Bhilavadi Kaththaayee
Amman
Stated to be
incarnation of Parvathi , she appears in Chittadi in the form of Kaththayee and
relieves the sufferings of her devotees. Kaththayee Amman is Valli devi and
Kaththyayini Amman is Parvathi. Similarity in name sometime causes confusion to
many. However this temple has been built only for Valli, consort of Lord Murugan
and affectionately called Kaththayee though both the deities Kaththayee and
Kaththyayini ( Pachai Vazhi Amman ) find their place here. Two very interesting
legends surrounding Kaththayee and Kaththyayini are in vague . Parasakthi
protected her devotees against evils and gave darshan to her faithful devotees
in several forms and governed the universe from immortal times. Here in Chittadi
she came as Kaththayee to alleviate their sufferings. From the
inscriptions
and documents available in the Tanjore Saraswathi mahal Library the land 400
year old temple for Kaththayee Amman ( Valli ) exists in a place called
Bilavadi,a small helmet in the outskirt of Kumbakonam in Tiruvarur district of
Tamilnadu. The place where it has been built was earlier known as Chittadi. It
is difficult to explain the mystics of the temple which has beautiful
structures. The temple lies in a sprawling field in the southern part of river
bed Mudikontan. to the temple was reportedly donated in the year 1577, to a
saint by Sevvappa Naicker erstwhile King of Tanjore . The place has been
recorded as Avanam Chittadi.
Valli alias kaththayee Amman-
Legend
The
interesting story of Kaththayee goes as thus. Once upon a time, in the midst of
a gathering in Devaloga ( Heaven ), two drops of tears fell from the eyes o Lord
Vishnu in ecstasy which turned into two girls. The elder of them was named
Amudavalli and the second as Sundaravalli. Born twins and grew together both
wished to marry Lord Muruga and remain together for ever . Seeking such a boon
from lord Muruga they went to river bank of Saravana Poigai and sat over the
forest reeds and meditated. Pleased with their prayer, lord Muruga appeared
before them and explained that it would be difficult for him to marry them
immediately since they were born as Kriya and Icha sakthis, but would certainly
marry them after vanquishing demon Suran. However till such time his mission was
accomplished the elder of them should live in Devaloka ( Heaven ) and the
younger in Bhooloka (Earth). While Sundaravalli went to earth, Amudavalli in the
form of a motherless child, went to Indira and sought asylum. He initiated her
as his daughter and directed Elephant Iravada his palace guard to bring her up .
She came to be known as Devayanai . Deva as she was brought up in Devaloga ie
Heaven and Yanai meaning Elephant . In Bhooloka, Lord Tirumal, born as a Rishi
out of a curse from Lord Indira was meditating in a lonely place . Tirumal's
wife Lakshmi came as a Deer, and stood before the Rishi who when opened his eyes
starred at her in lust for a moment. She became pregnant out of that act. Taking
cue of it Sundaravalli immediately entered into the womb of Lakshmi who soon
gave birth to a female child. As soon as Vishnu was relieved of the curse of
Indira, they abandoned the child in a bush near a pond called Vallikulam and
proceeded to Vaikunta. By chance Nambirajan, a hunter saw the abandoned baby and
took her home out of pity . When she grew up she was sent to the millet field to
guard the crops against the hunting birds and other Ganapathi Nataraja Sivakami
Subramanya Devasena Aayee i.e Kaththayee ( Kaththa in tamil meaning guarded and
Ayee meaning a tribal lady ). Once accidentally Murugan met Valli in the millet
field, befriended her and their friendship blossomed into love which grew deeper
with time. Murugan decided to marry her and went to Vallimalai to meet her
accompanied by a trusted guard . Sensing Murugan's plan his brother Vijayanagar
accompanied by his parents, sage Narada, other Rishies and saints also followed
them discreetly. Events transpired fast and finally with the blessings of
everyone, Murugan married Valli. Lord Shiva who was present there requested Sage
of Kanchamalai to built a temple in honor of Valli at the same spot. Sage of
Kanchamalai and others regretted that though they were Siddas ( Great
Muni/Rishies) none respected or cared for them and therefore felt that it could
be achieved only by some others, but would certainly carry out the orders of
Siva. They promised that a temple with three sanctums- Parvathi in the centre
sanctum , Valli in left, and Murugan at the right side sanctum would be
established. Saints and sages like Vishvamitra, Lord Narada, and other seven
Rishies ( Saptha Rishies ) who were present in Murugan's marriage would also be
seated at suitable place in the same temple. Agreeing to their request Lord
Shiva blessed them saying that as a honor to Sage of Kanchamalai he would also
like to be present animals which was the custom of the tribes to engage
marriageable girls for such duty. Valli stood as guard at the field, sitting in
an elevated platform called paran ( High Platform ). She was called Kaththa
there as Kanchamalai Muni in separate sanctum. As soon as Sage of Kanchamalai
got Lord Shiva's nod, he immediately took invisible form and called a Brahmin
walking at a distance away " My son come here". Hearing the voice of an unknown
the Brahmin went from where the sound came, but could not find anyone.
