Ananthapuram Lake Temple is probably the only lake temple in Kerala, situated near Kasaragod - Mangalore Highway, 5 kms from Kumbala town in Kasaragod district. This 9th century temple is considered to be the original abode or Moolasthanam of Lord Ananthapadmanabha, the presiding deity of Sri Padmanabha Swami temple, Thiruvananthapuram. This is probably one of the two temples were Lord Vishnu is symbolised as sitting on the coils of Anantha, the serpant on which Lord Vishnu stays in eternal repose. The other is seen at Sri Poornatrayeesa temple, Tripunithura.
On each side of Lord Vishnu there is Bhoomi devi and Sree Devi (Goddess Lekshmi) besides them Hanuman and Garuda worshiping the vigraha. On either side of the idol there are Naga Kanyakas on the wall. Heavenly maidens fan the Lord and his consorts from behind. Jaya and Vijaya, Lord Vishnu's attendants, stand in guard at the entrance. With all of them, together with the surrounding lake, considering it as the milky ocean (ksheerasagara), the entire place turns out to be nothing other than "Bhooloka Vaikunta" for each devotee. The idol of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy and other idols are neither
metal or stone, but made of a rare combination of more than 108
materials called Kadu-Sarkara-Yogam. Today this rare combination is
known only to an aged artisan, Sri Subrahmanyan Achary and family of
Vaikom.
The Ananthapura temple is situated at the centre of the Ananthapura Lake, on a remote rocky hill in a calm isolated region. The shrine is encircled by a Chuttambalam with its walls adorned by murals. There is a cave which opens out to a small pond where the water level remains steady regardless of climatic changes.
This is the most accepted version regarding the consecration of the Temple and relates to the famous Namboodiri Brahmin sage by name Vilwamangalathu Swamiyar. Three Vilwamangalattu Swamiyars have lived during different times, according to some. Vilwamanagalam I dates to the 9th century and Vilwamangalam III to the 16th century (about 1585 AD) with Vilwamangalam II coming in between. Even if the 9th Century saint is accepted as the Central figure in this Sthala Purana, anachronism is glaringly obvious. The story basically runs on the same lines as that of Divakara Muni, deviating only at certain points. The location is in North Malabar and the Kasargode Sree Ananthapuram Temple featured in both. Here the child does not stay with the swamiyar but would faithfully appear every day during the Puja time of the sage. The Salagrama episode is the same and here the saint shows his annoyance by pushing back the little one with the back of the hand. (To this day it is deemed inauspicious to push someone away, with the back of the hand). The next difference in the story surfaces a little later on. It is said that the Sage ran after the child but soon lost track of him. The sound of the bells on the anklets adorning those little feet and on the waistband guided him for some more time, then they too ceased. The Sage wandered from place to place, consecrating many renowned temples of today on the way and getting many divine experience. He moved from North Kerala to the South Kerala in his ceaseless quest of the divine Child and Ananthankatu where he would find him. One evening he rested under a tree, physically and mentally weary. From the opposite side where stood the hut of a Pulaya, he heard the raise voice of an angry Pulayi threatening her baby who would not stop crying, that she would throw it into Ananthakatu if it did not stop wailing. The joyous Sages rushed to the hut and in answer to his question, the woman pointed to the near-by forest which was the destination of his long search. After blessing her and taking a single lighted wick from her to aid his progress into darkness in search of the supreme light, the Swamiyar entered the forest. Before long, the dearly familiar sound of the waistbells and anklets could be heard. In the pre-dawn hours, suddenly an lluppa tree crashed down with a mighty sound before him and a great radiance manifested. On reaching the spot he got the Darsanam or Vision of God as Sree Padmanabha Swamy reclining on the serpent chief Ananta. The extent of this form and the subsequent reduction in size in response to the Sage’s prayers are the same as in the story about Divakara Muni. Having nothing else to offer to the Lord, the Swamiyar took a small unripe mango from a nearby tree and placing it in a dry coconut shell submitted the same to the Lord in an overflow of emotion. The offering of a salted mango in the coconut shell which is reported to be the same one used by the Swamiyar though now covered with gold and gem studded, continues as an important daily Nivedyam to this day. In this connection it merits mention that the wood of this Iluppa tree is believed to have been utilized to carve the figure oh Sree Padmanabha Swamy and till the time of Marthanda Varma the Great, the Idol is seen to be of this wood. The Naduvil Mutt Pushpanjali Swamiyar’s premises lying to the west of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple also contains a Sree Krishna Temple which is believed to have been consecrated on the Villvamangalathu Swamiyar’s Samadhi. This adds much weight to the sage’s link with the Temple.
