Thirunelli Temple and Papanasini
Thirunelli Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Maha
Vishnu on the side of Brahmagiri hill in Kerala. The temple is at an altitude
of about 900 meters in north Wayanad in a valley surrounded by mountains and
beautiful forests. It is 32 kilometers away from Manathavady.
There is only limited historic
and archaeological information on the place, though it is beyond
dispute, that Thirunelli was once an important town and pilgrim center in the
middle of an inaccessible jungle valley surrounded by mountains on four sides .
There exists records proof that Thirunelli at the time of Tamil Chera king
Bhaskara Ravi Varma I (962–1019 CE) was an important town and pilgrim center in
South India. In the dense jungles surrounding temple, the ruins of two ancient
villages can be found. Noted historian V. R. Parameswaran Pillai in his book
Thirunelli Documents states that this temple was once an integral part of the
early recorded history of Kerala.
The Malabar Manuel, written by
William Logan too has mentions on the place. While laying roads to the place,
it is said that, people got coins which dated back to 9th and 10th centuries,
indicating the importance of the place during the reign of Kulasekhara. All
these facts show that Thirunelli was an important town and pilgrim centre in
north Kerala for centuries.
The temple is believed to have
been built by Lord Brahma. He was travelling round the earth upon a swan and
noticed the enchanting beauty of the Brahmagiri Hills. He descended on the spot
and found an idol of Vishnu under an Amla tree. He installed the idol there and
called the temple Sahyamalaka temple. Lord Vishnu, as per the request of Lord
Brahma, made the waters of the area also sacred and blessed it with the
capability to wash away all sins. Hence, the river there is known as
Papanasini, meaning the stream that washes away all sins. According to some
other legends, the King of Birds, Garuda, was flying with Amritakumbha, (the
pot of Amrut, the nectar of life) above Thirunelli when Lord Brahma was consecrating
Vishnu’s idol. Garuda circled over the place and a few drops of Amrut fell into
the stream nearby, thus making the Papanasini to attain the power for purifying
sins.
People believe that Lord Brahma
worships Perumal in the temple on the wee hours every day, hence the head priest of the temple leaves a fresh quantity
of worshiping materials required for pooja in the temple before closing the
temple at night. The name of the place too is derived from this legend –
Thirunelli means the holy gooseberry in Malayalam. The
reference to the Sahyamalaka temple, in the beautiful Sahya Valley can be seen
in many ancient Puranas and Hindu texts.
Papanasini
It is a stream that
originates from the Brahmagiri Hills which later joins River Kalindi. It is
almost 400 mtrs away from the temple, on its
western side. Literally it
means, extinguisher of sins. It is believed that River Ganga and River
Saraswathi join in Papanasini. Therefore Papanasini is called the Southern
Kashi. A ritual dip in Papanasini is believed to wash one away, of all worldly
sins committed in a life time. If we immerse the ashes of the dead in
Papanasini, it is equivalent to that of doing Karmas(Rituals ) in Gaya. At
Papanasini there is a sacred rock called Pinnappara where ritual offerings to
the spirits of the departed are made (known as bali). People believe that
Parasurama, the famous incarnation of Lord Vishnu visited Thirunelli and
performed last rites at the death of his father sage Jamadagni. He also took
immersion in the Papanasini to wipe away sins committed owing to the
annihilation of Kshatriyas
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