Astonished he started walking back when again the invisible asked him not to go
back as she had come there to alleviate their sufferings. Valli ,Kalinga Nardana
( Dance of Krishna over the head of a snake)- Dakshinamoorthi and Bhairava and
protect it from the severe heat during summer ? Therefore he offered only
flowers to the vermillion. During day time he used to keep his hand over the
heap like an umbrella to prevent sun rays falling on it. Days passed. Mysterious
female voice came again asking how he was going to protect her from the rains ?
Sensible question he thought, but could not find an answer readily. The puzzled
Brahmin considered several options and finally he made a clay mould and placed
it above the vermillion heap and continued the prayers. When he realized that
the clay mould like human body would also perish and can not protect it
permanently he sat in meditation seeking solution to the vexed problem. Slowly
he realized that inner vision over shadowed his thought process. Some feeble
image appeared in his vision followed by several squares which merged together
finally to display forty three triangles in seven structures i.e 4+3=7. Next
came Kaththayee. He was amazed to see her beauty and fainted. Kaththayee woke
him up saying that she was the same god who Soon dump struck Brahmin immediately
saw heap of vermillion lying on the ground at a distance from where the voice
came. He realized that the voice belonged to some deity which indeed remained
there. From next day onwards he started worshiping the heap of vermillion, but
the nagging concern was evident. How to conduct prayers to the heap of governed
the universe and repeated that had come there to only alleviate their sufferings
. She also indicated that she would emerge from the river displaying three head
gears which should be taken out and consecrated at some place for worship.
Scenes that followed slowly melted away. Next morning the brahmin went to the
river bed , sat there in the bank starring the river all through the day.
Suddenly he saw one bunch of three head gears floating and disappearing into the
water. He jumped into the river brought out a idol lay buried inside the sand.
Elated at its beauty , he kept it over his shoulder and jumped , rejoiced and
wept in happiness. Anticipating such a find he had earlier constructed a small
platform on the western side of the river to consecrate the find. He walked back
dancing in ecstasy all way to the spot collected the heap of vermillion, spread
over the platform and placed the idol over it and started worshiping it. In the
same haste without realizing the consequences, he threw away the clay mould into
the river which went down. Some times everyone indulges in such foolish acts ,
no wonder fate played its role to make the Brahmin commit such folly. Next
morning when the brahmin concluded prayers and as usual waited for
the
invisible to indicate something only an eerie silence remained. He shouted aloud
mother, mother but for some time nothing happened. When he repeated the shout
the invisible asked him not to search her as she had already left that place
along with the clay mould thrown into the river. He realized his foolish act,
which of course was not intentional. He was unaware of the consequences, he
committed a sin not reversible. How to retrieve back the clay mould from the
water ? Crying aloud like a motherless child, he pleaded for pardon as it was
borne out of ignorance. Inspite of it if she refused return back he would jump
into the river and commit suicide carrying the idol. He went on telling how he
painstakingly plucked the flowers and showered on her till both hands pained. He
blamed his two legs which were real culprits that took him to the river side to
help throw away the clay mould and therefore would punish them by doing 'sit and
stand' exercise till the tissues in the legs broke leading to oozing of blood. A
mother can not remain spectator to the suffering of her kin and kith. After all,
the priest had worshiped her with utmost sincerity ? Kaththayee appeared before
him to assure that his mistake had been condoned and she would return back and
