Kumbabishekam at Koneswaram
We are blessed indeed to witness this Kumbabishekam at Koneswaram. Koneswarar (Lord Shiva) with his consort Hamsahamanampiga Mathumamba Devi (Parvathi) bless us all at all places at all time.Today on this auspicious day I am very much pleased to have been previllaged to share with you all the Grace of Lord Parvathy Parameswara and Parvathy Paramesway.
Koneswaram, Trincomalee is situated at 8º 35´ N / 81º 11´ E Latitude / Longitude
as same as some of the holy Hindu shrines such as Mount Kailas at 31º 4´ / N / 81º 18´ E, Thiruvannamalai
at 12º 13´ N /79º 4´ E, Chithamparam at 11º
23´ N / 79º
41´ E and
Kathirkamam at 6º 24´
/ 81º20´.
You can notice that all these shrine are lying in a sraight line some what
nearly close to same Longitude line.
The American geologist Paul Robson stated Thiruvannamalai
as the first Lava thrown out of the crust of the earth. Koneswaram could also
could have been a portion of the same lava.
Dashing Kailasa Manmiyam Dachana Kailasortpathi kandam in
Skandapurana the book that belongs to the 5th century before Christ
speaks of the period when Dakshina Kailas,
Koneswaram came into existance.
Vayu Devan ( God of Wind ) for the betterment and
prosperity of the world at large established this Dakshina Kailasa mountain ( Konewaram _ South Kailas ) on the
North of the Thirikooda mountain. Trincomalee is also known as Thiree Kona Malai meaning three mountains in an
angle _ a triangle of three hills. Konesa Malai ( Swamy Rock )_ Fort
Fredric: Kandasamy mallai
_Austernberg and Uvar Malai ( Orrr”s Hill) Pantaian Point.
The sanskrit sloka reads as “ On the auspicious day in
Vasantha rithu (Spring ) i the month of
Chitrai ( April ) on a Sunday when the nakshatra the constalation was Hastha
on Virutha yoga,on a Full_Moon day at the auspicious hour rulled by Jupiter (
Guru Horraa ) and the Lagna being Rishaba ( Taurus ) when the Sun enered the
Trpic of Capricurn ( Makara – Utharayana )
Lieutenant colonel G.P.Thomas R.A. In his book “The
History of Trincomalee” written and published by him in August 1940,
states. “ The story of Trincomalee begins so far back in the dim ages, that
much of it is lost; and what remains is in the form of poetry and legends”.
Further he says, “ The date of the building of the original temple is recorded
in a Tamil poem by Kavi Raja Varotayan as 1589 B.C.”
further Lieut_colonel G.P.Thomas, notes in his book, that
“the beautiful temple at Konesar Malai ( Trincomalee ) was demolished by Constantine
de Sa, and its delicately sculptured stones and pillars formed into the
ramparts of Fort Fredric”.
It was on the Tamil_Hindu New year in April 1623 the
temple was destroyed by the Portuguese.
From that time onward people deserted the place and only
after 1802 when Ceylon became a crown
colony, peace prevailed, religious villages regained and the worship of
Koneswaram would have commenced.
_
It was pre_war days. It was before the Japanese raid
before Trincomalee was Bombed by the Japanese in April 1942. It was round about
1938, could remember going to Koneswaram for worship on Fridays. Devotes were
allowed to perform poojas only on Fridays and Mondays. That too escorted with the British army.
Mondays poojas were performed by Brahmin
Priest Brahma Sri Sivasubramania Kurukkal and Fridays poojas performed
byVaitheeswara Kurukal,Sangama priest.
At that tine we
were living near the Inner Harbour just in front of the present
Telecommunication Office, earlier site for the Trincomalee Post Office, which
was functioning at that in the present
Divisional Secretariat where old Trincomalee Kachcheri was. It was our maternal home for three
generations,We were the fourth generation that occupied that home. As far as I
could recollect it would have been 1938 or so I was 3 years old then. We used
to go in a bucket cart drawn by a bull. The cart would go up to the Gate of
fort Fredric. There after we have to line up in que. The priest in the front as
the first person in the que and then the helpers of the priest and there after
the devotes with their families. The small door attached to the Main big gate
of the Fort Fredric wii be opened, and we have to bend our body and one by
one have to gain entrance into the fort.
