are to understand from what the Primordial Shakti (Goddess Parvati) had to say regarding the two boons sought by Arjuna: one was to obtain the Pasupathaastra and the other was to attain Mukti. The manner in which Arjuna was granted the Pasupathaastra in Dwapara yuga and the manner in devotee of Siva, and finally about how he attained Mukti.

Tinna led the life of a hunter. Once, as part of his worship of Vana devata (Goddess of forests), he set out to hunt for an animal to be sacrificed to the Goddess. In his wanderings, he came into the Bilwaka grove and stumbled upon Sri Kalahastheeswara.
Surprised and saddened to find Sri Kalahastheeswara at such a remote place, Tinna wondered how long the Lord would have gone without food. He immediately set about catching small creatures in the neighbhourhood and offered the raw meat to the Lord. He offered water brought from the nearby Suvarnamukhi River along with the raw meat. This went on for some time. One day he was pained to see that his offerings were not accepted by the Lord. Pleading repeatedly to the Lord to partake his offerings, he fell asleep exhausted. The Lord woke up Tinna and accepted his offerings. Tinaa was very happy and ate what was left. This went on for some time.

How these events caused displeasure to a Brahmin devotee of Siva and how Lord Siva subjected Tinna to a test will be described below:

In sharp contrast to Tinna's devotion to Lord Siva, the brahmin devotee purified himself by bathing in the Suvarnamukhi river, clothed himself with a fresh ochre robe, wore a rudraksha mala (a rosary), bathed the Siva linga with water from the river and worshipped Lord Siva with all the necessary materials.

He was pained to see meat in the vicinity of the Siva linga and pleaded with the Lord for an explanation failing which he would sacrifice his life.

Lord Siva consoled the devotee saying, bhakta! Tinna serves me food everyday with great devotion. If you wish to know the sincerity of his devotion, you may test him." The Brahmin devotee was overcome with joy at hearing his prayer answered. Wishing to test Tinna's devotion, he hid himself in a corner and waited to observe Tinna's activities closely.

Soon Tinna came there. He brought meat and a mouthful of water from the Suvarnamukhi River. Placing the food before the Lord, he apologised for the delay in bringing the food and requested the Lord to accept his offering. There was no reply. Repeated requests were of no avail. Tinna saw tears streaming down the eyes of the Lord. Immediately, Tinna proceeded to make a paste of leaves and seeds of medicinal plants and applied it on the Lord's eyes. Soon, instead of tears, blood started streaming down the eyes of the Lord. On seeing this, Tinna swiftly took an arrow from his quill, gouged his eyeball, and placed it on the Lord's eye.

The Brahmin devotee watched the turn of events with awe. To prove Tinna's devotion further, Lord Siva had blood streaming down the other eye too. Tinna unhesitatingly gouged his other eyeball and placed on the Lord's eye, guiding himself with the help of right foot placed on the linga. In joy, he exclaimed, "O Lord! From now on, your vision is my vision!" Immensely pleased with Tinna's sacrifice, the divine couple appeared before him and praised his single-minded devotion. Turning to the Brahmin devotee, Lord Siva said, "0 Brahmin! Are your doubts cleared now? Do you not see how sincere his devotion is? Do you know who he really is? He is none other than Arjuna, the Pandava, in the previous birth. In the previous birth he desired to attain Mukti and so he took this birth and is being liberated." The Brahmin devotee realising his mistake said, "O Lord! Today my ego and pride have been destroyed. I am fortunate to have your darshan and have nothing else to seek in life."

Lord Siva comforted the Brahmin devotee and said, "From now on, you shall be one with me. You shall be liberated." So saying the divine couple vanished.

This is the story of how Tinna came to be Bhakta Kannappa for offering his eyes to the Lord. Even today, one can see a stone image of Bhakta Kannappa in the Sanctum Sanctorum of Sri Kalahasthi temple.

When the hermits of Bilwaka grove pleaded with Sage Agastya on lack of water, he brought river Akash Ganga to the earth. As ordained by Lord Siva, Akash Ganga flowed as Suvarnamukhi and sanctified the temple at Sri Kalahasthi.