remain there as Gnanambika ( mother of Wisdom ), Odyana roopini ( Ottiyana
meaning remain struck in heart) and Karunamayee ( One who is kind) to remove
their distress. Symbolizing the above three aspects in three head gears, she
merged in to the idol. First she appeared in the form of heap of vermillion,
stayed in the clay mould and finally in the idol. Like Nambiraj who brought her
up ( Nambi in Tamil means believed ) she assured to remain there for ever
alleviating the sufferings of those who surrendered themselves into her feet,
drive away evils like how she drew the birds and animals from millet fields. She
also expressed her desire to be with those who attended her wedding – Murugans
parents Parvathi and Shiva, Sainrts Jada Muni, Narada, Agasthya and Gouthama,
Karu Muni, Chem muni, Saptha Rishies like vazu muni, veda muni Vamadeva,
Vishwamitra, Muthu Muni, Bharadwaj. She became Katha + Aayee = Kathaayee ,
because she guarded the fields ( Katha in Tamil meaning protected and Aayee
means a tribe girl ). Town became to be known as Muthu Muni Pachai Muni Sada
Muni Chem muni Lada Sanyasi Chittadi since many Siddas meditated there ( Chitta
meaning Siddas and Aadi means danced) and river named Mudikondan conveying her
appearance with three headgear in that river.
Wonders of Kaththayee
The
mystic acts of Kathathayee who called up a stranger to construct a temple 400
years ago is not difficult to believe. Many had strange personal experiences and
enjoyed the gratitude of mother in several ways, out of which only few can be
told. Read this incident which occurred several years back. In the midst of a
night a holy Brahmin was walking through the temple area. It was 20.00 hrs at
night. Tired and fearing to continue the journey in night with huge cash in hand
he searched for a rest house .The temple appeared like an isolated house and as
he reached there seeking shelter a lady came out . He told her that he was
proceeding to the next village with lot of cash to buy bullocks and therefore
sought her help to find a place to stay that night. Without uttering a word she
took him inside, served some food and asked him to leave the cash bag there and
proceed to another house along with her son to take rest . He advised him to
come back in the morning to collect the money. After handing over the bag
containing the cash the Brahmin followed her son who walked through the bushy
areas carrying a lantern, and showed a sleep yard outside the house in an
Agrahara ( Place where the Brahmins reside as a community ) in village Chtthadi
to take rest . Next day morning the owner of the house came out and awakened the
stranger to inquire the purpose of his visit. When the Brahmin narrated the
entire story, the owner scotched at him and refused to believe the story stating
that no such house existed in the near vicinity and blamed that he was bluffing.
'What will be the fate of my money ?' Brahmin was panicky. 'Okay let us go and
see' said the owner and accompanied him to the house where he had deposited the
money the previous night. Tracking back the same route he walked the previous
night the Brahmin took him near the temple site where he said the house was
seen. The temple priest who opened the temple said 'Don't worry, let us pray to
the deity' and took them inside. Alas ! They were shocked to find the same bag
as described by the Brahmin lying at her feet and entire amount remaining
intact. Unable to control his emotion the tourist cried aloud ' mother not only
you saved the money, my prestige has also been saved, lest I would have remained
a liar in front of all' wept the Brahmin who then spent the entire money to
built the temple. This relates to an incident that happened 300 years ago. On an
occasion two family members of Kaththayee group traveled to the temple to offer
prayers in two bullock carts. After offering prayers and other rituals they
returned home. One of the female child who was playing in the temple complex was
unknowingly left behind . Everyone thought that she was traveling in the other
bullock cart. Back home they found the child missing and searched all over.
