Kolli Pavai
Compiled by
P.R.Ramachander
Kolli Malai is a
small mountain range near Namakkal of Tamil Nadu .Literally it means “Mountain of death”. There is a famous Shiva
temple on the top of Kollimalai called “arapaleswarar
temple”. There are lot of references to this mountain in ancient Tamil
Literature. There is abelief that , this place was connected to the Great
philanthrophist Val Vil Ori in the ancient
times. On the way to this temple
is a village Called Poonthottam(Flower
garden). Four km from this village is
the mysterious Kollipavai temple. Literally
he name means , “Maiden of death”. She is not in a temple but in a hut with
palm leaf roof. This hut does not have any doors also She has a very enigmatic smile that attracts all. This idol also has eight
legs and is also called Ettu Kal amman (Goddess with eight legs) . It seems
there are references to this Goddess in
Sipaadhikaram , one of the ancient tamil epic. The idol is always covered with
sandal paste. The anointing of the idol by sandal paste is done by her priest
behind a curtain.
It is believed
that in Kolli Malai large number of
herbs and medicines , grow and lot more
are buried in caves and pits in the mountains. It is believed that Many
saints and Sidhas are doing penance on the top of the mountain.. The famous
Saint Gorakh Nath is supposed to have his cave on this mountain. These saints
requested The Asura architect Maya to
make a idol which would attract all bad
people and kill them and they called
the idol, “The maid of death.” AS soon as that idol gets the scent of bad
people or asuras , it seems she attracts them by her smile and kills them. But the priest of the temple says
that Kolli Pavai is the Goddess
providing protection to all the villagers in that area. He anoints the idol with sandal paste and then runs and jumps all round her shouting and also dances, Then he shows the
camphor Light to the Kolli Pavai , wears in a trance a wooden sandal with three inch
long nails and sharp iron pieces and
answers all the questions posed by the
devotees of the Goddess. After getting rid of the trance , he kgives Prasada of
sacred ash to all her devotees.
People believed
that The Sidhas who come to collect
rare medicinal herbs from the mountain,
first take permission from Kolli Pavai
, go and collect the herbs, bring them back and take permission of Kolli
Pavai to use them. They believed that
the full effect of the herbs collected
could be experienced only if they follow this method.
Some information
about this Goddess is available in
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