A very unusual phenomenon of this temple is the presence of a single crocodile (dearly called by devotees as babia) in the lake. It is said to inhabit the lake from olden days and is supposed to be the guard of the temple and the interesting fact is that when one dies, another mysteriously takes its place. Its presence in the lake around the temple reminds one of the well known Gajendra Moksha stories in the Bhagavatha purana. Crocodile is friendly and harmless to human beings. Every day after the ucchapooja (worship at noon), crocodile is fed with the offering made of rice and jaggery. According to lores, in 1945, one British officer shoot a crocodile and he died the same day. Next day new crocodile was present in the pond. Current crocodile is the third one, having a age of more than 65 years. Crocodile feeding or Muthalayoottu is a famous offering of this temple.
Near the south-west corner of the lake there is a shrine housing a very graceful idol of Lord Krishna (worshipped as Goshaala Krishna) belived to have been the same idol worshipped by Vilwamangalam Swamiyar. Lord Mahaganapathi, Vanasastha and Raktheswari are the other sub-deities worshiped in this temple. The annual festival is celebrated in the month of April and the temple is open to all devotees regardless of caste or creed.
The Katu-Sarkara-Yogam
After selecting a good tree from an area where high quality trees like Karinjali (Acacia Catechu), Devatharu (Cedrios Deodara), Chandanam (Sandalwood
or Santalam Album) etc. grow, it should be cut and brought o the
location where the work is to be carried out. In conformity with the
specifications of the idol to be fashioned, a Paasham or rope
scale should be made. The waist measurement and chest measurement should
be demarcated on it. Representing the bones as it were, as the
continuation of the waist in downward trend, at the extremities, the
feet measurements are arrived at and in like manner the extremities from
the chest area lead to the arms according to a measurement fixed for
them, along with the measurements for the entire back. The areas of the
palms, feet, ears, and nose should be constructed by tying copper plates
of suitable dimensions on to the basic structure. This is known as the Soolam (skeleton) of the idol. Four palams (a local unit of weight) of Thiruvatta-pasha (Pinus Roxlrerghir), which is the gum from the comman gum tree, is taken along with three palams of kundirikkam (Bozwelliz Serrata), five palams of Gulgulu (Commiphora Mukal), one palam of jaggery, eight palams of Chenchalyam (resin of Shorea Robusta) and three palams of Kavi earth (red
lumber stone or red ochre) and all these six ingredients are powdered
well. This powder is put into an earthen pot, mixed with equal portions
of oil and ghee and rolled in this medium. The mixture is then cooked
over fire till it reaches the consistency of honey. Thereafter it is
removed from the fire and it cools, it is applied all over the skeleton
idol. Thus after the coating turned Ashtabandhalepanam, which bins the
frame is carried out in the manner described above, coating of the
nerves or Nadi Bandhanam commences. The fine fibre of the hardened
coconut husk (husk of Cocos Nucifera) is removed, washed and cleaned well
and is twisted from left to right in three spirals and tied on ti this
skeletal frame constituting Ida, Pingala and Sushumnam, which are the
three vital nerves of the spinal cord along with the four other nerve
centres known as Pusha, Yasaswini, Shankhini and Kuhu. Collectively they
represent the Saptanadies or the seven nerve centres of the body.
Sand from Jangala Desam or barren land, Anoopa Desam or marshly land and from plain land are brought, washed and cleaned seperately. Three different types of concoctions consisting of
(1) a combination if Karinjali (Acacia Catechu) and Maruthu (Terminalia Paniculata), are prepared and boiled together to a thick consistency,
(2) Nalpamaram, decotion made out of the bark of the four fig trees viz. Athi,Ithi, Arayalu and Peralu (Ficus Racemosa, Ficus Gibbosa, Ficus Religiosa and Ficus Bengalensis) and
(3) decotion of Kolarakku (lac) are prepared.
