SRI #VADIRAJA VIRACHITA “#TEERTHA #PRABANDHA” ಶ್ರೀ ವಾದಿರಾಜ ವಿರಚಿತ “#ತೀರ್ಥ #ಪ್ರಬಂಧ”

SRI  #VADIRAJA VIRACHITA “#TEERTHA #PRABANDHA”

ಶ್ರೀ ವಾದಿರಾಜ ವಿರಚಿತ “#ತೀರ್ಥ #ಪ್ರಬಂಧ”

KANYAKUMARI/ಕನ್ಯಾಕುಮಾರಿ

ಯಾ ಸೂತೇ ಸೇವಮಾನಾನಾಂ ಭಾಗ್ಯಾರೋಗ್ಯಾಪುನರ್ಭವಾನ್|

ಕನ್ಯಾ ಕಿಲೇಯಮ್ ತೀರ್ಥಂ ಚ ಕನ್ಯಾತೀರ್ಥಮಿದಂ ಕಿಲ||32||

YA sUtE sEvamAnAnAm BhAgyArOgyApunarBhavAn|

KanyA kilEyam teerTham cha kanyAteerThamidam kila||32||

या सूतॆ सॆवमानानां भाग्यारॊग्यापुनर्भवान्।

कन्या किलॆयं तीर्थं च कन्यातीर्थमिदं किल॥३२॥

SUMMARY: Goddess Kanyakumari and the holy waters Kanyateertha bestow upon the devotees wealth and health. When she or they (Kanyakumari as well as Kanyateertha) deliver health and wealth, how can she/they still be treated as virgins?

This is only a praise offered to Kanyakumari in an indirect way in a lighter verin.

Sri Kanyakumari is about 60 miles from Tirunelveli. Kanyakumari is an island and a very popular pilgrimage. Having bath in Kanyakumari is considered to be very sacred and mandatory. Even touching the waters in Kanyakumari is very auspicious and drives away all sins.

Kanyakumari is the Southern tip of the subcontinent of India. It has Bay of Bengal on one side, Arabian Sea on another and Indian Ocean in the front side. Therefore, it is a confluence of three oceans and hence very holy. The Sunrise and Sunset provide an enchanting spectacle here.

There are several holy ponds called Savitri Teertha, Gayitri Teertha, Saraswati Teerth and so on. The Papavinashishi Teertha located in the northern side of the temple contains potable water.

One has to pass through sevral doors to have the Darshan of Goddess Kanyakumari, a very charming and attractive statue beholding a garland in one hand.

Mythologically, Goddess Parvathi incarnated as a Kanya, unmarried virgin girl, to kill Banasura, who was born in this place and had secured a blessing that he could only be killed by an unmarried girl. After killing Banasura, the goddess did penance and married Lord Shiva, with whom her marriage had once been cancelled because of a trick played by Narada Muni, who wanted the demon Bana to be killed. Bana had defeated Indra and other deities, besides creating havoc among other good people, Rishis, Munis and so on.

It is believed that the statue of Kanyakumari was consecrated by Lord Parashurama. Kanyakumari is one among the 52 Shakti Peethas. Kanyakumari is known by several names including Shakti, Bhadrakali and so on.

As directed by his master Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda sought blessings of Kanyakumari before embarking on his spiritual journey. Several Sanyasis had come here and performed years of penance.

Sri Vadirajaru has blessed us with three more stanzas dedicated to Sri Kanyakumari, which will be provided with meaning in the next episode.      

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