Finding no trace of the child the agonized family rushed back to the temple in
search of her. As they were all crying in the sanctum sanctum an invisible said
' calm down and do not search the child any more. Years back when she fell ill
it was promised that the child would be given to me. Since you failed to honor
the promise I have taken her. She is my child now' The family remembered that
indeed such a promise was made years back when the child was seriously ill . It
is believed that the statue of a small child seen at the feet of the deity is
the same child. Forty years ago Janaki Ammal wife of Krishnamurti was returning
to her native place Thirunilankudi a nearby small village from Chittadi in a
Jadka ( Bullock Cart). The river on way suddenly swelled and the cart began to
submerge. 'Kaththayee save us shouted the lady' What a miracle ? Some one came
in a bicycle, pulled up the cart and the bullocks and safe landed them. He also
accompanied them in his bicycle till the border of the village and disappeared.
Every one forgot the incident. In the next few days when once Krishnamurti and
his family went to the temple again to attend a function, the temple priest
Duraiappa Gurukkal in trance started dancing and went near Krishnamurthy
uttering' It is me who helped your family from the swollen river'. They now
realized that the person who came in a bicycle and saved their lives was none
than Kaththayee. In the year 1939 same Krishnamurti's mother who carried a pot
full of milk entered in to the burning Yagna Kund (Holy pyre). To everyone's
astonishment she stood in the midst of the burning fire for full ten minutes and
not even her silk saree burnt. Only after the request of the temple priests Sri
Sundaresa Gurukkal and Sri Duraiappa Gurukkal did she come out without even a
scratch on her body. One family was in trauma as their daughter's marriage did
not realize for many years. One of their family friends advised them that
instead of going to several other temples to pray for it, it would be proper to
go and offer prayers first to the family deity to find a solution.Taking his
advise they went to Kaththayee temple and prayed there. In the next one month
their daughter got married. Some more miracles occurred in the same family. On
the advice of the Kaththayee trust secretary they prayed for a grand son and got
the wish fulfilled. Once their son could not return back to India from U.S due
to several obstacles and when they prayed at Kaththayee by keeping a coin tied
in a yellow cloth, his transfer orders came forth with . Whoever went to her and
prayed with utmost devotion and sincerity their trust were never betrayed.
Legend on Pachaivazhi Amman (
Kathyayini )
Pachai
vazhi amman ( Kathyayini) mother of Murugan too is seated in another sanctum in
the same temple carrying behind an interesting story. Very long ago Kathyayana
maharishi sat in tapas seeking Siva's blessings. His wish was that Parvathi
should be born as his daughter and that he should get her married to Shiva .
Strange wish. However Shiva granted the boon. He ensured that Parvathi was born
to him. The child was named Kathyayini and when attained puberty she desired to
marry Shiva. Her father's friends like Siva, Dharma, Nada, Yoga, Vazz, Puruda
and maha muniswars ( Saints ) helped her succeed in her tapas . When lord Siva
appeared before her she expressed her desire and also wished to remain there so
that whoever came there seeking marriage boon she could fulfill their wish. As
per the wish of Kathyayana Muni Siva-parvathi got married. Shiva allowed her to
remain in a separate sanctum to grant boon to the devotees seeking alms for the
marriage. It is believed that those who observed Kathyayini vrith ( Fast )
obstacles on the marriage gets removed.
Structure of the
Temple
Kathyayini
remains seated in the centre of sanctum sanctum with Kathathayee on the right
side and Murugan on the left side in two separate sanctums. Kaththayee holds a
lotus in her right hand and keeps the left slightly folded in a stylish fashion.
Three head gears appears on her head, left leg folded and right leg stretched to
the ground. A child is also found seated below her leg. Outside the temple
complex Kanchamalai Siva holding a lotus in his hand is seen. He keeps his left
arm over a cobra. It is interesting to see that Kathyayini devi too holds a
lotus in her hand in similar fashion. At different ends statues for Veerabagu
muni with veera mitra bommi, nine saints, lada sanyasi Danvanthri muni, and
Pachi amman are seen consecrated. Vilvam and neem trees are considered to be the
sacred trees of the temple.
Courtesy:
----I sincerely thank the Kaththayee Bhaktha jana trust, No 2, -Sarangapani
Street, T'nagar, Chennai-17 for rendering valuable assistance to collect the
information and supplied several photographs without which the 400 year old
history of Murugan's consort Valli's beautifully architectured temple could not
have beencompiled and would have remained unknown to many readers.