The sand is put in each of these solutions and dried thereafter, it is then put in Thriphala Kashayam for a duration of ten days are redried. Thriphala Kashayam is made of these ingredients such as Katukka (Tirmernalia Chebrila), Nellikka (Gooseberry or Embilica Officinalis) and Thannikka (Tirminalia Ballerica). River sand is powederd well and a portion equal to 1/4 th of the quantity of each of the three types of previously prepared sand added to it. This mixture of medicinal sands is ground into a paste using the Thriphala Kashayam as the liquid base. Yavam (Barely-Hordeum Vulgare), wheat and the leaves of Kasavu (Memecylon Edule) are seperately powdered and mixed and 1/8 th of the prepared sand added to it. It is wetted with well the water of the matured coconut and ground daily for ten days to make it into a composition. Equal powdered quantities of Thiruvatta-pasa (gum of the common gum tree), Gulgulu, Kundirikkam and Chenchalyam (refer previous text for all above tree) are added in a proportion of 1/4 th of the same to the special sand and the mixture ground well adding honey to it.
Equal quantities of Chukku (dried ginger), Pepper, Turmeric and Thrippali (long pepper or Piper Longum) are powdered together and 1/24 th measure added to the same and unified by mixing honey, milk and ghee with thorough grinding. As the next stage, plavin-pasa (leaf latex-Artocarpus Integrifolia) and the inner substance of the koovala fruit (Aegla Marmelos) are taken in equal quantities and ground well. 1/15 th of this substance is added to the sand and re-ground with adding a little bit of oil. Kumkum (composite powder of red colour), chandanam (sandal), Aritharam (Acacia Pernesiana), Kottam (Sassurea lappa), Karpooram (camphor), Akil (Indian Cedar) and Gorochanam (Benzar extract from gall region of oxen) are powdered and 1/32 nd of the sand is added and ground in an oil taken by pounding the leaf of Kasavu to powder. Kasthuri (musk) is added to a slightly powdered mixture of gold, silver, river sand, sand from the crab’s hole, sea sand, sand from the ant hill, sand from the elephant tusks. This mixture is again added to the prepared sand. This composition is deposited in a kashayam or decoction made from the resin of the Iluppa tree (Bassia Longifolia).
The same is boiled and cooked for five days and thereafter ground. A quantity of coconut husk fibre equal to 1/4 th of the mixture is cut into small bits and mixed with this sand to which the gum of Koovalam and gum of Plavu have been added. The same is pounded for ten days to make it into a composite whole. This composition is applied separately on the different parts of the frame of the idol which acts as its skeleton and on which the Nadi Bandhanam (amalgamating the nerves of the skeleton through special processes) has already been accomplished. It is rubbed well into those parts. This particular method is not to apply this mixture in thick layers but to give a thin coating with the mud paste.
Now it is time to introduce the required characterstics of the idol on to the body which covers the frame. Pure silk on which the gum of leaf latex has been smeared is wrapped completely round the different parts of the body over and above the silk, equal proportions of powdered river sand, Kozhippara (a specific rock ground to powder) and black coloured stones found on the river bed, are ground and daily mashed into a paste for the duration of one month in a decoction of Thriphala, gum of Plavu and gum of Koovalam. A thin coating of the same is applied all over the idol and dried. An application of Sankhu powder (powdered conch) is made on the idol giving it a whitening effect. Required decorations and ornaments are worked on the surface enhancing the grandeur of the idol. One can see from the ingredients used in the Katu-Sarkara-Yogam for the construction of the idols that they are all medicinal. Just as the human body is protected with a natural medicinal coverage, the same concept is extended to the idol to which a living form is being bestowed. This is the process of Katu-sarkara-Yogam in brief. Even this patially insufficient description is enough to project the greatly complicated procedure which goes into the formation of a Katu-Sarkara Idol. As such it is of no surprise that idols of this nature, though a speciality of Kerala, are so rare even in the land of their origin.
