ACHANKOVIL SREE DHARMASASTHA TEMPLE

ACHANKOVIL SREE DHARMASASTHA TEMPLE

Dear friends,

I visited Achhan kovil Sastha temple only once. I recollect my trip; I reached Tenkasi from Chennai at midnight. My brother had come along with my mother and a group of people from our village to Tenkasi a little earlier. We together visited the temple in the early morning. It  was in 1970's

Then the frequency of  buses were low to Achhankovil. Hence we had to return by a lorry visiting other temples.  There are  eight SHARP HAIRPIN BENDS on the snaky route.

The Sastha is as Grihastha with his two wives Poorna and Pushkala in this temple.

It is a temple of miracles. The sastha is vishahari [ protector from the venom of snakes]and the temple is open round the clock on account of this.

One of my cousins accidentally became speechless. He visited this  temple and prayed, tried to sing Sastha sthuthi. He regained his speech. He narrated this when he visited me in 2016.

Hope the reading of this compilation from different websites will give informative and interesting information about the temple.

Sincerely,

Gopala Krishnan 8-7-2020

1 Introduction

Achankovil Sastha Temple is a Hindu temple and one of the 108 Sasthalayas. It is also one among the famed Pancha Sastha temples in Kerala, the other four being Kulathupuzha, Aryankavu, Sabarimala and Kanthamala temples. It is near the source of the  Achankovil River, named after the locality.

2 Temple

It is located about 950 meters above sea level. Lord Sastha is the presiding deity of this temple and has great significance as a Sastha temple. It is believed that the idol of this temple has been installed by Lord Parasurama many centuries ago even before the Christian era.

As in Sabarimala temple, Achankovil temple also has eighteen steps. Lord Sastha/ Aiyanar preside there in the form of grihastha (married) and the idol faces east. The pratishta of Lord Sastha here is  different from that of other Sastha shrines in Kerala. . It is believed that Lord Parasurama created this temple after he got 'Darshan' from Lord Sastha.

3 Deity

The idol of this temple has miraculous powers and is believed to be made using Rudraksha. So, it is known as the 'Rudraksha Sila'.

He is depicted as a grihasthashrami (one who leads a married life) along with his two consorts Poorna and Pushkala.

The temple is famed for curing venomous Snake-bites and thus Sastha is often portrayed as a Mahavaidya (great physician).

People from different regions reach this temple to get the sandal-paste from the hand of the idol to treat different diseases. The left-hand of the idol holds Chandan, the sandalwood paste. Both the Chandan and the Theertha (holy water) in this temple have medicinal qualities effective to treat snake bites. Since the temple is surrounded by a large wall, wild animals cannot enter inside it. Achankovil Temple is on the Kerala border and its rituals and festivals have strong influence of Tamil Nadu.

4 Other deities

The temple holds a number of sub-deities like Malikappurathamma, Durga, Nagaraja, Nagayakshi, Ganapathi, Muruga, Karuppaswami, Karuppayi amma, Cheppanimundan, Chappanimaadan, Madanthevan, Kalamadan, Kochattinarayanan, Shingali bhootathan and Arukola.

The back portion of the temple has a Kavu where the Naga (serpent) deity is worshipped for the welfare.

5 Festivals

The festivals and rituals held here have strong Tamil roots.

The Thiruvutsavam (annual festival) and Mandala pooja is hosted in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December to January) for 10 days and celebrated in grand style.

Pushpabhisheka is conducted on 8th of Makaram. Revathy festival: Celebrated in the Malayalam month of Makaram, the major highlights of this festival is the Therottam or Chariot festival, Karuppanthullal and Chapparam procession held on the 9th day of the festival.

The main offering of the deity is Karuppanootu to appease Karuppaswami, a great friend of Sastha. The Therottam (chariot festival), Karuppanthullal and Chapparam procession held on the 9th day of festival are very much similar to the rituals in Tamil Nadu.

6 Achankovil River

The river flows close to the temple among rocks with high current.  One has to be cautious. Devotees take a dip/Refresh in the river and worship in the temple.

The river is by the confluence of the Rishimala, Pasukidamettu, and Ramakkalteri Rivers. The Anchankovil enriches the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala state. It joins with the Pamba River at Veeyapuram, in the Alappuzha district of Kerala. Achankovil is also the name of the forest area, which is the catchment area for this river, and of a small town situated in the Achenkovil forest area. The Achankovil village is not easily accessible;

My note- It flows through my town  and I bathed in it until I left  home.

8. Specialty of the temple

Unlike other Sastha temples in Kerala, no age barrier for women to enter the temple and climb up the 18 holy steps.

9 Some interesting information

The word Achan Kovil means the shrine of Achan, or in other words, the shrine of the Supreme Deity. One can thus find numerous ancient temples and religious places of great importance along the river route, such as Pandalam, which is considered to be the native place of Lord Ayyappa another incarnation.

The presence of these temples has dramatically served to enhance the popularity of the Achankovil River since tourists who visit the area get to witness not only some picturesque views but also to seek blessings from the Almighty and pray for their loved ones.

Large number of temples on the banks of the Achankovil River indicates that since time immemorial, the local inhabitants had identified the fertility of the river basin and the many advantages of staying here. Thus, they decided to settle down here, and consequently, with human settlement, many temples were also constructed here.

The Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple, built in dedication to Lord Shiva, is also situated on the river banks. This temple is believed to be more than 2200 years old and is made up entirely of black stones. The famous Chettikulangara Temple is also situated near this temple.

My note- I  read that many saivite devotees like Appar visiting the temple and singing is there in the inscriptions (Patal Petra idam)

One can also find the Chamakkavu Devi Temple, near Venmoney, on the river bank. Even though the temple is presently a Hindu Temple, historically it was a Buddhist place of worship.

It first transformed into a Vishnu temple, which was known as Sharnga-kavu, and later into a Devi temple.

The annual chariot festival and other traditions that take place in the temple correspond to the old Buddhist practices of "kettu kazhcha", which were later on assimilated into Hinduism in Kerala.