Started by Dharmaraja
“The custom was began by Dharmaraja, the successor of Marthanda Varma, the trendy architect of Travancore, after he initiated the method of shifting the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram within the 1770s, which was accomplished in 1795,” mentioned A.Ok. Perumal, creator of Thenkumariyin Kathai (The History of Kanniyakumari within the South).
The deities are nonetheless carried by males on their shoulders all the way in which to Thiruvananthapuram from Suchindram, the place the journey of Munnurrunankai Amman begins with state honours and a police salute, earlier than reaching Padmanabhapuram. Kumaraswamy from Kumarakoil, not removed from the Padmanabhapuram Palace, meets Her on the way in which, and collectively they attain the palace for an in a single day rendezvous. From the palace, all of the three proceed to Thiruvananthapuram over three days.
“The procession is led by the ‘udavaal’ (ceremonial sword) of Marthanda Varma, which is stored within the archives of the Padmanabhapuram Palace. It is the sword the king positioned earlier than the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, pledging to rule the nation on behalf of the deity,” mentioned Mr. Perumal.
Handing over the sword
Every yr, a Minister from Kerala answerable for the Devaswom Board visits Padmanabhapuram and fingers over the sword to a Tamil Nadu Minister or a senior official of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board. They, in flip, hand it over to the one who will carry it to Thiruvananthapuram. Munnurrunankai Amman and Lord Kumaraswamy are carried on palanquins, whereas the idol of Goddess Saraswathi is carried on a adorned elephant.
“The Saraswathi idol was worshipped by Tamil poet Kambar, the creator of Kambaramayanam. According to Travancore custom, the idol was given to the ancestors of the Travancore kings,” mentioned historian M.G. Sasibooshan, who additionally served because the honorary director of the Swathi Thirunal Museum. Mr. Perumal agreed with the native custom that Kambar, after falling out with the Chola king, went to the Chera nation and lived underneath the patronage of Chera kings.
After a keep at Kulithurai, on the border of Tamil Nadu, the deities attain Neyyattinkara and proceed to Thiruvananthapuram. According to a report in The Hindu this yr, the idols of Goddess Saraswathi (mounted on a caparisoned elephant), Lord Kumaraswamy (atop a silver horse), Munnurrunankai Amman (in a adorned palanquin), and the ceremonial sword (carried on the entrance of the procession) have been welcomed at a reception held at Killipalam by the State authorities with the assist of the Union Ministry of Tourism. As many as 30 members of the Women’s Police Battalion gave a guard of honour to the procession.
Later, members of the Travancore royal household acquired the idols on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The idol of Goddess Saraswathi and the ‘udavaal’ are put in on the Navaratri Mandapam, the place the music pageant takes place. The idol of Lord Kumaraswamy and the 1,000-kg silver horse are put in on the Aryasala Devi Temple, whereas the idol of Munnurrunankai Amman and the palanquin are positioned on the Chenthitta Devi Temple till October 4.
Codified by way of songs
Writing in The Hindu, vocalist Prince Rama Varma mentioned Swathi Thirunal, the king and composer of Travancore, codified the Navaratri celebrations by composing 9 beautiful songs to be sung on the 9 evenings.
Mr. Sasibooshan mentioned the Navaratri pageant had taken place at Mavelikara in 1755, 1788, 1789, 1791, and 1804, and as soon as at Haripad. “It was through the invasion of Tipu Sultan that King Dharmaraja was tenting within the northern a part of Kerala. This necessitated the shifting of the venue, and the deities have been carried all the way in which from Kanniyakumari to Mavelikara,” he mentioned.
A break within the pageant in Thiruvananthapuram occurred when Swathi Thirunal quickly shifted the celebrations to Padmanabhapuram. “Practical compulsions pressured him to revert the occasions to Thiruvananthapuram, and he made an apology to the deity for his lack of ability to organise it at Padmanabhapuram. The final time the pageant was held at Padmanabhapuram was in 1838,” Mr. Sasibhooshan mentioned. The significance of the Padmanabhapuram Palace declined quickly as soon as it ceased to be the everlasting venue of the Navaratri pageant.
Request to Kamaraj
Mr. Perumal mentioned that even after Kanniyakumari was added the State of Madras, the custom continued after King Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma made a request to Madras Chief Minister Ok. Kamaraj. “Even immediately, temples in Kanniyakumari district observe the tantric worship, and pujas are carried out by both Namboothiris or Tulu Brahmins generally known as Potris,” he mentioned.