Sand from Jangala Desam or barren land, Anoopa Desam or marshly land and from plain land are brought, washed and cleaned seperately. Three different types of concoctions consisting of
(1) a combination if Karinjali (Acacia Catechu) and Maruthu (Terminalia Paniculata), are prepared and boiled together to a thick consistency,
(2) Nalpamaram, decotion made out of the bark of the four fig trees viz. Athi,Ithi, Arayalu and Peralu (Ficus Racemosa, Ficus Gibbosa, Ficus Religiosa and Ficus Bengalensis) and
(3) decotion of Kolarakku (lac) are prepared.
The sand is put in each of these solutions and dried thereafter, it is then put in Thriphala Kashayam for a duration of ten days are redried. Thriphala Kashayam is made of these ingredients such as Katukka (Tirmernalia Chebrila), Nellikka (Gooseberry or Embilica Officinalis) and Thannikka (Tirminalia Ballerica). River sand is powederd well and a portion equal to 1/4 th of the quantity of each of the three types of previously prepared sand added to it. This mixture of medicinal sands is ground into a paste using the Thriphala Kashayam as the liquid base. Yavam (Barely-Hordeum Vulgare), wheat and the leaves of Kasavu (Memecylon Edule) are seperately powdered and mixed and 1/8 th of the prepared sand added to it. It is wetted with well the water of the matured coconut and ground daily for ten days to make it into a composition. Equal powdered quantities of Thiruvatta-pasa (gum of the common gum tree), Gulgulu, Kundirikkam and Chenchalyam (refer previous text for all above tree) are added in a proportion of 1/4 th of the same to the special sand and the mixture ground well adding honey to it.
Equal quantities of Chukku (dried ginger), Pepper, Turmeric and Thrippali (long pepper or Piper Longum) are powdered together and 1/24 th measure added to the same and unified by mixing honey, milk and ghee with thorough grinding. As the next stage, plavin-pasa (leaf latex-Artocarpus Integrifolia) and the inner substance of the koovala fruit (Aegla Marmelos) are taken in equal quantities and ground well. 1/15 th of this substance is added to the sand and re-ground with adding a little bit of oil. Kumkum (composite powder of red colour), chandanam (sandal), Aritharam (Acacia Pernesiana), Kottam (Sassurea lappa), Karpooram (camphor), Akil (Indian Cedar) and Gorochanam (Benzar extract from gall region of oxen) are powdered and 1/32 nd of the sand is added and ground in an oil taken by pounding the leaf of Kasavu to powder. Kasthuri (musk) is added to a slightly powdered mixture of gold, silver, river sand, sand from the crab’s hole, sea sand, sand from the ant hill, sand from the elephant tusks. This mixture is again added to the prepared sand. This composition is deposited in a kashayam or decoction made from the resin of the Iluppa tree (Bassia Longifolia).
The same is boiled and cooked for five days and thereafter ground. A quantity of coconut husk fibre equal to 1/4 th of the mixture is cut into small bits and mixed with this sand to which the gum of Koovalam and gum of Plavu have been added. The same is pounded for ten days to make it into a composite whole. This composition is applied separately on the different parts of the frame of the idol which acts as its skeleton and on which the Nadi Bandhanam (amalgamating the nerves of the skeleton through special processes) has already been accomplished. It is rubbed well into those parts. This particular method is not to apply this mixture in thick layers but to give a thin coating with the mud paste.
Now it is time to introduce the required characterstics of the idol on to the body which covers the frame. Pure silk on which the gum of leaf latex has been smeared is wrapped completely round the different parts of the body over and above the silk, equal proportions of powdered river sand, Kozhippara (a specific rock ground to powder) and black coloured stones found on the river bed, are ground and daily mashed into a paste for the duration of one month in a decoction of Thriphala, gum of Plavu and gum of Koovalam. A thin coating of the same is applied all over the idol and dried. An application of Sankhu powder (powdered conch) is made on the idol giving it a whitening effect. Required decorations and ornaments are worked on the surface enhancing the grandeur of the idol. One can see from the ingredients used in the Katu-Sarkara-Yogam for the construction of the idols that they are all medicinal. Just as the human body is protected with a natural medicinal coverage, the same concept is extended to the idol to which a living form is being bestowed. This is the process of Katu-sarkara-Yogam in brief. Even this patially insufficient description is enough to project the greatly complicated procedure which goes into the formation of a Katu-Sarkara Idol. As such it is of no surprise that idols of this nature, though a speciality of Kerala, are so rare even in the land of their origin.
