Kottakudi –kurangani KOmbu thooki Ayyanar
Compiled by
P.R.Ramachander
(Based on
article in Shakthi Vikatan October issue .)
This temple is
situated in a village called Kurangani ,
which is 44 km from THeni, in the road going to Bodinayakkanoor and is the shore of Kottakudi
river. There is an interesting story behind this temple. In a village called Kottakudi near
Madurai, A young pretty girl went to
the pond to bring water,She was seen there by the King of Poojjayaru who
fell in love with her. He send word to her relatives that the girl should be
entrusted to him.Since the king was already married and had a child, her
relatives were not willing to do this
and so that the entire village moved
from there towards theni. But without informing them a young man went to trhe
king’s place and killed his child and
joined back the villagers. Since he was expecting an attack from the king he
went on telling them to walk quickly.
The villagers became suspicious and got
the truth out of that lad. But by that
time the king’s army had already surrounded them. Then the lad , whose name was
Karuthalaimudayar , asked them to hide
for safety behind a big rock, fought with the king’s army and killed all of them.When the
villagers e requested Karuthalaimudayar,
he refused them saying, “I have enjoyed
sacrificing of human beings and so I cannot live with you.” .Later the
villagers went to the spot and established a centre stoine in that place in memory of that great hero. They also brought a hand full of mud and established
a temple for their family God Called “Karkudai ayyanar.” And they
also named the place as KOttakudi, which was the name their original village. They started calling
this Ayyanar as “Kombu thooki Ayyanar (Ayyanar of lifted horn)”, possibly
because daily in the noon worship at
that temple , there is practice of blowing horns to summon the devotees. They also
consecrated idols of Vanapechi ,
Nagammal and Changili Karuppan below a fig (athi) tree in the temple.
Barren couples
believe that by tying a cradle on the fig tree, they would be blessed with babies. They also believe that if they
take the lime fruit given in the temple
after worship to their home, and add camphor and salt to its juice and spray that juice in their house, no evil
spirit can do anything to them, Also they believe that by offering
a dish made from rice , jiggery and shredded coconut to the God , All the civil and criminal cases troubling
them would be settled.