When the whole crowed had accessed the fort
the lined up que will be escorted by the British military personels, and all of
us have to march up to Swamy Rock; There we flock together near the edge of the
mountain looking at the open sky and looking down the vast blue water of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
The priest starting to perform pooja standing down on a rock climbing down
where a Kal_aal a tree which is even present today which is the sthala virucham
of Kneswaram. The sthala theertham being Papanaasam which is situated inside Fort
Fredric at Mango groove near Ettna Barack. The sthala Moor thy is Mathumamabiga
sametha Konanatha swamy, sung by the saivaite saint Thhirugnanasambanthar in
the 7th century. Till 1950 or so the pooja was performed at the same Rock
facing the North over laping on to the
sea. Even to this day it is continued, and is known as Malai pooja, meaning the worship of the Mount. Or
worship at or on the mount.
And it was on a
Thursday in the early hours of forenoon on the 27 Th of July 1950, Incompatible Urban Council
employers were digging a well for the people
residing at the North Coast Road Incompatible. It was awesome. The
workers struck at some metal object at the depth of three feet from the ground.
To the great surprise they excavated three bronze statues. One the premier
object a statue of Lord Shiva _ Samarkand Tamworth the other the statue of the
consort of Somaskanda and the third Chandrasekara moortham. This incident made
a great explicit change not only to Koneswaram but to every and single soul of
the entire Hindu community around the world
These three statues were taken
around whole of Trincomalee District. Before they were taken around they were
placed at Mr.N.R.Rajawarothayam”s
house,who escorted the dieties taken around Trincomalee District for dharsan of each and every villages within
Trincomalee Distruct. Mr. S.Sivapalan, the first Member of Parliament and being the president
of the Pnarutharana sabai of Koneswaram temple (Restoration Committee of
Konesar temple ) could not go around with the deities due to his load of work.
I had a chance of viewing the deities late at night on a day at the house at
Green Road am really blesses ed to have accommodated the three Holy statues at that particular
house where my mother Gnanambikai Sandrasegarampillai was born.Another four statues had been found a few months
early and the story came up that they were excavated entwined amongst the root of a coconut tree.
The four of them were Ganesha; seated Parvathy and a Thrisulam and a statue of
the bird hamsam (Annam); Somewhere in 1946 when I was 11 years old and studying
in the sixth standard at St. Joseph's College, Trincomalee, we as students
heard that two statues of stones, Vishnu and Luxmy were
excavated and is placed at the Health Unit Office near the Viloontry Kandaswamy Temple at the Customs
Road. With my ckass mates went and saw these deities. Vishnu was broken into
two pieces at the hip. These two statues were installed at Koneswaram and
poojas are performed now.
In 1963, after a lapse of 140 years of embellishment the
new temple stood up and the first
Unmistakable took place under the patronage of Mr,N.R Throwaway. In 1964 for
the first Mahottsavam of the Lord Our
God Lord Hamsahamanambiga Mathumama sametha Konanatha Swamy Kodyettam
under the patronage of Dr.S.Sithiravelu, as president I had had the Blessings
for the privilege of supplying Kusha Grass ( Thatpai} for continue sly for
three years. I was working at the Magistrate”s Court, Kandy and on the request
of Dr.S.Sithiravelu I with great
pleasure send the Thatpai from Kandy for the first Mahottsavam commenced after 140 long years.
In 1965 I was in Trincomalee District Court and got down the thatpai for 1965
from Kandy. For 1966 Mahottsavam I got down the Thatpai from Anuradhapura.
Now as far as this
Kumbabishekam is concerned it is a rpetation of the Kumbabishekam performed
once in every 12 years. The Lord the God is all prevading. He is: He was: He
will be
It is That that Is: This All pervading God is in the
Atmosphere, by the recital of Mantras due to the High frequency of vibration
creates spiritual energy which is bright down through the wind and to the fire
and by nadi santhanam through the thread passes on into the water inside the
Kumbam that is placed in the Yajgna (Fire worship) performed. Each and every deities and each and every
kalasams placed on top of each and every shrines are too bathed by the holy
water. It is stated that if the Kumbabisheka is not performed once in twelve years
after the period of twelve years the
Divine power installed will leave the dieties and stay at the Flag post for a
period of twelve years. And if the Kumbabisheka is not performed for within
another twelve years the Divine energy sanctified would leave the flag post and
will remain at the main Kopuram for
another period of twelve years. If the
kumbabisheka is not performed for another period of another twelfve years the
sanctified energy would stay at the sthala viruksha for another twelve years. Even after this if
kumbabisheka is not performed within another twelve years it will stay for
another period of twelve years in the sthala theertha. Thereafter the divine
energy retained by the sanctified vibrations of mathras will dwindle away after
a lapse of sixty years.
Be Lords presence be felt by all and every one on this
auspicious day. May Lord Hamasahamanambika Mathumaambiga Devi sametha
Konanatheswarar shower His Divine Blessing s to you One and All.
Thank you
Sandrasegarampillai
Jayachandren
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