According to another legend, Lord Siva directed Sage Vashishta to proceed, along with Arundhati, to Sri Ka1ahasthi in the south. Sage Vashishta finding that there was no water in the vicinity undertook a penance invoking Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma approached Lord Siva and told Him about the cause of Sage Vashishta's penance. Thereupon Lord Siva unlocked Ganga from his matted hair and allowed her to follow Brahma. Gangadevi sparkling in golden hue rushed to the place where Sage Vashishta lived. Thus, the river here got its name Suvarnamukhi. Lord Siva made his abode in the north as Viswanatha on the banks of river Ganga in Varanasi and in the south, as Sri Kalahastheeswara on the banks of river Suvarnamukhi.

We come to understand from all the legends and folklore that the Suvarnamukhi River is a sacred river, like the Ganges, and is the remover of sins and purifies anyone bathing in it.

The importance of this river can also be gauged from the social custom people practice of immersing the ashes of the deceased to liberate the souls of the ancestors.

The wise consider that the place where a temple is, located on the banks of a river flowing in the northerly direction as sacred. Sri Kalahasthi temple dedicated to Lord Siva and his consort Jnanaprasoonambika situated; on the banks of the Suvarnamukhi River flowing in the northerly direction is therefore regarded as very sacred.

• The Story of Lord Vinayaka's Idol located in the depths of the Suvarnamukhi river bed :

Sakthi is the manifestation of Omkara. In addition, sound is the manifestation of Sakthi. Lord Vinayaka, remover of obstacles, chief of the sivaganas, is a, manifestation of Sakthi. It is believed that every undertaking, to proceed without obstacles, should begin with the worship of Lord Vinayaka.

Countless are the miracles associated with Lord Vinayaka. Among the numerous legends relating to these, the story of His manifestation deep in the Suvarnamukhi riverbed is one.

The legend has it that Suvarnamukhi River dried up once because Sage Agastya did not worship Lord Vinayaka when he came to Dakshin Kailash. Realising his mistake, the Sage worshipped and obtained Lord Vinayaka's blessings.

As the image of the Lord appeared to be as deep as Hades in the riverbed, the image came to be known as Patala Vinayaka. The sanctum sanctorum for Lord Vinayaka, at a depth of 35 ft below the ground, can be found to be on the left as one proceeds through the northern Gopuram of Sri Kalahsthi temple. It can be reached by descending a flight of 20 steps.

We understand from this that we should first obtain the blessings of Lord Vinayaka, eldest son of Lord Siva.

Of the 108 sacred Spots devoted to Sakti (feminine aspect of the godhead), the sacred spot of Goddess Jnana Prasunambika signifies Jalandhara. It is said that she also represents an aspect of Santanalakshmi. Legend has it that Lord Vishnu had created 108 sacred spots devoted to Sakti with the Sudarshana chakra.

When Satidevi gave up her body in the fire during Daksha's Yajna and Lord Siva was carrying her body on his shoulder, Lord Vishnu with his Sudarshana chakra divided the body into 108 parts and the places where these fell have, it is believed, transformed into these 108 sacred spots. It is said that the skull portion was brought by Vishnu to Sri Kalahasthi in Dakshin.

Of recent origin is the worship being conducted at Sri Kalahasthi temple for people seeking protection against Sarpadosha (death/ harm due to a serpent) and for people for whom there is delay in getting married.

Worship of Raahu and Ketu is also being conducted at Sri Kalahasthi temple. On Sunday and Tuesday, community worship is conducted. For the childless, there is the 'Uyala Seva' being conducted for the goddess.

• Other places of Interest

• Bharadwaja Tirtham: It is situated to the east of Sri Kalahasthi temple. It is amidst three hills. It is a pilgrim centre. To the south of the temple, atop a hill there is the sannidhi of Panchamukheswara. Some sculptures can be seen there. Maharishi Bharadwaja is said to have meditated here in the Krtha Yuga.
• The neighborhood of Sri Kalahasthi Temple: Suka Brahmaashrama, Bhakta Kannappa hospital, and westward from the temple, Kumaraswami temple. Varadarajasami temple in the centre of the town and Chakreshwara temple are some of the important places.
• The hill with thousand lingas: Here there is a big linga on which thousand lingas can be seen. It is located about 7 km south of Sri Kalahasthi
• There are five lamps signifying the sacred five¬lettered word Namasivaya in the temple for the main deity in Sri Kalahasthi.